Emergency medicine

2,327 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 23

What if our response to coronavirus is not about social distancing?

March 24, 2020Mar 24, 2020

As an emergency physician on the frontlines of the battle against coronavirus, I have stood sentinel to see the transformations that are occurring in and out of the hospital. There are terms that now roll off our tongues that we didn’t know a month ago. “Social distancing” and “shelter-in-place” meant nothing to us as we rang in 2020. You know, the year that was going to be our year and …

Conditions and diseases

Corona together: Say “I love you” a little bit more to those you love

StorytellERdoc, MD

March 20, 2020Mar 20, 2020

This breath is a gift ... This moment is a gift ... This life is a gift ... As with every other person, I am struggling to comprehend the staggering effects that COVID-19 has had on our society in such…

This breath is a gift …
This moment is a gift …
This life is a gift …

As with every other person, I am struggling to comprehend the staggering effects that COVID-19 has had on our society in such a short time. Gone are the carefree smiles, the uncomplicated daily lives, and the thought that we and our families are immune to unexpected death. Instead, we are witnessing a collapse in society …

Conditions and diseases

On the front lines of a COVID-19 assessment clinic

Raj Waghmare, MD

March 20, 2020Mar 20, 2020

March 15, 2020. The luke-warm water burns my hands for a few seconds; maybe this is how a snowman feels as it disintegrates on the first day of spring. Soon, my fingers loosen, but the sensation is fleeting. I dry…

March 15, 2020. The luke-warm water burns my hands for a few seconds; maybe this is how a snowman feels as it disintegrates on the first day of spring. Soon, my fingers loosen, but the sensation is fleeting. I dry my hands, put on another pair of gloves, then clean the stethoscope I’ve been using for the last several patients. I’ve been told that these are single-use, that I should …

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Conditions and diseases

The opioid crisis is real. But so is pain.

Anonymous

March 18, 2020Mar 18, 2020

"I'm not impressed with his pain." "I only give Norco if I see a bone sticking out." "She says her pain is a 10/10 but ..." On any given shift in the emergency room, I hear some version of these…

“I’m not impressed with his pain.”

“I only give Norco if I see a bone sticking out.”

“She says her pain is a 10/10 but …”

On any given shift in the emergency room, I hear some version of these said by residents or fellow attendings. And whenever I hear these phrases, I think to myself, “When did we stop treating pain?”

I’m not talking about chronic pain. I feel terribly for

…

Conditions and diseases

As society shuts down, hospital workers continue to fight the pandemic

Anonymous

March 17, 2020Mar 17, 2020

Collectively across our country, as society shuts down, physicians, along with our brave co-workers in the hospital, will be going to work to combat the largest pandemic we have seen in our lifetimes. While such a crisis frightens us all, it has also served as a soul-renewing time for medicine. Over the next several months, our tribe worldwide will be risking their health and lives to serve and treat patients …

Conditions and diseases

An emergency physician’s spiritual toolkit to battle COVID-19

Rose Zacharias, MD

March 17, 2020Mar 17, 2020

These are unprecedented times. As a mid-career ER physician and mom of four kids, COVID-19 has changed everything. Schools are closed, all public events canceled, and the United States has declared a national emergency. There is a heightened sense of urgency at work. Scenarios that seemed absurd 24 hours ago are now a frightening reality. Things are going to get worse. Are you ready?

We are bringing physicians back from retirement …

Conditions and diseases

How coronavirus will tax already overcrowded U.S. emergency departments

Joe Twanmoh, MD

March 15, 2020Mar 15, 2020

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is already having far-reaching effects on our nation. The stock market has taken a historic plunge from its all-time high. Major entertainment and sporting events have been canceled. I recently took a cross-country flight from Maryland…

While other public venues may be empty, emergency departments will likely get very busy. …

Physician voices

Who are responsible for outrageous medical bills? Hint: It’s not doctors.

Ashima Vohra, MD

March 14, 2020Mar 14, 2020

Over the last few years, there has been a slew of articles about patients receiving surprise bills after ER visits. One woman was charged $5,751 for an ice pack and a bandage. An infant was charged $937 for an antibiotic…

ER docs want to help you regardless of …

Physician voices

A critical moment that resulted in a permanent, devastating consequence

Cullen Ruff, MD

March 9, 2020Mar 9, 2020

An excerpt from Looking Within: Understanding Ourselves through Human Imaging. It started as a routine weekend shift, reading studies on patients in the hospital and the emergency department, when the phone rang. Jessie, the nuclear medicine technologist, spoke on the…

An excerpt from Looking Within: Understanding Ourselves through Human Imaging.

It started as a routine weekend shift, reading studies on patients in the hospital and the emergency department, when the phone rang. Jessie, the nuclear medicine technologist, spoke on the telephone, his matter-of-fact tone slightly colored by the ominous nature of the information conveyed. “Doc, I’ll need you to come over shortly. The ICU ordered a brain …

Physician voices

Health care and sick care are interchangeable

Mercy Hylton, MD

March 8, 2020Mar 8, 2020

Does anyone really want health care for all? I promise this is not a political rant. Americans, of any political persuasion, should not be misled by the implications of health care for all: It does not mean medical care for…

Does anyone really want health care for all? I promise this is not a political rant.

Americans, of any political persuasion, should not be misled by the implications of health care for all: It does not mean medical care for all. Providing a card stating you have health insurance is only a nominal solution, provided by politicians, who are looking for a superficial fix. Our problems are more complex than such …

Conditions and diseases

Do patients addicted to drugs truly have capacity?

Gregory Jasani, MD

March 4, 2020Mar 4, 2020

Is it time to rethink how we determine the capacity of our patients who are addicted to drugs? I recently began debating this question after I took care of a young woman with endocarditis. She had a long history of IV drug abuse that had led to the development of endocarditis. She had been admitted one week earlier and was being prepared for surgery, but she left against medical advice …

Physician voices

Doctors: It’s OK to sometimes suck

Navpreet Sahsi, MD

March 4, 2020Mar 4, 20203

I'm here today to let you in on a little secret. It's not something that I'm particularly proud of, and it's work that I'm always trying to improve upon. But it's true. And today you're about to find out something…

I’m here today to let you in on a little secret. It’s not something that I’m particularly proud of, and it’s work that I’m always trying to improve upon. But it’s true. And today you’re about to find out something I’m desperately trying to hide.

So here it is. Yes, I’m a doctor. And yes, I’d like to think that I’m pretty good at my job. But you know what? There …

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Doctors: It’s OK to sometimes suck

Conditions and diseases

COVID-19 will expose EMTALA and the physician shortage

Edwin Leap, MD

February 29, 2020Feb 29, 20207

Coronavirus, a.k.a. COVID-19, is lurking on the edges of the United States. What it will do here has yet to be seen. I was initially very concerned since I work on the front lines in community emergency medicine. For the last week or so, I have felt a little better after reading several articles. I suspect it will not have a high lethality among otherwise healthy individuals. But I’m no …

Physician voices

The art of diagnosis is like a riddle

Raj Waghmare, MD

February 26, 2020Feb 26, 2020

"I have a riddle," Paul says, as the dining room falls silent. "You're at the bottom of the stairs. And on the wall, there are three light switches labeled one, two, and three. There's a room upstairs with three lamps,…

“I have a riddle,” Paul says, as the dining room falls silent.

“You’re at the bottom of the stairs. And on the wall, there are three light switches labeled one, two, and three. There’s a room upstairs with three lamps, labeled X, Y, and Z.

You can turn on and off as many switches as you want while you’re downstairs, but you can only go upstairs once. And once you’re upstairs, you …

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The art of diagnosis is like a riddle

Physician voices

Exceeding the stool limit in the emergency department

Joe Bocka, MD

February 24, 2020Feb 24, 2020

Not long ago our emergency department got a call from the health department informing us that we had exceeded our stool limit. Not quite sure how this was measured, who sets the limits, or even why such a call would be necessary, but I do know that once again we have seen a lot of stomach flu running around. Unfortunately, we can’t just tell patients to stop pooping, so I’m …

Health policy

Urgent care is emblematic of problems in our health system

Rosalind Kaplan, MD

February 23, 2020Feb 23, 20202

Working in urgent care, I've started supervising some of the other providers at sites other than my own -- 19 sites in all in Pennsylvania and Delaware -- so I hear about a lot of patient situations. The urgent care…

Working in urgent care, I’ve started supervising some of the other providers at sites other than my own — 19 sites in all in Pennsylvania and Delaware — so I hear about a lot of patient situations.

The urgent care site where I work is in an affluent area. Most of our patients are employed or retired and have health insurance, though I have certainly encountered a number of patients

…

Medical education

Why medical students shouldn’t always fall in line

Ton La, Jr., MD, JD

February 9, 2020Feb 9, 20203

As I saw the fellow purposely manipulate her fractured ankle, I knew I was wrong in not stopping him. Three hours earlier, Mr. Sanchez*, a past boxer, and soccer player, came in with a broken pinky. He was moving from…

As I saw the fellow purposely manipulate her fractured ankle, I knew I was wrong in not stopping him.

Three hours earlier, Mr. Sanchez*, a past boxer, and soccer player, came in with a broken pinky. He was moving from Atlanta to Houston, and in the process of moving boxes, a rock smashed his finger against something. Odd story, but he was the nicest patient I ever talked to up to …

Physician voices

How you can show patients you are listening

Navpreet Sahsi, MD

February 8, 2020Feb 8, 2020

Being a physician is an important role. It's easy to forget the impact that you have on a patient just by being at their bedside. It's huge. Have you ever been a patient? It's an incredibly vulnerable experience. You're not…

Being a physician is an important role. It’s easy to forget the impact that you have on a patient just by being at their bedside.

It’s huge.

Have you ever been a patient? It’s an incredibly vulnerable experience.

You’re not really sure what’s happening and what is going to happen next.

People are really putting their faith in you to understand their needs and to ease their suffering. It’s a powerful thing to ease …

Medical education

Losing a patient in an emergency

Ton La, Jr., MD, JD

February 6, 2020Feb 6, 2020

“Are you serious! What are you doing to my son! How can you have him tied to the bed like this!” Michael’s* mother was irate and yelling at my resident as I stood at the back of the room. Michael…

“Are you serious! What are you doing to my son! How can you have him tied to the bed like this!”

Michael’s* mother was irate and yelling at my resident as I stood at the back of the room. Michael had HIV/AIDS with a CD4 count of 20. Hours before, he had bit his mom on the hand, leaving visible bite marks. As his mom continued to scold my resident, my …

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Losing a patient in an emergency

Patient voices

A health care headache from a patient’s perspective

Sandi Russ

February 4, 2020Feb 4, 20205

As a relatively healthy Medicare patient, I do not visit doctors often. I have had digestive issues most of my life — probably from too many antibiotics when I was a child with recurring strep throat, or so I'm told.…

As a relatively healthy Medicare patient, I do not visit doctors often.

I have had digestive issues most of my life — probably from too many antibiotics when I was a child with recurring strep throat, or so I’m told.

My husband and I had just returned from living out of state for two months while he was treated with proton therapy for cancer.

My stress levels were high.

I was not resting well …

Emergency medicine

Articles, page 23

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