Dealing with patient death

A legendary patient died in our ED last night. Some of our providers cared for this child as Interns and then as Residents and now as an Attending. Personally, I cared for him during my PICU rotation as a Fellow. When we were done, I realized that most of our nurses and staff were involved in the resuscitation, not because we needed the extra hands, but because they know the family and wanted to be there for support. While the concept of parents or family members being present during resuscitations is controversial, I personally support it completely. My belief was again confirmed by watching this young boy's family find comfort in knowing that everything possible was done for their son. In the end, they chose to stop the resuscitation and we supported their decision.

Check out: Knazik SR - The death of a child in the Emergency Department. Ann Emerg Med - 01-OCT-2003; 42(4): 519-29