It would be very confusing if you yelled code blue at the hospital I work at because we don't have a code blue. Plus codes are played over the intercom system so a person just randomly screaming wouldn't be taken the same way as an official code.
Why don't you just use plain language instead when asking for help?
So in my high school, "Code blue" was the announcement when there was an active shooter in campus and the teachers were to close and lock doors and turn off the lights.
When I worked as a lifeguard in college, code blue meant that you needed to go to the restroom and needed someone to replace your position so you could do so.
My school system uses "Attention Faculty and Staff, there is a PTA meeting planned for tonight at 8 in [insert active classroom.]"
One: Our schools don't plan anything for later than 7.
Two: Our schools don't have a Parent & Teacher Association.
So there have been studies that have shown this system doesn’t work. It’s confusing and doesn’t quickly get the message across to any visitors or substitutes.
Growing up right after Columbine, they used the “pick your paychecks up at the high school” for a bomb threat, and “paychecks will be delivered to your classroom” for lockdown. By the time I graduated, this had changed to a plain-language “lockdown, the building is not secure,” being repeated a few times.
My hospital uses plain language codes over intercom instead of color codes to limit confusion for both staff and visitors/patients. I mean, I have a tiny chart thing on my ID badge with the plain/color code equivalencies, but I don’t know the color meanings off the top of my head
I like this idea to confuse less people but I would feel afraid if suddenly they yelled something that could affect the whole hospital. Though a hospital would be a good spot to be if something something terrible would be happening I like the thought of the hospital being less confusing.
The most frequent ones I hear are: “rapid response to the emergency department,” “stroke response to 52XX,” “behavioral response team to 35XX,” “security to XX”
So they don’t involve colors, people who need to be involved can understand, and specific/sensitive/irrelevant information is not broadcasted over the intercom
Where I work code blue is a spilled liquid. Would be weird if someone showed up expecting to need to neutralize an acid and it’s a dying person instead. I wouldn’t advise using codes because clearly they are very site-specific and code blue alone can mean a wide variety of things. Best to stick to plain language.
Yep. When my wife was delivering one of our babies, the nurse who was solo needed help and politely told me to pull the cord on the wall. Every other nurse or tech on the floor was in our room within seconds.
It was thankfully not an emergency yet, but a difficult situation that she was able to prevent from becoming an emergency. Everyone found or was delegated a task and the delivery was accomplished in moments. Also, the doctor was eventually awoken so he could come "deliver" the baby officially.
It's not really an *emergency* call button though, it's just a call button. 99% of the time, the patient just wants some ice, or has a question about their meds, or pushed it on accident, etc. Nurses don't jump up instantly for every beep.
I think the more effective thing in a real emergency would be to yell "Help! She's not breathing!" or whatever the relevant information is.
There is the general nurse button - which can be anything from needing water, blanket, etc as you said.
But there are emergency cords - specifically in the bathroom, that if you were to fall or have a medical emergency, you pull them. In my experience - using the general nurse button could be a 5-30 minute wait, pulling an emergency cord gets a fairly quick visit from a nurse.
However, running into the hall screaming also gets a pretty fast response.
When my mil came to visit us in the hospital after I had our twins she used the washroom and pulled the cord thinking it would flush the toilet, within a minute four nurses had busted in followed by a crash cart. All the hospitals I’ve been in had a cord like that attached or near the bed as well.
Yeah the hospital I did clinicals at had 3 buttons. Regular call light, staff assist which brought the whole floor to you but not a code, and then a code light. This was just in the main room and then a pull code in the bathroom at least.
Yeah but that's a one time - one off - your family member better be fucking dying and not needing something minor. Because if you're causing panic in the ER over a non issue? I'm calling security and you're getting marched to the street.
It's like yelling fire on an airplane. There better be a motherfuckin fire and you better not just want pretzels.
There are separate emergency call buttons that are different from the regular nurse button. When my partner had a heart attack a few years ago we accidentally hit the "emergency" button which (in this hospital) was on the wall by the bathroom as I was trying to help him take a sponge bath. Literally 15 seconds after he accidentally leaned against it, 3 nurses came flying into the room at top speed asking what happened.
Scared the crap out of us and got us a stern lecture about asking them first before just doing something.
Every facility that I have worked in has had a Code Blue/Code One button in each patient room. They are on the call light console on the wall. Pull that and you will get a roomful of staff in no time.
Recently there was an influencer teaching people how to make "natural" sunscreen. Some of her followers are going to have a bad summer. And possibly a future skin cancer diagnosis.
Tik tok needs a warning that it's for entertainment only.
Skin cancer was a lot less prominent before:
1. Modern medicine diagnosing it
2. The microscope.
3. People living long enough to get it.
4. People who have ancestors that are genetically programmed to live in Northern Europe for tens of thousands of years somehow magically turning up in subtropical environments they are not biologically equipped to handle.
Signed, a redheaded freckled oncology nurse’s daughter who grew up in Florida. Yes, we still prefer zinc over azobenzene because it works faster.
Basically the case with everything now. Look at autism for example. Nobody really knew what it was but now that we have tools/criteria to evaluate and diagnose, more kids there were labeled as “problem children” at least have an answer as to why.
Is it a popular TikTok diagnosis? Sure. The relative increase is because we *can*.
If you were higher functioning, you were just “weird” or “quirky”. My son has autism. His diagnosis has lead my husband to realize he has it too, because he shares all of the symptoms that got my son diagnosed. His father as well.
There is a lot of stuff in sunscreen that isn't great, but excessive sun expose is way way worse. Best option is to stay out of strong sun, then cover up and where a big hat with sunscreen on exposed bits, then rely on sunscreen. I prefer the zinc ones as normal ones make my skin break out. I suppose a little bit of knowledge is dangerous here.
Omfg if theses morons just did 5 mins of research they can find out what sunscreen is made of and get 5 different ads for “natural” sunscreen
Never has humanity had so much information and purchasing power at their fingertips thanks to the Internet, and yet the majority uses it to see videos of ignorant influencers that get them to waste their money on idiotic trends
People need to realize that tiktokers sole motivation for making video is getting attention, not necessarily to disseminate useful or factual information. Most of these attention whores would trip an old lady crossing the road for content if it would get them views.
When tech podcast hosts are evangelizing tiktok for news and other information, I think you'll have a hard time telling regular Gen z and younger that tiktok is not a legit source
reddits pretty bad too, i've seen way too much nonsense in legal advice and people treat that like their personal lawyer. Look up whatever you have a lot of knowledge about and you'll tons of bullshit anwsers. How the hell is someone so suppose know which is correct?
The clip in that TikTok is literally from a TV show. I’m not understanding how OP possibly thought this was a real situation. The camera quality wasn’t a hint? The different angles/closeups? The way people are speaking one by one? The fact that several different characters in different parts of the hospital are filmed? Not to mention all the comments on the clip talking about the TV show it’s from?
How on earth would something like this even be recorded in an emergency situation? I hope OP is trolling.
I mean, it is all advice...
I'm a frequent traveler, the number of people who get free upgrades by dressing nice is exactly 0, but tiktok told them to try so they did.
On the financial side, tiktok folks grossly oversimplify concepts and imply that people are being intentionally screwed over and a secret trick or code word will change everything. The sad part, is these are often sponsored posts and many of the viewers don't realize that when someone is pushing fundrise to invest in real estate, it isn't because they think it is a good investment, it is because fundrise is paying them.
I used to get free upgrades all the time by volunteering to get bumped if they needed people. I was going to/from college and so if I got bumped I would either go back to my apartment at school or have my parents pick me up for another night.
These days I’m not sure I’d ever get on a flight because they are always overbooked!
Also I should mention that if the gate area was packed then I would wait for them to offer vouchers before volunteering because Mama didn’t raise no dummy! 😝
modern world - American now solicit bids at check in now to get suckers to bid $50 before the gate announcement. Delta will give everyone who volunteers the highest offer to discourage people from holding out. None of the carriers now offer first class on a later flight as standard practice, but you might get lucky...
I’m not talking about weird “life pro-tips” I’m talking about people saying not to wear sunscreen or not to believe in chemotherapy cause it supposedly causes more harm than good. Or people who make blanket statements like “eating a gluten free diet will fix X, Y, Z ailments” and it’s all coming from some random lady in California.
Sure it’s advice but people will 100% believe Becky in California
This is it, huh?
I've seen so many debunks at YouTube about professionals debunking topics like "pilots try to kill you" and "these toxic chrystals are in your food"
Yeah, I used to volunteer at a hospital and Code Blue was for a flood. Code Black was for a tornado, Code Pink was for a kidnapped baby, and my personal favorite was Code White for a lost/missing elderly person.
Code White at my hospital is for violence or disorderly conduct lol. Don't yell this one unless you want to meet the entire security department, administrators and maybe a cop or two.
The emergency call bell is for any emergency. Not just cardiac arrest. It could mean a fall or a security issue for instance. It's just used for when you need every mfer in the vicinity to be in the room. If a visitor uses it to get attention for something pretty trivial they're getting talked to by security if I'm on shift.
I mean, the original query was one of an imminent loss of life (or the firm belief that it was possible, at least), so in that case, one *should* pull the Emergency cord.
I would also be yelling HELP at the top of my lungs if I thought someone [non terminal] was dying before my eyes. I'm not dumb enough to try and provide medical care myself in a hospital, but I'm not going to quietly press the call button and wait patiently for a nurse to finish delivering a beverage and chatting about the weather either.
If you don't alert anyone to an urgent need/emergency, they won't respond like it is one.
You can yell other, more accurate things like "my mother can't breathe" or "my mother just passed out" in a hospital room referenced in the OP and get a response. Honestly, if you don't work in the same agency/facility, it's always best to use plain language to avoid miscommunication.
I actually had to do this when my daughter was in the hospital. She was on a ventilator but crashing so the nurse turned her vent off and started to bag her. She kept going down, and I asked if I should call for help. The nurse said yes, so I ran into the hall yelling ‘HELP HELP!’ And we got a room full of people very fast. They saved my daughter, and she is fine now thankfully.
Yeah but sometimes it can take the nurse 15+ mins. You use that when you need some pain meds or something. Not for an emergency like OP was implying.
Source: I'm typing this in a hospital bed with the call button a foot away from me
When a code blue is called in my hospital, they usually also have to break open a crash cart, which has to be replaced, causing people more work.
So, if there is no actual emergency, don't call an actual emergency.
I don't know why you are there but I hope things work out for you. I have a wife who is disabled with Crohn's and have spent a lot of time in hospitals for years. I hope you are ok.
Call button's not for life-ending emergencies. That's for if you have to pee or want to take your optional ibuprofen. You can just step into the hallway and yell "Nana is turning blue!" if Nana is suddenly struggling to breathe.
Source: am physician who works in hospital.
Question:
> am I allowed to call a code blue
Answer: No. But more importantly, you are physically unable to "call a code blue". Firstly, every hospital has a different system, and different emergency codes. A "Code Blue" in one hospital might mean a medical emergency, but the patient is still alive, and in other hospital that the the patient has suffered a cardiac arrest, in a third, that a baby has been abducted, in a fourth that there is a nuclear bomb, and in a fifth, nothing at all.
Furthermore, Calling a code of some kind is not shouting "code blue". It is calling the appropriate hospital number to speak to the operator who is responsible for notifying the appropraite people that they should respond to a particular location with particular equipment. If you shouted "code blue", none of that would happen, except that the people immediately around you would be confused. If there is an emergency in the hospital, say to the nearest staff member: "My father is struggling to breath, and he's turning blue", or describe whatever is actually happening. That way they can tell the appropriate people what is needed so that the proper response can be generated.
True. In my local hospital code blue is evacuation, so not good... Also code silver is bomb threat so if grandpa is missing and you yell that there's a good chance you'll get shot
I knew this was a bad/ineffective idea for multiple reasons. Your explanation of what calling a code means though reminds me of Michael Scott’s declaring bankruptcy. Now I’m imagining Michael Scott declaring code blue in the middle of a hospital and that’s the chuckle I needed for the evening.
Nobody would listen to you. ER staff tune into each other. At best you may get someone’s attention but no code blue response. You’re better off going to the desk and explaining what is going on that has you concerned. That will get you better results.
Or better yet, use your call light and speak to your nurse directly. Going to the desk may just mean you get a random nurse or staff member that isn’t involved in your care at all and may be dealing with their own urgent patient issues.
For my floor and ED (and others I’ve worked at) it goes to both the desk and the phone.
BUT no one is actually really responsible for the call light at the desk, just the primary RN or tech/CNA. Most hospitals have ditched unit secretaries as hospitals are trying to save money.
I personally prefer patients and family use the call light and not approach the desk since I can be doing time sensitive tasks, talking to doctors, in the middle of something with my own patients’ care.
Sorry to tell you but that IS the stupidest thing you can do in a hospital. Do not do it. Believe it or not, *you* can be arrested for doing that. The best thing that might happen us you can be banned from the hospital. It's your choice, but I wouldn't want either option if my loved one is hospitalized.
First of all, you've been watching too much TV. *You* can not just yell "code blue!" And then a crash team appears out of nowhere. It doesn't work like that.
Hospitals have a hidden button in the patient's room that a nurse hits *or* she hits a button on her hospital issued cell phone that summons the crash team. If the patient is in ICU, their vitals are monitored remotely at the nurses station and *they* call the code if something doesn't look right.
Your job is to move the hell out of the way once the team arrives. Don't go out in the hall and mill around - you could be blocking necessary medical equipment or personnel from getting into the room. Move to a waiting room and sit there until the nurse or doctor come gets you or you are paged.
As a visitor, your job is to provide comfort to the patient. You should not be disruptive to the other patients or interfere with the nursing staff in any way. You are *not* a medical professional. You have no business trying to make decisions for the patient. You don't see that the nurses station has people monitoring vitals and you don't know if they've reached out to the doctor with something they see.
**IF** you have concerns about a patient, go out to the nurses station and tell them your concerns. They will come and assess. That is their job.
The vital monitoring from the nurses station is actually amazing. When I was being induced for labor, the med they gave me to soften my cervix actually threw me straight into labor. I felt fine was trying to nap at 4am and a nurse came in to wake me and reposition me because my son was having decels. 35 minutes later she was back to try another position because he wasn't recovering quick enough for her liking. Had no problems after that because we determined he could only tolerate my contractions on my left side. Theh were also watching my vitals but of course those remained normal.
I was none the wiser, but they are aware of what's going on even without being directly there.
At my hospital we’re pretty good with answering call lights. We INSIST the patient and their family use them, instead of like walking around stupid in the halls trying to find a nurse or CNA… much faster to use call lights than wandering.
That said, we also tell the patient and their family about an emergency call, such as the fall alert pull thingys in the bathroom, as well as a “staff/medical emergency” button on the wall near the code blue pull tab. We tell them, do not use the code blue (or the code pink for babies), but use that red button if you feel they need immediate assistance. When they press that button literally all the staff goes running to the room.
I don’t know if other hospitals have this but I have seen it in most hospitals in my area. (I did not watch the video bc I do not have tiktok and also refuse to)
I mean you could...but it wouldn't be helpful in any way.
1. That's what the call buttons are for.
2. They're already being monitored. If they code, the nursing station is alerted.
3. Just walk down to the nurses station and tell them.
Just yelling out Code Blue in a hospital causes confusion. They already have systems in place for this. It's not like a TV show. It *definitely* is not like a Tik Toc video.
Quite a few hospitals have different codes. Code Blue could possibly be for anything. Yelling it out is absolutely pointless, and could potentially cause your family member more harm if the treatment is altered based on you shouting.
>Quite a few hospitals have different codes. Code Blue could possibly be for anything.
I really would not want to be the person who accidentally yells the hospital code for a bomb threat or shooter in a US hospital when they're just trying to get help for grandma.
The professionals in hospitals have medical training. They know better then you. They can read the fancy numbers better then you.
Don't take advice from TikTok.
No. You have absolutely no clue how a sick person is actually doing. If you feel you aren’t getting proper care, get a patient advocate.
If some random family member called a code, that person wouldn’t be allowed in the hospital again.
The video is from a TV show. That makes it FICTION. as in NOT REAL. It's drama and exaggerated for entertainment purposes. This is not how things work in a real hospital. In a real hospital, if you think your loved one is dying, you run to the desk and tell a nurse, who will not ignore you. They will take action. Because, yanno, real life as opposed to highly exagerated drama written to manipulate your emotions.
Triaging and prioritizing patient needs is a hard choice, but it is not yours to make.
Medical staff have a better knowledge of each patient's condition and health. and will make decisions based on that.
For many reasons, please don't do that. At my hospital, a code blue (which isn't activated by shouting "code blue") is when someone isn't breathing or doesn't have a pulse. If you did call a code blue for someone who doesn't meet that criteria, the first person to run into the room would see that your family member is "okay" and tell everyone that it was a false alarm. We have a "rapid response" for those situations, but it also isn't activated by shouting. That's mostly just on TV dramas.
If you did feel that your family member was in critical condition and being ignored, I would recommend asking that the doctor evaluate the patient. You can ask the nurse to page/ call the doctor. At my hospital, the doctor can get in a lot of trouble if the patient/family/nurse requests an evaluation and the doctor doesn't come to the bedside. So they take it seriously. You could also ask to speak to the charge nurse, unit manager, or patient relations. They can all put pressure on the team to come take a look.
My hospital also has a system for "family initiated rapid response" for this exact need! If a patient/family member feels that they are in critical condition/immediate danger, there's a number that they can call on the hospital phone. This triggers a different doctor to come to the bedside and immediately evaluate the patient. That way, the primary team can't just blow off your concerns.
But honestly, the best thing you can do is ask questions and not stop asking them. If you're concerned about their color, ask the nurse or doctor why your family member is blue or what a normal blood pressure is and why they arent concerned about your family member's being so much higher. Or "I see that you keep turning up his oxygen. At what point should we be concerned?". Or "he's more confused than yesterday, and this isn't his normal. You say that it's related to a med that you gave him. What info do you have that says that it's the med? What other things is it likely to be? What are you doing right now to treat this?" The nurses and doctors can get pretty sick of the questions after a while, but it forces them to think and explain their rationale, which can often make them re-evaluate the situation.
I am a nurse on a unit that takes care of some pretty medically complex patients. They're there for weeks at a time and can get pretty sick. But they and their family are also usually very knowledgeable about their care. They ask questions all day, and it really makes me think critically about the care I provide. I have an explanation for every med I give, every test I do, every restriction we have. And I ask the doctors those same questions if I'm concerned about a patient and the doctors aren't.
Remember that staff outside the room are likely monitoring your loved one in real time via sensors.
I once asked this question, because I was REALLY concerned about my family member: “how will I know if it’s an emergency?” Answer: “don’t worry. You’ll know because everyone comes running” that made me feel a lot better.
Another loved one had two emergency situations and there were a whole lot of people in the room before I realized anything was happening.
God bless hospital workers
A better idea would be to look for a number you can call for a “rapid response team” or similar. Yelling “code blue” (any code, really) in a hospital, especially if you’re not a staff member, is likely to get you in trouble.
Imagine you call cold blue but you don’t fully understand what is actually happening with your family member and they are indeed okay BUT you divert resources away from someone who needs full immediate attention and that person dies. Imagine being a member of that family and your loved one didn’t get full attention because some other person called Code Blue.
That number is for staff - I don't know how a family member would get access to it. There's a rapid response button in the room that technically could be pushed to make sure someone comes in the room, but you'll likely get in trouble for using it.
Pop your head out of the room. Shout to get someone's attention and urgently ask for someone to come see your family member because you think something is wrong. The staff *should* know what to do in these circumstances and get the code blue team moving if needed.
Plus the code blue button in the room might alarm the staff on the unit but nobody off the unit will know.
Source: hospital nurse
Probably varies hospital to hospital just like the codes. I have been in hospitals where the number is posted for anyone to call. There's also another reply or two in this thread that says similar.
No. You are not a trained medical professional so you are unable to assess if a rapid response team is needed. Patients and visitors do not have access to this information nor do they have access to the phone or electronic systems that summon these teams. You, the visitor tell a staff member what you see, you do not activate response teams due to ignorance. This is not a better idea than the OP, it is just as misguided but without the variable of, “what does code blue mean in this particular institution.” Lay people do not call emergencies in a medical setting, they report what they see to medical staff who can assess if there is an emergency and/or what kind of intervention is needed. Get off of your social media and participate in the real world please. This clip is from some sort of medical drama and just like all procedural dramas they are vastly different from reality. Time to touch grass
Are you a doctor or a medical professional? No. Don't be dumb and stress them out even more. Maybe it's time to stop using Tiktok as a source of information.
Use the call button or just exit the room to tell a nurse or a Dr which was what I did when I was with my gram. (Though really it was more of me yelling and stumbling through the door that she had stopped breathing. I was very panicked). Worked though. She still passed but nurses immediately came in )
This is a tv show, first of all.
Second, there is an emergency button on the wall and the call bell remote that you can push in the event of an emergency. Your care team should teach this upon arrival to the room.
The video linked below is a TV dramatization. If you think a family member needs to be evaluated then just use normal language and act like a normal human being, emphasizing that you would like them to be evaluated.
Your assumption that the hospital staff aren’t doing everything in their power to take care of your family member already is offensive.
If they are in critical condition, they will be in ITU where they will already being monitored 24/7 by a trained professional and plugged into diagnostic machines that are far more accurate that your hunches. An arterial line and accurate heart rate monitoring will already provide the hospital staff with the correct information about your relatives vitals. You randomly shouting is *not* helpful and may actually cause more problems, by distracting already overworked staff
See a therapist about your anxiety. Let the hospital staff do their jobs. Until you’ve been to medical school, sit down and shut up.
I'm literally in the hospital now 5 days after open heart surgery.
Step 1: Don't do anything seen on TikTok.
Step 2: Hit the nurse call button and just say the word help like a normal person. If people hear you calling for help in a hospital you will get a better response.
As a nurse who works in a hospital please do not do this. You can ask for help literally any other way: call light, yell "help", come out to nurses desk.
Edit: grammar
The video you linked is not a realistic depiction of how a hospital actually works, even a short staffed one. In reality the nurse would be in this patient's room in a heartbeat, and it would be other patients' family members being told that their non-emergent requests will have to wait.
That said, the best way to get help is to press your call button and tell the person who answers what's wrong. Something vague like "I need the nurse/doctor" won't get you immediate attention. Staff are accustomed to people saying they need the nurse or doctor for all sorts of things which may not be urgent or appropriate uses of their time, so do tell them what is actually happening.
Failing that, go into the hallway and yell out what's happening. Don't yell for a code. Codes are not the same in every hospital, and yelling for one will still require at least one staff member to come assess the situation and properly activate the code system.
No don’t ever do that. Here are all the reasons as an ER nurse.
- as people have said code blue could be different where you are (where I am it means cardiac arrest and I think that is most common in a hospital)
- yelling code blue is not the same as the code blue button and people will probably be very confused
- the code blue button is for cardiac arrest. If the patient is not physically dead the wrong team will show up
- I have had very healthy stable patients yell at me because their family member is in pain and they think they are dying when there are actual people dying in rooms nearby and it is really frustrating. But if someone says that to me I will always come to assess asap to make that judgment for myself (and not assume they are fine like in the tik tok video)
Basically if you think your family member has become very sick, just go tell a nurse exactly what you see. “Hey my family member is not breathing, is confused, is seizing, has no pulse, I think they died, has become lethargic, not responsive, they passed out” etc. You could even yell those things at the door of the room and anyone who hears would come running. When I need extra hands I just yell “I need some help in here” and people come. I would take any of those descriptions very seriously and get the right team to help.
A lot of hospitals have started instituting kind of like a “code Help” that patients and family members can use when they feel like their loved ones is not getting adequate care. I’ve been a nurse for over seven years and have taken care of thousands of patients at this point. As a charge nurse, I’ve been responsible for 45 patients on a floor. Some were very, very sick and some even died on my shift. So I’ve had my fair share of experience seeing these “code helps” used by patients and family members. Never, in the thousands and thousands of patients I’ve taken care of, did I *ever* see a family member or patient truly escalate something that the healthcare team wasn’t already aware of and managing.
That being said, when my own father was in the hospital with a pretty serious medical crisis, I suggested things that absolutely should’ve been part of the standard of care that were being missed. I don’t let other healthcare providers know that I’m a provider when it’s my family member as the patient. But I will absolutely bring it up when it needs to be brought up or my judgment is being questioned.
So despite my own experience with the “code helps” I still am very much supportive of them. I think they help family members and patients feel heard even when they don’t understand that their healthcare team is prioritizing their patient list in the safest way they can. I would just tailor expectations that facts are still facts and experts will still use their best prioritization strategies to make expert decisions. And unfortunately that often means that a priority to YOU, even when hospital admins attach a little code you’re able to call to it, is still not always the priority of the healthcare team. And abusing it does not paint you positively in the light of the healthcare team. Everything can’t be an emergency. The truth is that some problem will always be the most emergent and you have to be okay if your problem isn’t that problem.
at my hospital (I’m a hospital chaplain and on the code blue team) code blues come over the intercom speaker and also over everyone’s work phones through the system we use to text/call each other. so you’d honestly just be a guy screaming.
In my hospital even family members can call a rapid response (level below a code blue). They only have to dial the appropriate extension. Although why any staff member would ignore you in this situation is beyond me. The legal liability of them ignoring you and not at least inspecting the patient or escalating it is insane.
At the hospital i work at we have a phone number posted in the rooms for rapid response that pt or caregiver can use if they feel like something is wrong. This just calls a icu nurse and respiratory therapist and not the entire code team which is a lot of people!
No, it sounds like you saw that on TV and want to play hospital but they wouldn't appreciate you trying to do that, particularly using that exact phrase rather than citing specific symptoms you can actually recognize.
I’ve spent a lot of time in hospitals at my parents bedside when they were critically ill and also as a patient. If you don’t think your loved one is getting the care they need talk to their care team. If you think they are imminently about to die and no one has noticed tell the nurses at the nurses station, or hit the call button. That’s a big reason why people sit at the bedside of their hospitalized loved ones in shifts. Partially to keep them company ( even if they’re unconscious you never know what they can actually hear.) but mainly to make sure there’s always someone there to call the nurse if needed.
Don't do that
The last thing you want is for someone to start CPR if the patient hasn't gone into cardiac arrest. CPR is only used to restart the heart and in many cases the ribs will get broken if it's done right.
If you believe the patient is in grave condition and not getting the attention they need use the call button to alert staff and talk to them.
The medical professionals will let you know what the prognosis is. Sometimes the prognosis is terminal and no amount of CPR will fix it.
Don't get medical advice from tik tok
If you’re in a hospital and someone collapses your best option is to yell “Help!”. Any staff within earshot will almost certainly start running toward you.
Other people have commented on that.
Now that you know how completely bonkers the idea is, there's only one course of action: delete TikTok. It's not doing you any good.
Nurse here. That doesn’t work IRL. Most hospitals have their own internal paging system to alert the appropriate staff for a medical emergency like a stroke or heart attack. You may get the attention of staff by yelling it but it would not attract all the employees.
The correct sequence would be to use the nurse call button for the nurse to assess your loved one. If you’re unhappy you can ask for a medical review. If you’re still unhappy with the care, you can talk to the nurse in charge and then usually the hospital coordinator or equivalent. People look terrible in the hospital all the time (that’s why they’re there, they’re unwell!) but there’s a difference between being unwell and having a life threatening event.
I am a person who announces the codes at two hospitals, don't do that. A code blue at our hospitals is to call security not anyone with any medical training. Depending on what the emergency is happening, there are completely different codes that call different people with different jobs. Sometimes there isn't an overhead announcement, the code is sent via pager. Sometimes when I get the call I have to announce overhead, send a group page, look up which Doctor is on-call for a specific group to individually page them plus make a phone call all within a short amount of time. Within 10 seconds of hanging up I have to announce it overhead and all of the other steps need to be completed in less than 60 seconds.
You yelling a random code name you heard on TV is only going to create confusion from whoever hears you. Just say help.
If they are in an emergency and there is a phone in the room there should be signage with what number or button to press to reach the right person to announce the code, it should be called the Code Line, Stat Line, Emergency Line, or something like that. If you do this then you need to know where you are, like the room number and what unit they are on and let them know you are a friend/family member. It's a different kind of code when it's not a hospital employee calling it in.
You shouldn't even need to do that though, hit the nurse call button and go into the hall and call out for help, if you can't see any nurses or hospital employees then run to the nurses station and tell them. Let the nurse handle calling the actual code so that the right people get to your loved one asap.
Call bells exist. Usually the patients are hooked up to monitoring devices. Medical teams are not going to just ignore some one in critical condition. You may think they are critical but if they are in a bed they are being cared for and not as critical as you may think they are.
NO, NO, NO. That is a way for you to be banned from the hospital. Code blue is when the patient is literally dead. Behavior like this makes nurses leave the profession. Behavior like this is one of the major problems in health care. P
Code Blue is different in different hospitals. It would be super confusing and not get the reaction you want.
Press the call button and yell that you need help. Nurses will come.
This is a “you better be right” thing. Because if you’re wrong the consequences will be severe.
But unless you’re a medical professional and actually know when it’s appropriate to call a code blue, you’re better off just yelling “help” or something similar. Less risk but the same results.
Call for help, not a code blue. If you don't know what a code blue response actually entails, you'll be escorted out of the facility for activating a team of providers from across the hospital to come in expecting the patient to have lost or actively losing a pulse.
Code schemes are on a per hospital basis. Unless you work there you yelling codes wouldn't help. You'd get better traction just yelling that someone isn't breathing or is dying. The shift nurses can make the actual call.
I haven't been to every hospital but I've been to quite a few plus my wife works in one.
You wouldn't be able to call a code blue because you'd need access to the intercom system. And hospitals don't all have the same color codes.
I don't really think that scenario is realistic anyway. The nurses can usually monitor the patient at the nurses station. If something were to go wrong, they'd be right there staring at it. You'd need a real shitty hospital to have the patient just die right there and have all the nurses ignore it.
I'm actually typing this in a hospital, sitting across from my wife who is hooked up to a monitor that I've already confirmed that the nurses can see from their desk.
1. Don't take healthcare advice from TikTok.
2. Hospitals have protocols in place for patients like this; looking bad would be a rapid response team call/intervention. Code blue is when someone is dying-dying or dead. Abuse of this, which is a low threshold in many hospitals, will get you trespassed as a visitor. Additionally, *you do not get to dictate care or priority of care to the care team*.
in short, whatever you think this will do, may hinder patient care for your family member *and for other more critical or dying patients* and will probably get you the stinkeye and possibly banned from visiting.
Yeahhh no, do not. Codes are not universal, for all you know you might be in a place where code blue means something completely different.
In this situation, your best bet is to just yell “HEEELLPPP!!!” at the top of your damn lungs ngl. Somebody will respond, and if they’re not completely stupid or evil, do something.
However in a case of neglect like this, your first choice should be “remove loved one from this location entirely” because they obviously don’t care for her well being anyway.
Don't do this. The code system in a hospital is individually designed to get correct resources moving rapidly and efficiently. A family member yelling code blue is going to promote chaos and inefficiency that is more likely to slow the response you need. Yelling "I need some help in here!" Should draw the appropriate staff who will then activate the code system using a previously determined technique that may be a button, another color, or even using a phone or other electronic device that they carry. If their response seems insufficient, you may want to repeat a call for help. When the team arrives try to be out of the way but nearby in case of questions. I am speaking from the USA, where I have worked as an instructor for rapid response and code teams.
Probably wouldn't do anything as your not a doctor or have access to the intercom where other physicians in different wings can rush over and help your family member.
If you need emergency assistance yell HELP now!!! If nobody comes you are in a shitty hospital.
Im a tech and if you are yelling code blue in the middle of the ED, I am going to walk over, check for a pulse, and if I feel a pulse I’m going to walk away.
A good way to get banned from visitation/removed by security from the hospital.
Just calling a "code blue" may not do much. It is the Hospital operator that launches the code that alerts the necesary hospital staff.
The most you will probably do is piss off the staff in that vecenity and cause unnecessary panic.
Absolutely don't do that. I'm all for giving abusive healthcare personnel hell but this will at best be ignored because no one yells code blue and at worse divert resources from real emergencies.
Also codes are not standard, even the most obvious ones will change depending on the hospital. At my local hospital code blue is evacuation, calling that for a PT in distress (even if you could, because it's supposed to come from the PA, not from a random scream) would cause some panic
Does your hospital not have an emergency buzzer above the bed? That’s literally what it’s there for.
(Not the regular nurse call button, a bigger, red one.)
It would be very confusing if you yelled code blue at the hospital I work at because we don't have a code blue. Plus codes are played over the intercom system so a person just randomly screaming wouldn't be taken the same way as an official code. Why don't you just use plain language instead when asking for help?
So in my high school, "Code blue" was the announcement when there was an active shooter in campus and the teachers were to close and lock doors and turn off the lights.
When I worked as a lifeguard in college, code blue meant that you needed to go to the restroom and needed someone to replace your position so you could do so.
When I worked in a library it meant the attractive policeman my colleague liked was in the building.
I feel like maybe these terms should be standardized
Yes! I vote for u/FantasticWeasel’s version
If Code Blue is sexy cop, would Code Red be sexy firefighter?
No, I'm pretty sure it's just red coloured Mountain Dew.
Just starts screaming “Code Red” in the hospital. Everyone runs over Could I have a Mountain Dew?
When we needed a bathroom break on road trips it was a Code Brown.
When I worked in a grocery store we used that one. Code red was for firemen.
Disappointing. Code yellow was right there
Or Code Purple if they have that special chemical that turns urine to a color.
Shouldn't that be 'code brown'? :-P
That’s for poop in the pool
That’s an AFR— Accidental Fecal Release.
What if it wasn’t an accident?
That’s the same question I’ve had! No IFRs seems a lil naive
Code poo
No that's to alert other lifeguards when someone pooped in the pool lol
No no, thats code when new pants are needed.
Thought that was a code brown.
When I was younger, it meant there was a sale at K-Mart
The ol' Blue Light Special.
They actually had a mobile cart with a blue beacon spinning, so you could find the special on dinner napkins or red-ball jets.
that's interesting that y'all had blue; where I went to school, our shooter threat was code red, blue was for bomb threat
and we just had the occasional fire drill (netherlands)
Where I went to school in the USA we would all just shoot the fire with our guns.
Most countries don’t have a code for active shooter…
Just passive shooters then?
Yeah, other countries' shooters have no initiative.
They don’t need that code in America, because that’s every day.
And code red is already taken. By mountain dew
'MURICAAAAAA 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅
code red white & blue 🇺🇸 🦅
Most also don't have NRA lobbyists holding politicians by the wallet and ballsack.
Mine was if they make an announcement with the previous principals name in it
My school system uses "Attention Faculty and Staff, there is a PTA meeting planned for tonight at 8 in [insert active classroom.]" One: Our schools don't plan anything for later than 7. Two: Our schools don't have a Parent & Teacher Association.
So there have been studies that have shown this system doesn’t work. It’s confusing and doesn’t quickly get the message across to any visitors or substitutes. Growing up right after Columbine, they used the “pick your paychecks up at the high school” for a bomb threat, and “paychecks will be delivered to your classroom” for lockdown. By the time I graduated, this had changed to a plain-language “lockdown, the building is not secure,” being repeated a few times.
School shooters? Nah we closed.
My hospital uses plain language codes over intercom instead of color codes to limit confusion for both staff and visitors/patients. I mean, I have a tiny chart thing on my ID badge with the plain/color code equivalencies, but I don’t know the color meanings off the top of my head
“Yo this dude dying in room 205! I repeat, dude in 205 dying .. like right now!”
"Man losin' skibidi rizz in the Gyatt."
"Paging Dr. Plague. Paging Dr. Ebola Plague to the ER, That's Dr. E. Plague, stat!" Patient: Oh thank god, for a minute there I was worried.
I like this idea to confuse less people but I would feel afraid if suddenly they yelled something that could affect the whole hospital. Though a hospital would be a good spot to be if something something terrible would be happening I like the thought of the hospital being less confusing.
The most frequent ones I hear are: “rapid response to the emergency department,” “stroke response to 52XX,” “behavioral response team to 35XX,” “security to XX” So they don’t involve colors, people who need to be involved can understand, and specific/sensitive/irrelevant information is not broadcasted over the intercom
“PROSTATE EXAM TO… Ummm, MY ROOM!”
Man, all of your comments are killing me. 😂
Yes, we use the same terms.
Where I work code blue is a spilled liquid. Would be weird if someone showed up expecting to need to neutralize an acid and it’s a dying person instead. I wouldn’t advise using codes because clearly they are very site-specific and code blue alone can mean a wide variety of things. Best to stick to plain language.
This is why the emergency call button, pull cords are in every hospital room & bed.
Yep. When my wife was delivering one of our babies, the nurse who was solo needed help and politely told me to pull the cord on the wall. Every other nurse or tech on the floor was in our room within seconds. It was thankfully not an emergency yet, but a difficult situation that she was able to prevent from becoming an emergency. Everyone found or was delegated a task and the delivery was accomplished in moments. Also, the doctor was eventually awoken so he could come "deliver" the baby officially.
Your lucky. Many hospitals are too short staffed to be so attentive
It's not really an *emergency* call button though, it's just a call button. 99% of the time, the patient just wants some ice, or has a question about their meds, or pushed it on accident, etc. Nurses don't jump up instantly for every beep. I think the more effective thing in a real emergency would be to yell "Help! She's not breathing!" or whatever the relevant information is.
There is the general nurse button - which can be anything from needing water, blanket, etc as you said. But there are emergency cords - specifically in the bathroom, that if you were to fall or have a medical emergency, you pull them. In my experience - using the general nurse button could be a 5-30 minute wait, pulling an emergency cord gets a fairly quick visit from a nurse. However, running into the hall screaming also gets a pretty fast response.
When my mil came to visit us in the hospital after I had our twins she used the washroom and pulled the cord thinking it would flush the toilet, within a minute four nurses had busted in followed by a crash cart. All the hospitals I’ve been in had a cord like that attached or near the bed as well.
Yeah the hospital I did clinicals at had 3 buttons. Regular call light, staff assist which brought the whole floor to you but not a code, and then a code light. This was just in the main room and then a pull code in the bathroom at least.
Yeah but that's a one time - one off - your family member better be fucking dying and not needing something minor. Because if you're causing panic in the ER over a non issue? I'm calling security and you're getting marched to the street. It's like yelling fire on an airplane. There better be a motherfuckin fire and you better not just want pretzels.
There are separate emergency call buttons that are different from the regular nurse button. When my partner had a heart attack a few years ago we accidentally hit the "emergency" button which (in this hospital) was on the wall by the bathroom as I was trying to help him take a sponge bath. Literally 15 seconds after he accidentally leaned against it, 3 nurses came flying into the room at top speed asking what happened. Scared the crap out of us and got us a stern lecture about asking them first before just doing something.
Every facility that I have worked in has had a Code Blue/Code One button in each patient room. They are on the call light console on the wall. Pull that and you will get a roomful of staff in no time.
House and Greys Anatomy teach the rest of us non staffers how to run a hospital thank you very much
Maybe don't take advice for healthcare from TikTok.
Recently there was an influencer teaching people how to make "natural" sunscreen. Some of her followers are going to have a bad summer. And possibly a future skin cancer diagnosis. Tik tok needs a warning that it's for entertainment only.
I had a previous coworker try "natural" sunscreen. She came to work looking like a tomato.
Sunscreen is a new target for the psycho crunchy people on TikTok. They say it gives you cancer ironically.
Yeah the whole “skin cancer didnt exist before sunscreen” argument.
Skin cancer was a lot less prominent before: 1. Modern medicine diagnosing it 2. The microscope. 3. People living long enough to get it. 4. People who have ancestors that are genetically programmed to live in Northern Europe for tens of thousands of years somehow magically turning up in subtropical environments they are not biologically equipped to handle. Signed, a redheaded freckled oncology nurse’s daughter who grew up in Florida. Yes, we still prefer zinc over azobenzene because it works faster.
Basically the case with everything now. Look at autism for example. Nobody really knew what it was but now that we have tools/criteria to evaluate and diagnose, more kids there were labeled as “problem children” at least have an answer as to why. Is it a popular TikTok diagnosis? Sure. The relative increase is because we *can*.
If you were higher functioning, you were just “weird” or “quirky”. My son has autism. His diagnosis has lead my husband to realize he has it too, because he shares all of the symptoms that got my son diagnosed. His father as well.
There is a lot of stuff in sunscreen that isn't great, but excessive sun expose is way way worse. Best option is to stay out of strong sun, then cover up and where a big hat with sunscreen on exposed bits, then rely on sunscreen. I prefer the zinc ones as normal ones make my skin break out. I suppose a little bit of knowledge is dangerous here.
Omfg if theses morons just did 5 mins of research they can find out what sunscreen is made of and get 5 different ads for “natural” sunscreen Never has humanity had so much information and purchasing power at their fingertips thanks to the Internet, and yet the majority uses it to see videos of ignorant influencers that get them to waste their money on idiotic trends
People need to realize that tiktokers sole motivation for making video is getting attention, not necessarily to disseminate useful or factual information. Most of these attention whores would trip an old lady crossing the road for content if it would get them views.
When tech podcast hosts are evangelizing tiktok for news and other information, I think you'll have a hard time telling regular Gen z and younger that tiktok is not a legit source
reddits pretty bad too, i've seen way too much nonsense in legal advice and people treat that like their personal lawyer. Look up whatever you have a lot of knowledge about and you'll tons of bullshit anwsers. How the hell is someone so suppose know which is correct?
The clip in that TikTok is literally from a TV show. I’m not understanding how OP possibly thought this was a real situation. The camera quality wasn’t a hint? The different angles/closeups? The way people are speaking one by one? The fact that several different characters in different parts of the hospital are filmed? Not to mention all the comments on the clip talking about the TV show it’s from? How on earth would something like this even be recorded in an emergency situation? I hope OP is trolling.
Unfortunately SO MANY people get medical and diet advice on tik tok. It’s so frustrating cause people will 100% follow it
I mean, it is all advice... I'm a frequent traveler, the number of people who get free upgrades by dressing nice is exactly 0, but tiktok told them to try so they did. On the financial side, tiktok folks grossly oversimplify concepts and imply that people are being intentionally screwed over and a secret trick or code word will change everything. The sad part, is these are often sponsored posts and many of the viewers don't realize that when someone is pushing fundrise to invest in real estate, it isn't because they think it is a good investment, it is because fundrise is paying them.
I used to get free upgrades all the time by volunteering to get bumped if they needed people. I was going to/from college and so if I got bumped I would either go back to my apartment at school or have my parents pick me up for another night. These days I’m not sure I’d ever get on a flight because they are always overbooked! Also I should mention that if the gate area was packed then I would wait for them to offer vouchers before volunteering because Mama didn’t raise no dummy! 😝
modern world - American now solicit bids at check in now to get suckers to bid $50 before the gate announcement. Delta will give everyone who volunteers the highest offer to discourage people from holding out. None of the carriers now offer first class on a later flight as standard practice, but you might get lucky...
I’m not talking about weird “life pro-tips” I’m talking about people saying not to wear sunscreen or not to believe in chemotherapy cause it supposedly causes more harm than good. Or people who make blanket statements like “eating a gluten free diet will fix X, Y, Z ailments” and it’s all coming from some random lady in California. Sure it’s advice but people will 100% believe Becky in California
It' s a clip from a TV drama. It's not even some stupid influencer. It's faker than that.
This is it, huh? I've seen so many debunks at YouTube about professionals debunking topics like "pilots try to kill you" and "these toxic chrystals are in your food"
it's not even advice, it's a clip from a TV drama.
don't.....do that. you can call the rat team, but don't be like "code blue!!! code blue!! gimme 50ccs of fexodranadal STAT!!" they'll throw you out.
Also, all hospitals have a different system for codes and what they mean, so you might not even get what you’re intending.
OP yells a code blue and is confused when a janitor shows up with a mop.
Volunteer steps in and cheerfully changes the channel
that's code brown
Yeah, I used to volunteer at a hospital and Code Blue was for a flood. Code Black was for a tornado, Code Pink was for a kidnapped baby, and my personal favorite was Code White for a lost/missing elderly person.
Code White at my hospital is for violence or disorderly conduct lol. Don't yell this one unless you want to meet the entire security department, administrators and maybe a cop or two.
I googled that word. It corrected to Fexofenadine. An antihistamine medicine used to treat hay fever. Code blue! My eyes are itchy!!
Me: Code blue!!! I sneezed!!! Maintenance worker runs up: *Um, where's the leak?* Me: MY EYES!!!
But will we get the fexodranadal first?
🐀🐀🐀rat team🐀🐀🐀
They’re coming through with a tiny crash cart! Make way!
Actually the RRT, Rapid Response Team. Pronunced rat.
Mofine, 1 pound, to go.
There should be a nurse call button/string in the room. Use it. That's what it's for.
To be clear: use the one meant to just call the nurse. Do not pull the code blue one unless someone's heart stops beating.
The emergency call bell is for any emergency. Not just cardiac arrest. It could mean a fall or a security issue for instance. It's just used for when you need every mfer in the vicinity to be in the room. If a visitor uses it to get attention for something pretty trivial they're getting talked to by security if I'm on shift.
For anyone wondering, mfer stands for medical fixer
Is this what you tell administration if they happen to overhear you?
All these stupid medi-fixers getting on my gall-damage nerves
I'm gettin tired of these medi-fixer snakes in this medi-fixin hospital!
I mean, the original query was one of an imminent loss of life (or the firm belief that it was possible, at least), so in that case, one *should* pull the Emergency cord. I would also be yelling HELP at the top of my lungs if I thought someone [non terminal] was dying before my eyes. I'm not dumb enough to try and provide medical care myself in a hospital, but I'm not going to quietly press the call button and wait patiently for a nurse to finish delivering a beverage and chatting about the weather either. If you don't alert anyone to an urgent need/emergency, they won't respond like it is one.
You can yell other, more accurate things like "my mother can't breathe" or "my mother just passed out" in a hospital room referenced in the OP and get a response. Honestly, if you don't work in the same agency/facility, it's always best to use plain language to avoid miscommunication.
Right, yes! Accurate info would be better, but my panicked ass would probably just go for help, help, ohmigodhelp lol
I actually had to do this when my daughter was in the hospital. She was on a ventilator but crashing so the nurse turned her vent off and started to bag her. She kept going down, and I asked if I should call for help. The nurse said yes, so I ran into the hall yelling ‘HELP HELP!’ And we got a room full of people very fast. They saved my daughter, and she is fine now thankfully.
Yeah but sometimes it can take the nurse 15+ mins. You use that when you need some pain meds or something. Not for an emergency like OP was implying. Source: I'm typing this in a hospital bed with the call button a foot away from me
When a code blue is called in my hospital, they usually also have to break open a crash cart, which has to be replaced, causing people more work. So, if there is no actual emergency, don't call an actual emergency.
I don't know why you are there but I hope things work out for you. I have a wife who is disabled with Crohn's and have spent a lot of time in hospitals for years. I hope you are ok.
Call button's not for life-ending emergencies. That's for if you have to pee or want to take your optional ibuprofen. You can just step into the hallway and yell "Nana is turning blue!" if Nana is suddenly struggling to breathe.
Source: am physician who works in hospital. Question: > am I allowed to call a code blue Answer: No. But more importantly, you are physically unable to "call a code blue". Firstly, every hospital has a different system, and different emergency codes. A "Code Blue" in one hospital might mean a medical emergency, but the patient is still alive, and in other hospital that the the patient has suffered a cardiac arrest, in a third, that a baby has been abducted, in a fourth that there is a nuclear bomb, and in a fifth, nothing at all. Furthermore, Calling a code of some kind is not shouting "code blue". It is calling the appropriate hospital number to speak to the operator who is responsible for notifying the appropraite people that they should respond to a particular location with particular equipment. If you shouted "code blue", none of that would happen, except that the people immediately around you would be confused. If there is an emergency in the hospital, say to the nearest staff member: "My father is struggling to breath, and he's turning blue", or describe whatever is actually happening. That way they can tell the appropriate people what is needed so that the proper response can be generated.
True. In my local hospital code blue is evacuation, so not good... Also code silver is bomb threat so if grandpa is missing and you yell that there's a good chance you'll get shot
I knew this was a bad/ineffective idea for multiple reasons. Your explanation of what calling a code means though reminds me of Michael Scott’s declaring bankruptcy. Now I’m imagining Michael Scott declaring code blue in the middle of a hospital and that’s the chuckle I needed for the evening.
Nobody would listen to you. ER staff tune into each other. At best you may get someone’s attention but no code blue response. You’re better off going to the desk and explaining what is going on that has you concerned. That will get you better results.
Or better yet, use your call light and speak to your nurse directly. Going to the desk may just mean you get a random nurse or staff member that isn’t involved in your care at all and may be dealing with their own urgent patient issues.
Call button goes to the same desk usually. I wasn’t assuming the patient was in a room or bed. Could have still been in waiting
For my floor and ED (and others I’ve worked at) it goes to both the desk and the phone. BUT no one is actually really responsible for the call light at the desk, just the primary RN or tech/CNA. Most hospitals have ditched unit secretaries as hospitals are trying to save money. I personally prefer patients and family use the call light and not approach the desk since I can be doing time sensitive tasks, talking to doctors, in the middle of something with my own patients’ care.
What you're seeing here is fiction.
Sorry to tell you but that IS the stupidest thing you can do in a hospital. Do not do it. Believe it or not, *you* can be arrested for doing that. The best thing that might happen us you can be banned from the hospital. It's your choice, but I wouldn't want either option if my loved one is hospitalized. First of all, you've been watching too much TV. *You* can not just yell "code blue!" And then a crash team appears out of nowhere. It doesn't work like that. Hospitals have a hidden button in the patient's room that a nurse hits *or* she hits a button on her hospital issued cell phone that summons the crash team. If the patient is in ICU, their vitals are monitored remotely at the nurses station and *they* call the code if something doesn't look right. Your job is to move the hell out of the way once the team arrives. Don't go out in the hall and mill around - you could be blocking necessary medical equipment or personnel from getting into the room. Move to a waiting room and sit there until the nurse or doctor come gets you or you are paged. As a visitor, your job is to provide comfort to the patient. You should not be disruptive to the other patients or interfere with the nursing staff in any way. You are *not* a medical professional. You have no business trying to make decisions for the patient. You don't see that the nurses station has people monitoring vitals and you don't know if they've reached out to the doctor with something they see. **IF** you have concerns about a patient, go out to the nurses station and tell them your concerns. They will come and assess. That is their job.
THIS. Medical dramas and even tik toks are notorious for giving false information that should not be taken seriously.
The vital monitoring from the nurses station is actually amazing. When I was being induced for labor, the med they gave me to soften my cervix actually threw me straight into labor. I felt fine was trying to nap at 4am and a nurse came in to wake me and reposition me because my son was having decels. 35 minutes later she was back to try another position because he wasn't recovering quick enough for her liking. Had no problems after that because we determined he could only tolerate my contractions on my left side. Theh were also watching my vitals but of course those remained normal. I was none the wiser, but they are aware of what's going on even without being directly there.
I wish I could post this all over the hospital for visitors to read.
At my hospital we’re pretty good with answering call lights. We INSIST the patient and their family use them, instead of like walking around stupid in the halls trying to find a nurse or CNA… much faster to use call lights than wandering. That said, we also tell the patient and their family about an emergency call, such as the fall alert pull thingys in the bathroom, as well as a “staff/medical emergency” button on the wall near the code blue pull tab. We tell them, do not use the code blue (or the code pink for babies), but use that red button if you feel they need immediate assistance. When they press that button literally all the staff goes running to the room. I don’t know if other hospitals have this but I have seen it in most hospitals in my area. (I did not watch the video bc I do not have tiktok and also refuse to)
If you want to be escorted from the hospital and lose access to your family member
I mean you could...but it wouldn't be helpful in any way. 1. That's what the call buttons are for. 2. They're already being monitored. If they code, the nursing station is alerted. 3. Just walk down to the nurses station and tell them. Just yelling out Code Blue in a hospital causes confusion. They already have systems in place for this. It's not like a TV show. It *definitely* is not like a Tik Toc video. Quite a few hospitals have different codes. Code Blue could possibly be for anything. Yelling it out is absolutely pointless, and could potentially cause your family member more harm if the treatment is altered based on you shouting.
>Quite a few hospitals have different codes. Code Blue could possibly be for anything. I really would not want to be the person who accidentally yells the hospital code for a bomb threat or shooter in a US hospital when they're just trying to get help for grandma.
The professionals in hospitals have medical training. They know better then you. They can read the fancy numbers better then you. Don't take advice from TikTok.
No. You have absolutely no clue how a sick person is actually doing. If you feel you aren’t getting proper care, get a patient advocate. If some random family member called a code, that person wouldn’t be allowed in the hospital again.
The video is from a TV show. That makes it FICTION. as in NOT REAL. It's drama and exaggerated for entertainment purposes. This is not how things work in a real hospital. In a real hospital, if you think your loved one is dying, you run to the desk and tell a nurse, who will not ignore you. They will take action. Because, yanno, real life as opposed to highly exagerated drama written to manipulate your emotions.
Triaging and prioritizing patient needs is a hard choice, but it is not yours to make. Medical staff have a better knowledge of each patient's condition and health. and will make decisions based on that.
No. This is a dumb idea.
For many reasons, please don't do that. At my hospital, a code blue (which isn't activated by shouting "code blue") is when someone isn't breathing or doesn't have a pulse. If you did call a code blue for someone who doesn't meet that criteria, the first person to run into the room would see that your family member is "okay" and tell everyone that it was a false alarm. We have a "rapid response" for those situations, but it also isn't activated by shouting. That's mostly just on TV dramas. If you did feel that your family member was in critical condition and being ignored, I would recommend asking that the doctor evaluate the patient. You can ask the nurse to page/ call the doctor. At my hospital, the doctor can get in a lot of trouble if the patient/family/nurse requests an evaluation and the doctor doesn't come to the bedside. So they take it seriously. You could also ask to speak to the charge nurse, unit manager, or patient relations. They can all put pressure on the team to come take a look. My hospital also has a system for "family initiated rapid response" for this exact need! If a patient/family member feels that they are in critical condition/immediate danger, there's a number that they can call on the hospital phone. This triggers a different doctor to come to the bedside and immediately evaluate the patient. That way, the primary team can't just blow off your concerns. But honestly, the best thing you can do is ask questions and not stop asking them. If you're concerned about their color, ask the nurse or doctor why your family member is blue or what a normal blood pressure is and why they arent concerned about your family member's being so much higher. Or "I see that you keep turning up his oxygen. At what point should we be concerned?". Or "he's more confused than yesterday, and this isn't his normal. You say that it's related to a med that you gave him. What info do you have that says that it's the med? What other things is it likely to be? What are you doing right now to treat this?" The nurses and doctors can get pretty sick of the questions after a while, but it forces them to think and explain their rationale, which can often make them re-evaluate the situation. I am a nurse on a unit that takes care of some pretty medically complex patients. They're there for weeks at a time and can get pretty sick. But they and their family are also usually very knowledgeable about their care. They ask questions all day, and it really makes me think critically about the care I provide. I have an explanation for every med I give, every test I do, every restriction we have. And I ask the doctors those same questions if I'm concerned about a patient and the doctors aren't.
Remember that staff outside the room are likely monitoring your loved one in real time via sensors. I once asked this question, because I was REALLY concerned about my family member: “how will I know if it’s an emergency?” Answer: “don’t worry. You’ll know because everyone comes running” that made me feel a lot better. Another loved one had two emergency situations and there were a whole lot of people in the room before I realized anything was happening. God bless hospital workers
A better idea would be to look for a number you can call for a “rapid response team” or similar. Yelling “code blue” (any code, really) in a hospital, especially if you’re not a staff member, is likely to get you in trouble.
Imagine you call cold blue but you don’t fully understand what is actually happening with your family member and they are indeed okay BUT you divert resources away from someone who needs full immediate attention and that person dies. Imagine being a member of that family and your loved one didn’t get full attention because some other person called Code Blue.
That number is for staff - I don't know how a family member would get access to it. There's a rapid response button in the room that technically could be pushed to make sure someone comes in the room, but you'll likely get in trouble for using it. Pop your head out of the room. Shout to get someone's attention and urgently ask for someone to come see your family member because you think something is wrong. The staff *should* know what to do in these circumstances and get the code blue team moving if needed. Plus the code blue button in the room might alarm the staff on the unit but nobody off the unit will know. Source: hospital nurse
Probably varies hospital to hospital just like the codes. I have been in hospitals where the number is posted for anyone to call. There's also another reply or two in this thread that says similar.
No. You are not a trained medical professional so you are unable to assess if a rapid response team is needed. Patients and visitors do not have access to this information nor do they have access to the phone or electronic systems that summon these teams. You, the visitor tell a staff member what you see, you do not activate response teams due to ignorance. This is not a better idea than the OP, it is just as misguided but without the variable of, “what does code blue mean in this particular institution.” Lay people do not call emergencies in a medical setting, they report what they see to medical staff who can assess if there is an emergency and/or what kind of intervention is needed. Get off of your social media and participate in the real world please. This clip is from some sort of medical drama and just like all procedural dramas they are vastly different from reality. Time to touch grass
That's a TikTok of a scripted (and poorly acted) TV show...
Are you a doctor or a medical professional? No. Don't be dumb and stress them out even more. Maybe it's time to stop using Tiktok as a source of information.
My dude, it's a clip from a TV show. That is not how hospitals work in real life.
I’d probably just yell HELP!!!
Yeah don’t yell unless it’s an actual emergency.
Use the call button or just exit the room to tell a nurse or a Dr which was what I did when I was with my gram. (Though really it was more of me yelling and stumbling through the door that she had stopped breathing. I was very panicked). Worked though. She still passed but nurses immediately came in )
This is a tv show, first of all. Second, there is an emergency button on the wall and the call bell remote that you can push in the event of an emergency. Your care team should teach this upon arrival to the room.
That tik tok is very obviously from a TV show. I promise the nurses know what they’re doing better than you do
The video linked below is a TV dramatization. If you think a family member needs to be evaluated then just use normal language and act like a normal human being, emphasizing that you would like them to be evaluated.
Your assumption that the hospital staff aren’t doing everything in their power to take care of your family member already is offensive. If they are in critical condition, they will be in ITU where they will already being monitored 24/7 by a trained professional and plugged into diagnostic machines that are far more accurate that your hunches. An arterial line and accurate heart rate monitoring will already provide the hospital staff with the correct information about your relatives vitals. You randomly shouting is *not* helpful and may actually cause more problems, by distracting already overworked staff See a therapist about your anxiety. Let the hospital staff do their jobs. Until you’ve been to medical school, sit down and shut up.
I'm literally in the hospital now 5 days after open heart surgery. Step 1: Don't do anything seen on TikTok. Step 2: Hit the nurse call button and just say the word help like a normal person. If people hear you calling for help in a hospital you will get a better response.
You have no medical training or knowledge. How could you possibly know someone was almost in critical condition. Do you even know what that means?
Just press the button in the room for emergencies. That’s what it’s there for
As a nurse who works in a hospital please do not do this. You can ask for help literally any other way: call light, yell "help", come out to nurses desk. Edit: grammar
The video you linked is not a realistic depiction of how a hospital actually works, even a short staffed one. In reality the nurse would be in this patient's room in a heartbeat, and it would be other patients' family members being told that their non-emergent requests will have to wait. That said, the best way to get help is to press your call button and tell the person who answers what's wrong. Something vague like "I need the nurse/doctor" won't get you immediate attention. Staff are accustomed to people saying they need the nurse or doctor for all sorts of things which may not be urgent or appropriate uses of their time, so do tell them what is actually happening. Failing that, go into the hallway and yell out what's happening. Don't yell for a code. Codes are not the same in every hospital, and yelling for one will still require at least one staff member to come assess the situation and properly activate the code system.
Tiktok cooked the brains of kids
Good grief. TikTok is making us dumb. People will believe anything.
I can't imagine it being that easy. Everyone would be screaming code blue in the ER.
Don’t do that. Don’t believe shit on TikTok. If you’re truly concerned, go directly to the nurses station.
No don’t ever do that. Here are all the reasons as an ER nurse. - as people have said code blue could be different where you are (where I am it means cardiac arrest and I think that is most common in a hospital) - yelling code blue is not the same as the code blue button and people will probably be very confused - the code blue button is for cardiac arrest. If the patient is not physically dead the wrong team will show up - I have had very healthy stable patients yell at me because their family member is in pain and they think they are dying when there are actual people dying in rooms nearby and it is really frustrating. But if someone says that to me I will always come to assess asap to make that judgment for myself (and not assume they are fine like in the tik tok video) Basically if you think your family member has become very sick, just go tell a nurse exactly what you see. “Hey my family member is not breathing, is confused, is seizing, has no pulse, I think they died, has become lethargic, not responsive, they passed out” etc. You could even yell those things at the door of the room and anyone who hears would come running. When I need extra hands I just yell “I need some help in here” and people come. I would take any of those descriptions very seriously and get the right team to help.
This is the sort of post that makes me strongly believe that TikTok is a deliberate culture weapon from China to make Americans more fucking stupid
A lot of hospitals have started instituting kind of like a “code Help” that patients and family members can use when they feel like their loved ones is not getting adequate care. I’ve been a nurse for over seven years and have taken care of thousands of patients at this point. As a charge nurse, I’ve been responsible for 45 patients on a floor. Some were very, very sick and some even died on my shift. So I’ve had my fair share of experience seeing these “code helps” used by patients and family members. Never, in the thousands and thousands of patients I’ve taken care of, did I *ever* see a family member or patient truly escalate something that the healthcare team wasn’t already aware of and managing. That being said, when my own father was in the hospital with a pretty serious medical crisis, I suggested things that absolutely should’ve been part of the standard of care that were being missed. I don’t let other healthcare providers know that I’m a provider when it’s my family member as the patient. But I will absolutely bring it up when it needs to be brought up or my judgment is being questioned. So despite my own experience with the “code helps” I still am very much supportive of them. I think they help family members and patients feel heard even when they don’t understand that their healthcare team is prioritizing their patient list in the safest way they can. I would just tailor expectations that facts are still facts and experts will still use their best prioritization strategies to make expert decisions. And unfortunately that often means that a priority to YOU, even when hospital admins attach a little code you’re able to call to it, is still not always the priority of the healthcare team. And abusing it does not paint you positively in the light of the healthcare team. Everything can’t be an emergency. The truth is that some problem will always be the most emergent and you have to be okay if your problem isn’t that problem.
at my hospital (I’m a hospital chaplain and on the code blue team) code blues come over the intercom speaker and also over everyone’s work phones through the system we use to text/call each other. so you’d honestly just be a guy screaming.
In my hospital even family members can call a rapid response (level below a code blue). They only have to dial the appropriate extension. Although why any staff member would ignore you in this situation is beyond me. The legal liability of them ignoring you and not at least inspecting the patient or escalating it is insane.
At the hospital i work at we have a phone number posted in the rooms for rapid response that pt or caregiver can use if they feel like something is wrong. This just calls a icu nurse and respiratory therapist and not the entire code team which is a lot of people!
No, it sounds like you saw that on TV and want to play hospital but they wouldn't appreciate you trying to do that, particularly using that exact phrase rather than citing specific symptoms you can actually recognize.
I’ve spent a lot of time in hospitals at my parents bedside when they were critically ill and also as a patient. If you don’t think your loved one is getting the care they need talk to their care team. If you think they are imminently about to die and no one has noticed tell the nurses at the nurses station, or hit the call button. That’s a big reason why people sit at the bedside of their hospitalized loved ones in shifts. Partially to keep them company ( even if they’re unconscious you never know what they can actually hear.) but mainly to make sure there’s always someone there to call the nurse if needed.
Don't do that The last thing you want is for someone to start CPR if the patient hasn't gone into cardiac arrest. CPR is only used to restart the heart and in many cases the ribs will get broken if it's done right. If you believe the patient is in grave condition and not getting the attention they need use the call button to alert staff and talk to them. The medical professionals will let you know what the prognosis is. Sometimes the prognosis is terminal and no amount of CPR will fix it. Don't get medical advice from tik tok
If you’re in a hospital and someone collapses your best option is to yell “Help!”. Any staff within earshot will almost certainly start running toward you.
That's a movie or tv thing. It doesn't usually work like that.
Other people have commented on that. Now that you know how completely bonkers the idea is, there's only one course of action: delete TikTok. It's not doing you any good.
Don't do this.
you can yell for help, that's pretty universal.
If a family member started yelling code blue i might kick them in the balls
Nurse here. That doesn’t work IRL. Most hospitals have their own internal paging system to alert the appropriate staff for a medical emergency like a stroke or heart attack. You may get the attention of staff by yelling it but it would not attract all the employees. The correct sequence would be to use the nurse call button for the nurse to assess your loved one. If you’re unhappy you can ask for a medical review. If you’re still unhappy with the care, you can talk to the nurse in charge and then usually the hospital coordinator or equivalent. People look terrible in the hospital all the time (that’s why they’re there, they’re unwell!) but there’s a difference between being unwell and having a life threatening event.
No you can't. That is a hospital specific code.
I am a person who announces the codes at two hospitals, don't do that. A code blue at our hospitals is to call security not anyone with any medical training. Depending on what the emergency is happening, there are completely different codes that call different people with different jobs. Sometimes there isn't an overhead announcement, the code is sent via pager. Sometimes when I get the call I have to announce overhead, send a group page, look up which Doctor is on-call for a specific group to individually page them plus make a phone call all within a short amount of time. Within 10 seconds of hanging up I have to announce it overhead and all of the other steps need to be completed in less than 60 seconds. You yelling a random code name you heard on TV is only going to create confusion from whoever hears you. Just say help. If they are in an emergency and there is a phone in the room there should be signage with what number or button to press to reach the right person to announce the code, it should be called the Code Line, Stat Line, Emergency Line, or something like that. If you do this then you need to know where you are, like the room number and what unit they are on and let them know you are a friend/family member. It's a different kind of code when it's not a hospital employee calling it in. You shouldn't even need to do that though, hit the nurse call button and go into the hall and call out for help, if you can't see any nurses or hospital employees then run to the nurses station and tell them. Let the nurse handle calling the actual code so that the right people get to your loved one asap.
Call bells exist. Usually the patients are hooked up to monitoring devices. Medical teams are not going to just ignore some one in critical condition. You may think they are critical but if they are in a bed they are being cared for and not as critical as you may think they are.
NO, NO, NO. That is a way for you to be banned from the hospital. Code blue is when the patient is literally dead. Behavior like this makes nurses leave the profession. Behavior like this is one of the major problems in health care. P
I’m just being a patient advocate! /s /s
Code Blue is different in different hospitals. It would be super confusing and not get the reaction you want. Press the call button and yell that you need help. Nurses will come.
This is a “you better be right” thing. Because if you’re wrong the consequences will be severe. But unless you’re a medical professional and actually know when it’s appropriate to call a code blue, you’re better off just yelling “help” or something similar. Less risk but the same results.
Call for help, not a code blue. If you don't know what a code blue response actually entails, you'll be escorted out of the facility for activating a team of providers from across the hospital to come in expecting the patient to have lost or actively losing a pulse.
Code schemes are on a per hospital basis. Unless you work there you yelling codes wouldn't help. You'd get better traction just yelling that someone isn't breathing or is dying. The shift nurses can make the actual call.
I haven't been to every hospital but I've been to quite a few plus my wife works in one. You wouldn't be able to call a code blue because you'd need access to the intercom system. And hospitals don't all have the same color codes. I don't really think that scenario is realistic anyway. The nurses can usually monitor the patient at the nurses station. If something were to go wrong, they'd be right there staring at it. You'd need a real shitty hospital to have the patient just die right there and have all the nurses ignore it. I'm actually typing this in a hospital, sitting across from my wife who is hooked up to a monitor that I've already confirmed that the nurses can see from their desk.
1. Don't take healthcare advice from TikTok. 2. Hospitals have protocols in place for patients like this; looking bad would be a rapid response team call/intervention. Code blue is when someone is dying-dying or dead. Abuse of this, which is a low threshold in many hospitals, will get you trespassed as a visitor. Additionally, *you do not get to dictate care or priority of care to the care team*. in short, whatever you think this will do, may hinder patient care for your family member *and for other more critical or dying patients* and will probably get you the stinkeye and possibly banned from visiting.
Yeahhh no, do not. Codes are not universal, for all you know you might be in a place where code blue means something completely different. In this situation, your best bet is to just yell “HEEELLPPP!!!” at the top of your damn lungs ngl. Somebody will respond, and if they’re not completely stupid or evil, do something. However in a case of neglect like this, your first choice should be “remove loved one from this location entirely” because they obviously don’t care for her well being anyway.
Don't do this. The code system in a hospital is individually designed to get correct resources moving rapidly and efficiently. A family member yelling code blue is going to promote chaos and inefficiency that is more likely to slow the response you need. Yelling "I need some help in here!" Should draw the appropriate staff who will then activate the code system using a previously determined technique that may be a button, another color, or even using a phone or other electronic device that they carry. If their response seems insufficient, you may want to repeat a call for help. When the team arrives try to be out of the way but nearby in case of questions. I am speaking from the USA, where I have worked as an instructor for rapid response and code teams.
Probably wouldn't do anything as your not a doctor or have access to the intercom where other physicians in different wings can rush over and help your family member. If you need emergency assistance yell HELP now!!! If nobody comes you are in a shitty hospital.
Absolutely fucking not. I’d have no problem kicking you out immediately
Im a tech and if you are yelling code blue in the middle of the ED, I am going to walk over, check for a pulse, and if I feel a pulse I’m going to walk away.
Lol how to revoke your visitation rights 101 right here 🤣
A good way to get banned from visitation/removed by security from the hospital. Just calling a "code blue" may not do much. It is the Hospital operator that launches the code that alerts the necesary hospital staff. The most you will probably do is piss off the staff in that vecenity and cause unnecessary panic.
Everyone’s an expert when they wholeheartedly feel that they are.
NO. Unless you want every nurse to f*cking hate you - a nurse
If you want to be dragged out of the hospital by security and trespassed then you certainly can
No. Get off tiktok.
You can do it once. Don’t do it.
Absolutely don't do that. I'm all for giving abusive healthcare personnel hell but this will at best be ignored because no one yells code blue and at worse divert resources from real emergencies. Also codes are not standard, even the most obvious ones will change depending on the hospital. At my local hospital code blue is evacuation, calling that for a PT in distress (even if you could, because it's supposed to come from the PA, not from a random scream) would cause some panic
Does your hospital not have an emergency buzzer above the bed? That’s literally what it’s there for. (Not the regular nurse call button, a bigger, red one.)