The ER

The ER is a tough one for all involved- patients, families, nurses and doctors. There are both tragedies and victories found in the most major and minor of life's events. We would hope to bring a moment of clarity into this account of the day-to-day operations, striving to find "One Good Thing A Day." This work would be best explored as window into the emergency medicine experience.

Summary

To most of us, the emergency room(ER) can be a foreboding place, but to the team who works here it's home. At times, it is just like what you see on television-hours of mundane activity interspersed with moments of terror involving life-changing visceral emergencies. It is the never-ending struggle of life and death, and the balance can shift ever so slightly in the day-to-day. But more than that, within the walls, there are the people. The patients, who are in an unknown circumstances without their normal mechanisms for control available to them, are still mostly optimistic and hopeful. The physicians continually strive towards flawless technical excellence, while attempting to maintain a human touch in this interaction. The nurses are caring, kind and perform the proverbial acts of mercy. The ancillary staff- registration, technicians, aides and housekeepers complete the cohesive group that gets the hard jobs done. This is their story.

Author

Rade B. Vukmir MD, JD is President of Critical Care Medicine Associates, a medical administrative and consulting enterprise founded in 1991. He is certified in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, and has a degree in law with a certificate in health law. Dr. Vukmir has written forty-three medical journal articles, and is the author of ten books.).