The thinnest of margins: An ER physician ponders, “What if?”

Physician
September 30, 2014

It had been crazy busy all night in the emergency department and I had been running from room to room patching holes and trying to get patients seen.

I felt behind all night.  Finally, I had a moment to collect my thoughts and turned my attention to a patient who had been waiting for quite a while.

This patient had multiple large and deep lacerations to his forearm, self-inflicted wounds caused during …

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The thinnest of margins: An ER physician ponders, “What if?”

A physician remembers his first patient of the new millenium

Physician
September 4, 2014

It was January 1, 2000, and I was an intern in emergency medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

I had gone to sleep the night before listening to celebratory fireworks and congratulating myself for surviving Y2K.  Now I was walking into the emergency department of our large, level 1 trauma center where I was furthering my medical training.  Like most urban ERs, this one was a busy place …

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A physician remembers his first patient of the new millenium

How perception of the patient transformed in a single visit

Physician
August 15, 2014

Have you ever had a situation where your perception of some event or entity changed dramatically in an instant?

I specifically remember an instance of this happening to me while working as a junior medical student in a family practice clinic.

It was a typical day and I was doing the typical thing that you’re supposed to do as a medical student — feign interest in the clinic’s goings on and try …

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How perception of the patient transformed in a single visit