the Happy Medic

 I read a post recently from the husband of a new ICU Doctor who was struggling after losing three patients in a week. We in EMS of course sip coffee with those kind of numbers but we all need to realize there is no contest, no game, no way to win. We can only lose. That Doc spent dozens of hours thinking about those patients. Changing drips, trying new treatments, listening to nurse feedback, all to try to keep someone already mostly out the door from leaving for good. We in EMS get maybe 20-30 minutes with a patient if we're lucky. Rural folks who rolled their eyes, trust me when I tell you I had my own days of almost falling asleep on long transports back in my rural New Mexico days. The point to remember is that we lose people differently. It hits differently for us because of the brevity of our experience with them. How many times have you gone to give a death notification to the family and had to check the name on your glove or ask the other rescuers present, "Was it Dav...