How do you confront a medical emergency that happens right in front of you?

Forums: Spectator Syndrome, Medical Emergencies
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How do you confront a medical emergency that happens right in front of you? Do you know CPR? Are you the first person to whip out your cell phone ... to tweet about the events in front of you? Do you update your Facebook status?

Or do you call 911 (or your region's emergency phone number)?

Does the factor of knowing or not knowing an individual or group of people who have become injured in an accident or have befallen an illness matter in terms of what is proper in the aspect of how fast does one react to the medical crisis at hand?

Quote:

If the Science Guy passes out and nobody tweets it, did it happen?
By Brett Michael Dykes

Last night in front of an audience of hundreds at a presentation at the University of Southern California, TV personality Bill Nye — popularly known as the "Science Guy" — collapsed midsentence as he walked toward a podium. Early indications are that Nye is OK, but what's odd about the incident isn't so much Nye's slight health setback as the crowd's reaction. Or, more precisely, its nonreaction, according to several accounts.

For the rest of the article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20101117/sc_yblog_thelookout/if-the-science-guy-passes-out-and-nobody-tweets-it-did-it-happen

Are these examples of spectator syndrome (where the person stands back and tweets about a medical emergency that's breaking out in front of the bystander) poor exaggeration of high profile anecdotal incidents or an actual social trend form amongst this newest tech-bounded college age and younger generations?

My knee jerkish reaction is that it's the former not the latter.

Still, even if it isn't a trend who owns the responsibility to react to these situations? The people in the front row? The management behind the stage?Anybody in the audience with medical training? Etc....

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That's crazy! People seem to have become numb by technology! Of course you should perform CPR! He could have become Bill Nye the Dead Guy!

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Nick, baby, where've you been? And I agree. I have Level III First Aid which means I can even use an AED on you, if you happen to have one handy. People are getting more nuts... in the USA, of course. Up here, we're still pretty normal, if cold at the moment. It snowed the last two days Sad

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@Mame,

Hey Mame! I've been here and there. I was at my health club one day and they had one of those defibrillators in the back room. I found it unfortunate that NO ONE KNEW HOW TO USE IT!!! It's a good thing I've never needed one!

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@tsarstepan,

tsarstepan wrote:

an actual social trend form amongst this newest tech-bounded college age and younger generations?

look up the Kitty Genovese case

it's a well known sociological phenomenon

nothing new about it really

when people are in a crowd, they all think someone else will do something about the incident

we studied it back in the 1970's with Mel Lerner. "Myth of the Just Society".

Interesting, if not really flattering, research.

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@ehBeth,

I thought about bringing the KG case up in my initial post but my flaky ADD self got distracted by what I can't remember and I kind of forgot to mention that infamous and unforgivable tragedy.

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@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

tsarstepan wrote:
an actual social trend form amongst this newest tech-bounded college age and younger generations?

look up the Kitty Genovese case

it's a well known sociological phenomenon

nothing new about it really

when people are in a crowd, they all think someone else will do something about the incident

we studied it back in the 1970's with Mel Lerner. "Myth of the Just Society".

Interesting, if not really flattering, research.

Add to that the Reginald Denny case.
Q.E.D.: If u want something done right,
u better do it yourself (and have the necessary equipment at hand).

David

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Excellent point David.

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@ehBeth,

That was my thought as well - the audience if most likely expecting some one else is going to take charge - for example whoever is responsible behinds the scences.

I have used my cell phone to call for emergencies before - in church when a boy passed out and after seeing a car accident. I would have stopped to help, but I had my kids in the car. I have stopped before at the scence of a couple of accidents to offer my help. And stopped on the street to help people when they have fallen, etc.

I used to be certified, but my company now rarely offers the re-certification class so I am long expired (at least on CPR).

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I dunno about everybody else, but I have "jumped" in several times to provide CPR or First Aid. I was trained from when I was a wee girl during swimming lessons through the Red Cross. I also took training during high school, gym classes and on the job. I don't think I could sleep at night if I tweeted about an emergency situation, it actually makes me sick to my stomach to think people do that.
I've been bled on while wearing an expensive, chinese silk dress pulling an unconscious guy get out of a burning mini after an accident, pulled a guy who killed himself when he accidentally belly flopped and his belly exploded on impact, I had to swim in to a raging river to retrieve him. I've given CPR to several hotel guests who've had heart attacks and given comfort/aid to a few people who've had seizures. I can't imagine being a bystander when someone needs help and I'm no hero, believe me.

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ehbeth wrote:

when people are in a crowd, they all think someone else will do something about the incident

That's why I think very little of the crowd mentality.

It happened to me to very quickly intervene and save seven people from an immediate danger of death when an electrical live cable fell on a scaffold.

Five of them were then taken to the hospital for the appropriate care..

I was congratulated, against my will, by the authorities...

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@NickFun,

Quote:

I found it unfortunate that NO ONE KNEW HOW TO USE IT!!! It's a good thing I've never needed one

Also good because even if someone knows what to do with it there is a high likelihood that the contraption will not work at all, or at least correctly.Big story in the news about that last week.

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Bill was according to reports out 10 seconds, this is not all the uncommon (dehydration, medication)....my guess is that no one tweeted because no one felt like embarrassing the guy.

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@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

Bill was according to reports out 10 seconds, this is not all the uncommon (dehydration, medication)....
my guess is that no one tweeted
because no one felt like embarrassing the guy.

I 'm still from the old days of 911.
How does tweeting work, as far as this is concerned ?

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

No David, the audience was not tweeting to the emergency operators about a need for an ambulance or EMTs. They were real time reporting to whomever was following them on their own personal Twitter feed that Bill Nye had collapsed in the first place.

They were doing this in lieu of calling 911 or even going up to the stage to see if the guy was still living.

About as useless as an observer of someone choking, instead of getting up and giving the Heimlich maneuver to the person choking on a piece of food, turns to his neighbor and starts to discuss how chewy today's steak dinner special was and how the restaurant could instead buy another cut of beef.

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@Ceili,

I just hope your around if I need help.

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glad I found this thread.
I actually started one about this the same day tsar did, but a couple of hours later.
This whole thing disgusts me.

I'll read over everyones comments later, and post then.

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@Ceili,

Ceili wrote:

I dunno about everybody else, but I have "jumped" in several times to provide CPR or First Aid. I was trained from when I was a wee girl during swimming lessons through the Red Cross. I also took training during high school, gym classes and on the job. I don't think I could sleep at night if I tweeted about an emergency situation, it actually makes me sick to my stomach to think people do that.
I've been bled on while wearing an expensive, chinese silk dress pulling an unconscious guy get out of a burning mini after an accident, pulled a guy who killed himself when he accidentally belly flopped and his belly exploded on impact, I had to swim in to a raging river to retrieve him. I've given CPR to several hotel guests who've had heart attacks and given comfort/aid to a few people who've had seizures. I can't imagine being a bystander when someone needs help and I'm no hero, believe me.

For those who survived, u were THEIR hero.

How do U define "hero" ?

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This might be trite to say, but anyone who would stand by and watch something like the girl in ehbeths link, the KG story, or Bill Nye should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

Somebody will do something?

Aren't we all somebody?

Damn straight I've called 911, even when the person in need didn't think it was necessary. It was.
I've never done anything as amazing as Ceili, or like Francis pulling people out of the way of danger, but there's no doubt I'd do something.

I took CPR years back, don't remember the specifics.
However, that wouldn't stop me from attempting it. Something is better than nothing.

It's not just the mob mentality, it's like some people don't get it that these are living breathing people, and not some computer generated image.

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Good grief, there's nothing amazing about it. It's a human response because I was trained. I never ran into a burning building swam in shark infested waters, I did what I was capable of. If you don't have the skills to swim, you don't do it, but most people can dial 911. Most of can preform the Heimlich maneuver if we see someone choking. Or give comfort to someone who's fallen and bumped their head or whatever...
What appalls me is the lack of reaction.
So no, I'm no hero. I'm normal... I hope. Laughing

3 Replies

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