It was the 5th night of my preceptorship.  My nursing instructor and I were finishing up our charting and last bit of rounds as we prepared for change of shift report.  We were tired from a busy night and were ready to get some sleep as we wound be working the following night.  While checking in on our last patient who was complaining of pain, (recently undergone a surgery for an abscess on their amputated leg), we noticed their dressing had soaked through entirely with bright red blood and there was a small pool of blood underneath them.  This was where the patient had been complaining of pain.  After cleaning up some of the bloody drainage, running a set of vitals, and giving them pain meds, we paged the trauma surgeon to come take a look.  Upon arrival, the surgeon took down the dressing and then blood shot in the air like a fountain.  The surgeon quickly applied pressure to blood source, and then everyone acted.   While the patient was screaming in pain, everyone scrambled for supplies, meds, making phone calls, and running units of blood.  I was right in the middle of all of this.  I was grabbing supplies for the team, giving meds, holding a light source for them, and providing comfort for the patient while they performed an emergency surgery in the room.  This was the first rapid response I had ever been a part of and contributed to and it all felt surreal.  A patient who an hour ago was totally fine is now bleeding out and getting lifesaving surgery in front of my eyes.  Thankfully, within 10 minutes the team got the bleeding under control, but the patient still needed to return to the OR.  By the end of it all, my nursing preceptor and I with some blood stained on our gowns just looked at each other like what just happened.  Not many students can say they got to experience something like this, and I think that I was very fortunate to be able to learn from this and such a great healthcare team. 

       Reflecting on this experience now, there was so much I was able to learn from each member of the response team.  Each member understood their roles and carried out their tasks promptly.  They also supported each other in doing so was great to hear especially as a student.  What stood out to me the most however, was how quickly the patient’s condition deteriorated.  It really happened in the blink of an eye.  It made me realize how important it is to prioritize and do excellent assessments.  If we had not looked at the dressing because it looked fine 30 minutes ago, this patient could have bled out without even realizing.  Also, If the patient had started bleeding out before the surgeon was there, how different would the outcome have been.  There were so many different scenarios that ran through my mind on this patient.  I am happy that I was able to have this experience as it will serve as a reminder to take great pride in my assessments and working as a team.  It was also an honor to have been able to care for this patient and comfort them in their times of distress.  This is the rewarding part of nursing in bringing someone from a low point in their life back to themselves again.