Fifty six

In the ear.

Working a code (code blue/cor-0) and doing my thing which is taking turns doing chest compressions. I am working with a not so confident senior resident running the code and a even less confident and obviously nervous junior resident at the head of the bed in charge of the airway.

There is an unusual amount of chatter during the resuscitation because the senior resident is not really leading he's just following what everyone else says. The attending is standing in the corner of the room with his face all screwed up arms folded and pissed. We are late into the residents rotation year so they should have the hang of a simple code. Instead there is flailing and chatter things are getting done just not in a crisp manner that most of us are use to.

They are having trouble getting a peripheral line on the patient, there is a big honking EJ though. I'm looking down at it salivating over such a big juicy vein. The junior resident looks at me looking at the vein while I'm doing compressions. He asks "Do you think I should do it?" Unnecessary chatter. You know they are having probs with a line and you got this huge EJ don't ask doctor do it. I don't answer I just roll my eyes and he gets the picture.

I look down to concentrate on doing compressions we are getting close to the pulse check so I'm getting weaker and have to pound out the compressions. Then all of the sudden I feel some thing cold and wet right inside my right ear. Like a splash of water. I look over and the junior resident has a half empty 10 cc saline flush in hand and he has gotten anxious after trying the EJ he wanted to get the air out of the flush first and instead of turning away from everyone (mostly me) he has squirted the saline right into my ear. He looks at me I look at him. I then give him a "What the fuck?!" look.

Pulse check.

I snatch some paper towels while I'm switching out with another tech on compressions. The junior resident has missed the EJ somehow.  The code ends and the patient lives after multiple rounds of drugs and defibrillation. 

My scrub top and neck are still wet from the 5 cc or so of saline. In fact for the rest of the day I feel like my neck is wet. I never get an apology from the junior resident.

So it goes in the dynamic emergency room environment.