Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

I’m an emergency doctor and I’ve become human

Jeffrey McWilliams, MD
Physician
March 9, 2016
Share
Tweet
Share

We walk down the halls, time and time again, each encounter a new discovery, mystery, or typical presentation.  As ED providers, we see new faces, entwined with “frequent flyers” that have become in a weird way part of the family.  Our job is often loosely entangled with our identity and existence.  It becomes hard to have dinner conversations without discussing therapies, changes in health care, Obamacare, or “unusual cases.”  We feel their heartache and rejoice in their victory.  We are frustrated by lack of responsibility and ownership in personal health but invigorated when a patient is triumphant.

Emergency medicine is a unique specialty in that we see it all.  Each ED room a new encounter, a new adventure.  A typical night may include anything from the common cold to calling child-protected services for suspected abuse.  We treat broken bones and STDs like a work of art.  Our specialty is an unusual one in that we are asked to walk from a room full of hurt and pain where a loved one has met an untimely death and enter a room where an acute case of gastroenteritis is in full force.  We must keep our game face on, as each new patient deserves our best and should be oblivious to what is happening down the hall.  How do we do this?  Why do we do this?  How is this sustained?

A mentor and good friend once told me “Jeff, everyone has a need.  It may not necessarily coincide with the chief complaint.  Our job is to find out what this need is.” I’ve learned through the years, that people are complex, and life can be hard.  Models and schematics are a rough outline, and life can be messy.  It was the realization that has made me a better emergency provider, human, and hopefully friend.  I see patients for what they are: people.  Chest pain has evolved to now include anxiety and apprehension.  A psychotic outburst now includes a lost person looking for a reason.

Why do I do what I do?  Why will I do it until my last breath?  It’s because, in the midst of the chaos, I’ve learned to care.  I feel their pain and rejoice in their victories.  I take home part of their loss and am encouraged by their triumphs.  I see my grandmother in the eyes of the ailing old and feel the parent’s pain when a child is ill.  I’m an emergency doc and somewhere in the midst of the storm I’ve become human.  It’s OK to care; it’s OK to give your patient a hug when need most.  Sometimes we are their only advocate.

I look down the long hallway, lined with examination rooms and trauma bays.  What use to be chief complaints and “interesting cases” has evolved.  I now see people for who they are: people.  I guess the deeper question is who has evolved? This is why I’m an emergency doctor.  This is why I do what I do.

Jeffrey McWilliams is an emergency physician who blogs at Advocates Of Excellence.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

How palm reading helps this physician today

March 9, 2016 Kevin 3
…
Next

Should the USPSTF include specialists?

March 9, 2016 Kevin 6
…

Tagged as: Emergency Medicine

Post navigation

< Previous Post
How palm reading helps this physician today
Next Post >
Should the USPSTF include specialists?

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Jeffrey McWilliams, MD

  • True happiness and fulfillment come in servitude of others

    Jeffrey McWilliams, MD
  • Thank you nurses, for rushing in when we need you most

    Jeffrey McWilliams, MD
  • This doctor defines himself as a Christian, not a physician

    Jeffrey McWilliams, MD

Related Posts

  • Be a human first and a doctor second

    Sarah Murad
  • Denying payment for emergency care: a physician defends insurers

    Michael Kirsch, MD
  • A prayer from an emergency physician

    Edwin Leap, MD
  • Osler and the doctor-patient relationship

    Leonard Wang
  • The climate crisis as viewed by an emergency physician

    Elizabeth M. Barreras-Rivest, MD
  • Emergency care coverage denial policies put lives at risk

    Paul Kivela, MD, MBA

More in Physician

  • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

    Neil Baum, MD
  • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

    Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD
  • Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

    Ryan Nadelson, MD
  • Why listening to parents’ intuition can save lives in pediatric care

    Tokunbo Akande, MD, MPH
  • Finding balance and meaning in medical practice: a holistic approach to professional fulfillment

    Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib
  • How regulatory overreach is destroying innovation in U.S. health care

    Kayvan Haddadan, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Why point-of-care ultrasound belongs in every emergency department triage [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why PSA levels alone shouldn’t define your prostate cancer risk

      Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD | Conditions
    • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Reframing chronic pain and dignity: What a pain clinic teaches us about MAiD and chronic suffering

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
    • Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

      Dave Cummings, RN | Policy
    • How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

      Vineet Vishwanath | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Why point-of-care ultrasound belongs in every emergency department triage [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why PSA levels alone shouldn’t define your prostate cancer risk

      Martina Ambardjieva, MD, PhD | Conditions
    • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

      Neil Baum, MD | Physician
    • Reframing chronic pain and dignity: What a pain clinic teaches us about MAiD and chronic suffering

      Olumuyiwa Bamgbade, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
    • Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

      Ryan Nadelson, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

I’m an emergency doctor and I’ve become human
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...