August 5, 2019
Working in the ER has been compared to walking through a minefield in clown shoes. Stepping on a mine is inevitable; you rely on sound decision-making and a good patient/doctor relationship to minimize the ‘blast’. We are hit with a lot of interruptions on each
May 17, 2019
Here’s an excerpt from How to Not Kill Your Patients, a collection of interesting stories, cases, and advice for those who work in the ER: A 70 year-old woman presents to the ER with mid-sternal chest pain, shortness of breath, and diaphoresis. She’s clutching her
November 5, 2018
Studies have shown that the average ER physician is interrupted once every six minutes. In a 12-hour shift, that comes out to over 100 times! Learning to work under such circumstances is just an expected part of the job. One of the most frequent interrupters
January 12, 2018
A 34 year old guy drove himself to the hospital because he was playing the new Zelda game on the Nintendo Switch and started having some chest pain. He mentioned it to his wife, who forced him to come to the hospital. He had no
August 8, 2017
I’ll present this case in the actual sequence of events as they happened: A patient in her mid-50s presented to the ED with chest pain. She saw her PCP and had an ECG done, after which he suggested that she go to an ED for
March 30, 2017
A 35 year old man is fighting a ninja when he gets open-fist slammed in the chest. His vital signs and physical exam are both unremarkable. What do you do? A. Order an EKG B. Check cardiac enzymes C. Observe for 4-6 hours D. All of the
