Code Blue

"Attention: Code Blue, Outpatient Pavilion, 2nd floor, hallway G. Attention: Code Blue, Outpatient Pavilion, 2nd..." By this time we were out the door and running. No time to stop and ask if we were supposed to come along or what we were to do when we got there. Our team of four was joined by another team by the time we reached the stairwell. No telling how long the elevators would take, so we took the six flights as quickly as we could, picking up a few more responders along the way. It felt like a TV show, the way we dropped everything and started running the second we heard the word "Blue," the way you imagine a fire department responding with a call in the middle of the night. The way we jogged through the hallways, drawing curious glances and easily clearing the path in front of us by our calm urgency. We were on our way to save someone. Don't get in the way. It didn't matter that I had no idea what I would do when we got there. Or that the thought of someone actually needing a code called terrified me. Or that of course the ED and the PICU teams were much closer and already had the situation under control by the time we had traversed what seemed like the entire hospital. I've always thought that I couldn't do critical care because I don't like not knowing what's coming through the door, but my first code thrilled me. Experience will teach me the way to respond-the right drugs to use, the correct techniques for intubation and starting an IV, the protocol of a code. But the emergency itself was exciting. I found myself wishing we could do it every day, which makees me excited to do the ED and our critical care rotations. Either way, I'm in the coolest career field ever.