The Tube

The tube is held in such high regard; the defining skill of a paramedic. In school it is drilled and practiced over and over. It is the benchmark of our professional success; how we measure our overall proficiency.

At each opportunity, methodical steps are followed, materials assembled and checked, anatomical landmarks found. But patients don’t read the textbook; sometimes we miss.

So much rides on its success that when we fail, it is like the airway becomes our enemy, it haunts us, it ruins our day. Regardless of the outcome of the call, the tube is what we remember. If I had gotten it sooner, gotten it faster, gotten it at all. Would the outcome have been different?

But algorithms are followed, responsibility is passed, egos stand aside; it just might not be our day.
Deep down we know it is okay, but it is hard to let it go.