Chief complaint of the night
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"Stinky farts."I shit you not. (Source: Scalpel or Sword?)
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - May 9, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: WTF patients Source Type: blogs
April showers bring...
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I was more than a little surprised when I opened the curtains today to look outside and found this guy staring back in at me! The storm window on that window is broken, so he had flown up and gotten caught in between the layers of glass. (Source: Collective Contemplations)
Source: Collective Contemplations - May 9, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kate Source Type: blogs
We are so screwed
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Says Whitecoat, ranting about the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, and I couldn’t agree more. In the last five years I’ve seen cipro transform from a “big gun” to a throwaway antibiotic, useless against skin infections and ineffective (at least locally) in one of four UTI’s.
So I too try to do my part. No shots of rocephin or Z-paks for the various ways viruses decide to show up in my ER: bronchitis, sinusitis, gastroenteritis, or my personal favorite: the all encompassing “viral syndrome.” Strep throat? Penicillin works just fine, thank you very much. Ditto amox...
Source: Ten out of Ten - May 8, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Ten out of Ten Tags: ER Life Medicine Source Type: blogs
Guest post: lenshopper.com - amazing emergency room stories
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Welcome to All Scrubbed Up's 3rd guest blogger... Lenshopper.com! Enjoy their fine fare of humorous anecdotes...Amazing Emergency Room StoriesEvery day hundreds of thousands of people all over the world are rushed to different hospitals emergency rooms. All of them with real injuries and physical complaints but with different reasons as to why they had to be hospitalized. Here are some funny emergency room stories. Whether or not they’re true events is up to you to decide but stranger things have happened. Or?Tricky ContactsOn a regular Tuesday evening a local emergency room in Pennsylvania gets a visit by a man that can...
Source: All Scrubbed Up - May 8, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: guest post funny Source Type: blogs
Emergency response to disasters
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GruntDoc posted a link to this article which concludes that our already-strained emergency departments and hospitals could not handle a large unexpected bolus of patients after a terrorist attack or natural disaster."The bombings in Madrid, on the eve of a national election, killed 177 and injured 2,000. Almost 1,000 of the injured were taken to 15 hospitals. One hospital alone received 270 patients in less than three hours," the article breathlessly states.It seems intuitive that even our Level I trauma centers would be overwhelmed by such a disaster. No ER would be able to suddenly change gears and accommodate that many ...
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - May 8, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: ER Texas disasters Source Type: blogs
Is my mother in imminent danger?
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I was trying to quickly wrap up my patients for the afternoon, since I had someplace to be at 6pm (a bike race to be specific), when the nurse taking care of the woman in room F told me that her son had some questions for me.
I sighed. I always want patients and family to understand what is happening, but sometimes I feel like i explain the same thing over & over again (because I do, most of the time). But this time the questions were different.
“I need you to be frank with me,” her son stated solemnly, but peacefully at the same time. I actually felt soothed by being in the room with the woman whos...
Source: Mr. Hassle's Long Underpants - May 7, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Doc Shazam Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Excuse me, mr
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I don't really have a great deal to say, again... but i feel like I have to write something, if only for you, dear and constant reader.I am feeling increasingly uncomfortable at work; sort of. My 'methods' have been called in to question. Not so much my clinical practice, for which I have received no complaints, but the way in which I deliver it. Some of my colleagues don't trust me.Are they justified?No.I may be almost willfully eccentric, but I'm still naive enough to think that doing right by my patient is the most important, the only thing. And if they're happy about how I do that..?I guess I'm just not very good at to...
Source: The KnifeMan - May 6, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Source Type: blogs
The medicare problem
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What does Alan Greenspan believe poses the greatest threat to the US economy?A) The war in IraqB) The mortgage/housing crisisC) The trade deficitD) Gasoline pricesNone of the above. The answer is Medicare.Fortune Magazine's Geoff Colvin:"Unfortunately the day of reckoning is imminent. Sometime in the next President's first term, Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) will go cash-flow-negative, and it's all downhill from there. (...) The federal budget has averaged about 18% of GDP over the past several decades. If that average holds and if the rules of our social insurance programs don't change, then by 2070, when today's k...
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - May 6, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: health care crisis links to greatness Source Type: blogs
We’re uglier too
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Recap of Last Week’s ER: The TV Show
A guy and a girl get in a bad car wreck. Unbeknownst to ER staff, they had just stolen tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry. The girl decompensated, and ended up in cardiac arrest. After undergoing an unsucessful emergency thoracotomy the team was ready to call the code. Not so fast, said the guy, brandishing a gun and ordering the team to keep trying. They recommended surgery, but having barricaded them in the trauma bay he refused them access to the OR. No surgeons no OR no problem, the ER team tried the operation themselves but unfortunately without muc...
Source: Ten out of Ten - May 6, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Ten out of Ten Tags: ER Life Medicine Source Type: blogs
One stop shop
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I went into emergency medicine because I wanted to be able to help any person and do it anywhere. The field offered a body of knowledge I could use to help any patient that might enter the emergency department. Of course, it did not take long to realize how much my ED care relied upon other specialists, nurses, medical devices, and the vast resources of the hospital. In a neighboring blog Paul... (Source: Straight Talk from the Stanford ER)
Source: Straight Talk from the Stanford ER - May 6, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Anil Menon, MD Source Type: blogs
Slow and steady
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On Sunday, I lined up behind the starting line with a bunch of serious runners. For 10 miles we ran up and down the streets of this city... through downtown, bad neighborhoods, exclusive neighborhoods, the university campus, and past "Hospital Row". I surprised myself, and was able to do the whole thing without walking! Granted I have been building up to this run for months, but up until now, my (Source: Collective Contemplations)
Source: Collective Contemplations - May 6, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kate Source Type: blogs
The big deecee
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Well, D-6 and I returned from Washington, DC., andf it was overall a good trip. Unfortunately, we fundamentally lost the first day since our flight was cancelled. Only flight out of Detroit that day that got cancelled. This happened before when D-6 w (Source: Latest entries from bloodletting.blog-city.com)
Source: Latest entries from bloodletting.blog-city.com - May 5, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: doc Russia Source Type: blogs
Mama's new shoes
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The other night, a couple of my friends and I went for a nice dinner at the local casino. Afterwards, we decided to hit the gambling floor. It made for some interesting people-watching. Despite being in the middle-of-nowhere, there were a few women who were dressed up in mini-skirts and heels. However, there were no well-dressed men to be found-- mostly biker-types, seniors, and scruffy-looking (Source: Collective Contemplations)
Source: Collective Contemplations - May 5, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kate Source Type: blogs
Demented man fights off ex-boxer in midnight “attack”
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This poor old man with dementia was in a fist fight with another resident. So the staff tried to commit him to the psychiatric hospital. I got the same basic story from both the patient and the staff. Apparently, another resident went into his room, and the patient was afraid that he was being attacked, so he took care of the situation and fought back.
I felt bad for the little old guy, but was more irritated at the nursing home staff. There is a misconception that all they have to do is fill out the committment papers, and it’s a done deal…the patient gets admitted to the psych hospital against their wil...
Source: Mr. Hassle's Long Underpants - May 4, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Doc Shazam Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Hospital pecking order...
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Okay, okay - so I'm "adapting" another thing from Medical Jokes on Geocities... hope they don't mind, but this was way too good to pass up.The Surgeon...Leaps tall buildings in a single boundIs more productive than a trainIs faster than a speeding bulletWalks on waterTalks with GodThe Resident...Leaps short buildings in a single boundIs more powerful than a switch engineIs faster than a speeding BB gunWalks on water if the sea is calmTalks with God if special request is approvedThe GP...Leaps short buildings with a running start and favourable windsIs almost as powerful as a switch engineCan fire a speeding bulletWalks on ...
Source: All Scrubbed Up - May 4, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: just joking Source Type: blogs
The horror
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I've seen some pretty nasty things happen to people over the years. Severed limbs, faces blown off with shotguns, electrocutions and other terrible burns, drownings, and plenty of deforming injuries, to name a few. The adrenaline rush tends to overpower the horror I might otherwise naturally feel about those situations.For me, personally, the active lower gastrointestinal bleed is a completely different matter. I hate stool, particularly when it's someone else's stool and especially when it's bloody. I'll take the liberty of speaking for my colleagues by suggesting that the second worst package we can be given in the ER is...
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - May 4, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: poop ER phobias bad ideas Source Type: blogs
Real medicine
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Doc Shazam returns from Honduras with an fantastic story, highlighting how immensely gratifying real medicine can be. It is also a reminder of how privileged we are in this country, and the ridiculousness of the entitlements that it has spawned. Start here with Part 1, it’s definitely worth your time. (Source: Ten out of Ten)
Source: Ten out of Ten - May 3, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Ten out of Ten Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Extensor tendon repair in honduras- part 3
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We created the best sterile field that we could and numbed up the laceration with as much lidocaine with epi as was safe to administer. We had run the hand under running water to disrupt the clot, and then irrigated with sterile saline.
The distal tendons popped into view easily by simply extending all of his fingers flat against the table. They popped out like little white worms and just sat there. That was easy. The hard part was findign the proximal ends. I gently dissected the tissue back towards his wrist, grasping the overlying skin & fat in forceps then cutting the skin with a scalpel.
I was shocked when...
Source: Mr. Hassle's Long Underpants - May 2, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Doc Shazam Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Old haunts
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Domestic-6 and I are about to catch a flight out of here. We are headed to Washington, DC. Yes, I know that a lot of people are going to be scratching their heads wondering why I would want to go there. The fact is that I have a secret. I was born in (Source: Latest entries from bloodletting.blog-city.com)
Source: Latest entries from bloodletting.blog-city.com - May 2, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: doc Russia Source Type: blogs
Amateur transplants - youtube fun
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One of my friends was sharing this clip the other day at work. (Beware of office-inappropriate language!)
My friends give me a hard time about not liking Billy Joel, but here's a more tolerable version of one of his songs:
And finally, I think this one's the funniest: (Source: Collective Contemplations)
Source: Collective Contemplations - May 2, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kate Source Type: blogs
Noble and worthy people... who need their ass kicked
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Writing about the college admissions process, Yale law student Amelia Rawls repeats the truism that successful people aren't always nice. Her article is worth reading because she also points out that noble, concerned, and committed people aren't always nice, either:I'm saying that sometimes some of these students will denounce world hunger but be unfriendly to the homeless. They will debate environmental policy but never offer to take out the trash. They will believe vehemently in many causes but roll their eyes when reminded to be humble, to be generous and to "do what is right."It is these people, though, who often climb...
Source: Glorfindel of Gondolin - May 1, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Source Type: blogs
Treinta
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Yesterday I turned the big 3-0. I think it is safe to say that a sure sign that one is getting on in years is the feeling of being younger than your actual age.
Sigh.
The morning I spent sleeping in (there were snow flurries!). Although I had the day off, I went in to work in the afternoon because we were having pig lab. Pig lab, like cadaver lab, involves performing as many surgical procedures (Source: Collective Contemplations)
Source: Collective Contemplations - May 1, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kate Source Type: blogs
Cutters
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From the Self Injury Community Forum:"I haven't cut in about two weeks and i'm going ok, but i constantly find myself thinking about it way more often. But i have had self control, up until now...Today though, we had art class and we are doing smth to do with carving and we use a tool that is really sharp [and it cuts real well, i've tried it].So I was sitting there looking at them [it is a set of 5] and i just wanted to cut, i needed to so badly but i was thinking i can't do it now, everybody can see me...So i got away with it this time, but i'm afraid that later today, especially when i'm in the bathroom, i will give in ...
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - April 29, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: lacerations bad ideas Source Type: blogs
I can’t win
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Me: Hi I’m Dr. 10/10, what brings you to the ER?
Patient: Cough, congestion, chills, phlegm…um are you my doctor?
Me: Your story is very concerning for a heart attack. You’ll need to be admitted overnight.
Patient: Can’t I go home?
Me: Your tests here are all normal. You should be fine to go home.
Patient: Can’t you please keep me overnight?
Me: This patient has appendicitis by CT. She’s had 12 hours of belly pain with migration…
Surgeon: Enough. I’ll be down when I can.
Me. This patient has appendicitis by CT.
Surgeon: (Pause, then with snark) Well why don’...
Source: Ten out of Ten - April 29, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Ten out of Ten Tags: ER Life Medicine Source Type: blogs
What i would (now) consider when looking for a job as a senior resident
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In residency (at least in my residency program), not alot of discussion (or explaining) went into finding a (real) job upon graduation. I guess I just kinda thought that once I'm done...the jobs'll just be there. Like, they're out there just waiting for me to graduate.To be fair, however, I must admit that *I* wasn't really able to even *think* about what happened 'beyond residency.' It was some kinda of elusive concept that I just couldn't wrap my mind around. In our program, it wasn't (entirely) unheard of for a senior (who's all set to graduate) to be held back...unexpectedly, for lack of completion of a task or project...
Source: EM Physician - Backstage Pass - April 28, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: working Source Type: blogs
Filling my time with less frequent blogging...
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I heard that blogging can be hazardous to your health. It's interesting, because blogging can be stressful and overwhelming...especially if you're expected to produce new material more often than you actually *have* new material. After blogging about a year (more-or-less consistently), I find I have ranted and fussed about most of the things that bother me most (but don't fret, I still have a few annoyances I'd love to expose...and new annoyances things are always "coming up"). I have shared my enthusiasm for my profession. I have documented the process, the thoughts, and the transition from medical student to attending. A...
Source: EM Physician - Backstage Pass - April 28, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Source Type: blogs
Sunday afternoon snails
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(Source: Scalpel or Sword?)
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - April 28, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: pictures Source Type: blogs
April showers
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Heavy spring rain showers pummeled the flowers outside. I love all of the color, but the sickeningly soapy-sweet smell of hibiscus is a little overwhelming when I open the door. (Source: Collective Contemplations)
Source: Collective Contemplations - April 28, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kate Source Type: blogs
Memeage
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Since it seems to be circulating to the level at which I will indulge.I copy this from LawDog:1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more.2. Find page 123.3. Find the first five sentences.4. Post the next three sentences.5. Tag five people.I am (Source: Latest entries from bloodletting.blog-city.com)
Source: Latest entries from bloodletting.blog-city.com - April 27, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: doc Russia Source Type: blogs
Confessions of a drug addict
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"I would like to explain some stuff to you from the addicts point of view. It's a growing problem, prescription pain killer addiction. I blame everyone for this. It's not 100% the addicts fault. Maybe put some blame on the MD's who get the person addicted by giving high doses of the pain meds, and give refills and believe the crap about them losing their script, and losing their meds and so on, vacation refills. Blame should be placed on the ER who treats the seeker with more morphine/demoral/dilaudid, they know he/she is an addict, their [sic] there 3 x a week with a migraine, but yet they give the pain meds. The insuranc...
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - April 26, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: drug-seekers migraineurs Source Type: blogs
Most americans oppose healthcare reform
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From Professor Bainbridge:"One of the real problems with the debate over health care reform is that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The media and the politicians focus on people who have problems with health care issues, such as the uninsured, the underinsured, and those whose insurers deny coverage for significant health care problems. The trouble of course is that lots of people are satisfied with their healthcare."In fact, most Americans are satisfied with their healthcare:"Gallup's annual Healthcare survey, conducted Nov. 11-14, finds 57% of Americans saying they are satisfied with the total cost they pay for their ...
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - April 26, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: health care crisis Source Type: blogs
Part 2
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They hadn’t eaten since before starting work that morning and by the time they arrived at the clinic, it was late in the afternoon, the hottest time of the day.
This is when I met him for the first time.
“Doc Shazam, we need you. We have a machete injury…” said the 3rd year resident.
While minor trauma and fractures is run of the mill for me, the family practice docs that typically staff the medical clinic in the rural mountain village seem to find relief with my presence whenever the presenting complaint is trauma. So a machete laceration that is right up my alley is gladly referred to me by ...
Source: Mr. Hassle's Long Underpants - April 26, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Doc Shazam Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Regular please
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Two shifts ago I saw twenty patients without admitting anyone. I couldn’t remember a day where no one came in. It felt kind of historic, like a no-hitter or something. The various consultants threw me a ticker-tape parade on the way home.
Turns out the universe felt compelled to make up for it. I saw twenty-five patients last shift and admitted nine of them, an insanely high number on an overnight shift when I generally see a lot of trivial stuff (Congestion for three weeks? Really? You do realize it’s two in the morning). A long night for patients and staff alike, and the consultants ended u...
Source: Ten out of Ten - April 24, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Ten out of Ten Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Checks and balances
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"So this was part of a check-off thing tonight, right?" he said, with the last word said with a hopeful lilt.
"Yeah, they've been wanting to meet you for several months now, and I had been blowing them off. But now it's done," I answered.
"Good." ----------
Army Guy and I were leaving from a dinner with some co-workers and friends. I am still really impressed with AG. He's willing to try new (Source: Collective Contemplations)
Source: Collective Contemplations - April 24, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kate Source Type: blogs
The nutty buddy
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Discussion hereh/t InstapunditEven funnier clip below: (Source: Scalpel or Sword?)
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - April 23, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: self defense videos bad ideas Source Type: blogs
Musical experiment
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I am going to try something here. I saw this item in Lt G's website, and really liked it, so I decided to shamelessly tear that particular page out of his playbook and use it myself. So, if you would like ot hear some of the tunes I like to liste (Source: Latest entries from bloodletting.blog-city.com)
Source: Latest entries from bloodletting.blog-city.com - April 23, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: doc Russia Source Type: blogs
Unsure
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I stood behind a patient’s head, laryngoscope in hand, having made the decision to intubate.
As preparations continued around me, I reflected on whether this was the right thing to do. He was disoriented but in control of his airway by objective criteria and his respirations were strained but adequate. I worried that this was too aggressive, that once we hooked him up to the ventilator he would never come off of it. But he was old and frail and sick, and needed multiple interventions, and he seemed to be getting worse. I decided that not doing it now would mean intubating him some hours later, out...
Source: Ten out of Ten - April 22, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Ten out of Ten Tags: ER Life Medicine Source Type: blogs
Far-flung correspondence
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As I was always fond of his writing in high school English class, I was happy to see H. L. Mencken's name come up in this NYTimes piece on handling a large volume of correspondence: We all can learn from H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), the journalist and essayist, who was another member of the Hundred Thousand Letters Club, yet unlike Edison, corresponded without an amanuensis. His letters were exceptional not only in quantity, but in quality: witty gems that the recipients treasured.Marion Elizabeth Rodgers, the author of "Mencken: The American Iconoclast” (Oxford, 2005), shared with me (via e-mail) details of her subject’...
Source: Blogborygmi - April 22, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: blogborygmi Source Type: blogs
My thoughts on tier 4 medications
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are somewhat different than some of my colleagues, I suppose.As a compassionate physician, I too want my patients to have the best care possible, and I too hate seeing people suffer. But if we as a society are going to try to provide a broad variety of services to patients, whether it be under a shared-risk insurance pool, a socialistic government model like Medicare, or any other method imaginable, then costs are going to have to be controlled somehow.By forcing individuals to share some of the expense of certain extremely expensive medications, our ability to continue to provide medical care to the masses can be maintai...
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - April 21, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: health care crisis politics Source Type: blogs
More ukulele...
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You'r probably fed up with this nonsense... my current favourite conceit... but; there's some genuinely clever fingerwork in this. And the most impressive way to get a drink of water without interrupting play.Go on; do it.It's only five minutes... what else are you gonna do? (Source: The KnifeMan)
Source: The KnifeMan - April 21, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: Ukulele Orchestra Source Type: blogs
Buried alive in the blues
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Another Monday after nights, another bout of insomnia.I'm on an education day today, so non-clinical... supposed to be in work anyway, but since I've been awake all night (pacing, mostly) and the wonders of the Internet envelop my house, I've kinda taken an executive decision to stay at home. I imagine I'll get a bollicking for it, but what can ye do?In fact I'm becoming mildly concerned about my inability to adjust from nights, which seems to be getting worse weekly, but not sure what i can do, without resorting to pills - either sleepers to send me into the arms of Morpheus, or some sort of upper to get me goin' in the m...
Source: The KnifeMan - April 21, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: On the Floor Rude Shroom Moody Shroom Nurses Non-Medical Jib BBP Source Type: blogs
The rash doctor
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A very healthy-looking young man presented to the Emergency Department with a rash that had been bothering him for three months. Yes, that's months: as in three complete cycles of the moon.Not being much of a rash doctor and finding no evidence of impending doom on the rest of his examination, I gave him a couple of possible diagnoses and prescribed some standard ER rash therapy for him until he could get an appointment with a Dermatologist."You mean to tell me you don't know what's causing my rash?"Well, I have some ideas, but the bottom line is that I don't think it's one of those rare and dangerous rashes that you might...
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - April 21, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: patients rashes Source Type: blogs
Of machetes and snake bites
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I just returned from a 2 week trip to rural northern Honduras where muddy roads twist up steep mountain sides, and where farmers manage near vertical fields of corn and beans where mahogany trees once grew.
A fifteen year old farmer leaned over in the beating sun, swinging his machete in his right hand while gathering ripe corn with his left. His 10 year old brother picked up the ears that had fallen to the muddy ground. The older boy suddenly felt a cool touch on the back of his neck…followed by a slick sensation running down his left arm.
With an automatic reaction fueled by terror, the poisonous snake was kill...
Source: Mr. Hassle's Long Underpants - April 20, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Doc Shazam Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Bright, sunshiney days
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Spring is definitely here...
-The daffodils Ru helped me plant last fall are blooming, with tulips on the way.-Red-breasted robins chirp and flutter from one green branch to the next.
Bright-colored petals are competing for pollination, animals are competing for attention from the opposite sex, and local teens/young adults loiter outside-- ending stupid arguments with violence and gunfire. (Source: Collective Contemplations)
Source: Collective Contemplations - April 20, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kate Source Type: blogs
Certain things don’t mix
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Like oil and water. Toothpaste and orange juice. Ectascy and diabetes.
So learned a recent patient of mine in dramatic fashion. In general I like sick patients to be nice and obvious about it so as to not mistakenly send them home, and he did not disappoint. As I walked to his bedside to ask him his name, his only response was to fully open his eyes revealing no colored circles but instead only the pale white sclera underneath. Pretty freaky, and even though that phenomenon is not part of any medical textbook I know of I went ahead and took it as a bad prognostic sign.
I began to take in the whole picture....
Source: Ten out of Ten - April 18, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Ten out of Ten Tags: ER Life Medicine Source Type: blogs
God help me
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My son became a teenager today.Somewhere my parents are laughing. (Source: Scalpel or Sword?)
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - April 18, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: getting old karma teenagers crossing the line Source Type: blogs
Modernising the medical world.
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In the wake of the official Google Health launch (check it out - looks interesting). Got some comment from SA Doc on modernising the medical world...I used to work in a practise that was - for lack of a better word - archaic. You've heard of paperless offices. Now try a paper-filled practice. Everything was done in the old fashioned method of pen to paper - the invoices, the patient notes, even the list indicating the link between family name and file number. Email? Email who? The only computer visible (under the masses of paper) is an old 486 running Windows 3.1. I actually had to relearn how to use that OS.No matter how ...
Source: All Scrubbed Up - April 18, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: health 2.0 medical products being a doctor Source Type: blogs
Rooty tooty fresh n' fruity
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What does the name Emergency Department mean to you? A place to go for help when you are sick or injured? How about a place to go for breakfast? As it turns out, that's really all one of my recent patients was looking for.
She was a hand-off patient, meaning that another person initially saw her, and transfered her to me at shift change. The story was that she had just been discharged from the (Source: Collective Contemplations)
Source: Collective Contemplations - April 17, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kate Source Type: blogs
Joe snow
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A paramedic gave his life in the line of duty. A touching story from Musings of a Highly Trained Monkey. (Source: Scalpel or Sword?)
Source: Scalpel or Sword? - April 15, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Tags: links to greatness Source Type: blogs
The stuff of genius...
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I never said I was smart. I was supposed to go for a long run after work today. However, things got crazy midway through the afternoon, and I never got a chance to eat anything for lunch. So, instead of just sticking it out, I decided to head home, wolf down some oatmeal cookies and gatorade and then go for a run. Apparently, nothing spells bricks in your tummy like oatmeal cookies. And that's (Source: Collective Contemplations)
Source: Collective Contemplations - April 15, 2008 Category: Emergency Medicine Doctors Authors: Kate Source Type: blogs
