Being able to keep calm in an emergency all boils down to being
prepared. We saw that at the beginning of the covid panic in this
country as people swarmed the big box stores and bought toilet
paper and cleaning supplies like they'd never see them again. Rubbing
alcohol, masks, and gloves, as well as items entirely unrelated to a
medical crisis, disappeared. Some still can't regularly be found on shelves. Those who
had prepared didn't panic, avoided the crowds and potential disease, and
were able to remain home at complete peace.
It's no different for any other emergency. If we have prepared
physically and mentally, we don't have to freak out. We can remain
calm. We can be a voice of reason for others in whom reason has
suddenly evaporated.
When it comes to medical emergencies, there are two aspects to keeping
calm. There is mental preparedness, and there is physical preparedness,
and there are two parts to each of these.
Mentally, you've got educational preparedness and emotional preparedness.
One might assume that doctors and nurses are educationally prepared to
deal with medical emergencies, but think again. All doctors are not
created equal. Most now rely on apps for diagnosis. Most are
specialized. Honestly, a cardiologist may not be all that equipped to
deliver a baby. A pediatrician probably isn't well-versed on issues of
the elderly. They may be able to wing it pretty well as long as there's
technology to assist, but what happens when all that goes away? What
if you don't have the good fortune of having a medical professional in
your group when things fall apart? You are the one who has to be
prepared for your family. You need the skills and the stuff. You need
hard copies.
That is how you keep from freaking out. You need to know what bacterial
illnesses absolutely necessitate antibiotics and which do not. You
need the mental fortitude to refuse using the precious supply of
life-saving tablets for non-life-threatening conditions, regardless of
how much pain the patient may be experiencing. You need to accept that
some people are going to die no matter how well-prepared you are. Death
is part of life. It comes at the end, and the end always comes sooner
than we would like for those we love.
Physical preparedness for medical emergencies involves keeping our
bodies in good shape and having supplies at hand. I constantly hear or
read that people should never stock supplies they don't know how to
use. Ask these same people if they are planning to share their supplies
with you when you need them, and they start checking the lint in their
belly buttons. Each family needs to have its own antibiotics, pain
relievers, antiseptics, sutures, PPE, and so on. Reusable things like
splints and crutches are more easily shared. Hopefully, people aren't
all breaking bones at the same time. As these supplies are exhausted,
will you be able to resupply through improvisation or nature? Do you
know how to use herbs, where to find them, and how to make medicine from
them?
Being in good physical condition is a function of a healthy diet and
regular exercise. Good food contributes to good morale, emotional
resilience, and the ability to think clearly.
Beyond the physical and mental preparedness and combining the two is the
ability to improvise, to think outside the box using the supplies you
have at hand to resolve an emergency situation, like on MASH when Father
Mulcahy and Radar use a pen and pocketknife and, under Hawkeye's
direction over the radio, perform a tracheotomy. Some of us, myself
included, really struggle with this. Voicing concerns and needs allows
others to help us with our thinking.
Being mentally and physically prepared puts us on the path of keeping
calm in an emergency. Think about it. In all of your experiences in
doctor offices or hospitals, the staff is perfectly calm. Even in
emergencies, they are cool and collected. They have to be calm to keep
the patient and the patient's family calm. If the caregiver freaks out,
so will the patient and family. It will be a complete mess.
Beyond these preparations, keep in mind that when there is an emergency,
don't run or rush. This elevates the heart rate and adrenalin
response, and as a result, we don't think as clearly.
The best way to prevent freaking out in an emergency is to become
mentally and physically prepared and be able to recognize what is
life-threatening, what is not, and not behaving any differently
regardless. Maintaining our calm will help keep the patient calm, will
help us think more clearly, and will have the best results.
Links to related posts:
Master Medical Shopping List
18 august 2020
