The Final Push

Nurse Johnston entered the room first, followed closely by a surgery intern. The intern nudged Higgins out of the way and began pumping on the chest. Higgins backed into a corner as the controlled chaos of the code unfolded. ICU nurses, internal medicine residents, surgery residents, medical students, a respiratory therapist, a blood gas tech, and, of course, the Leadership hag, poured into the small room. Nobody could move. Nobody could hear. The internal-medicine chief resident stood at the head of the bed, told one person to charge the defibrillator paddles, and another to get the drugs ready. The respiratory therapist disconnected the tracheostomy tube from the ventilator and used an ambu bag to hyperventilate the patient. Someone cut off his gown so the paddles could be placed directly on the skin. A nurse rummaged through the drawers of the code cart, grabbing amps of epinephrine, amiodarone, atropine, dopamine and lidocaine. Another nurse with a clipboard documented who, what, when, how much, the blood pressure, the heart rhythm.