of nursing and work at a hospital). CNA's responding to codes? Ah. No. Maybe if they are in the room when it happens. Doctors are rarely around on the floor when codes happen. Nurses are almost always the first responders. Yes. I have responded to a code and I have performed chest compressions / CPR. This is the stuff that nobobdy realizes, respects about nurses, and knows what we do on a day to day basis. Nurses are the core of the unit on the floor. They do all the patient care for the client if there is no tech available, meaning every nasty thing. A doctor may visit a patient once a day, usually at most for 5 minutes or less. It's the nurses that do the heavy work. When you become a nurse and work in a trauma unit get back to me.