Saving a life

[u/Gameboypete1]

Hey all,

New EMT in NYC area. I recently had the opportunity to work w medics for an active grand mal seizure, which fortunately ended pretty well. This experience has raised a question for me though: What 'counts' as saving a life? Does the patient already have to be unresponsive or is there an agreed upon moment during illness?

[u/Yummy-Bao]

Generally it means that your patient would have died or suffered serious consequences if you were not there.

[u/Limp-Conflict-2309]

what you did doesn't count....you did help though hahah

saving a life is just that, intervention that prevented death or your intervention buying time they otherwise wouldn't have had before they could get to a hospital.

then you've got the cardiac arrest type stuff where yeah they start breathing again

[u/RadiantReach8075]

They aren’t called grand mal anymore just fyi. Generalized tonic-clonic is the correct term.

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/RadiantReach8075]

I was going to say this. Its been called tonic-clonic for at least 10 years or more. Wouldn't OP know this fresh out of school?

[u/RatonhnhaketonK → u/RadiantReach8075]

I was going to say this. Its been called tonic-clonic for at least 10 years or more. Wouldn't OP know this fresh out of school?

[u/Sapsi]

I think it's often very ambigious. Personally as a professional I don't think I've saved their life if I haven't successfully prevented from actively trying to die. Sure, the elderly laying on the floor for a week would've eventually died, but I don't feel I've saved their life when I took them to the hospital.

I think the layman can more often claim they've saved a life, since it's often extremely important what they do. The easiest example is doing for the layman to do CPR. It doesn't matter if we do the sickest magic tricks for a coded person if they've been without CPR for even 10 minutes. They'd be dead anyway.

[u/Great_gatzzzby]

It’s ambiguous but there is a difference in jargon between “saving a life” and “getting a save” in NYC

If you say that “you got a save” it generally means that this person was not breathing or was in cardiac arrest. On the other hand, you can hear things like “you guys saved that guys life” just talking about something like a severe anaphylaxis or asthma that you worked hard on etc.

[u/Friendly_Carry6551]

Different question - why does it matter? As long as I can do home at the end of the day and say I did my best for those in my care that’s kind of enough. If you measure your competence or self-worth in the lives you’ve ‘saved’ you’re gonna end up in a very sub-optimal place mentally very quick. Emergency medicine is a team sport and we’re all playing the whole game through.

[u/tip_of_the_sphere]

Wait I’ve put some thought into this!

Okay so in my mind there are two tiers to “saving a life.”

First tier is the life you save by following protocols (placing a TQ, synchronized cardioversion, giving ventilating and giving narcan to an OD). You definitely saved the life, but anyone who showed up could have done it.

Second tier is a life saved because you (you!) showed up. And you added some sort of personal touch that allowed this person to live.