Well the doc is very positive and reassuring. He doesn't seem jaded at all, which is how I hope I am if I end up 50 years old and seeing 50 patients per day. I mean he basically called a guy with back pain a big wuss and semi-successfully encouraged him to leave the ED asap, but he generally was able to spend a fair amount of time with patients telling them what he thought they should do.
It did seem a little odd at first that he was sort of telling the minor patients to go away, but the ED isn't supposed to be there for primary care. It's there to determine the life-threatening situations and mitigate them. MI comes in, send them to the cath lab. Trauma comes in, control the bleeding and determine the extent of the damage. Back pain progressively worsening over the last month comes in, send them to emergency surgery??? I don't think so.
He didn't judge the patients too much. We had an overweight knee pain come in. She obviously needed to lose weight, she had problems in both knees, but he just quickly agreed when she said (unprovoked) "I know I'm a little pudgy." He didn't try to bring that subject up too much.
It was a good experience. I'm supposed to go in again for an afternoon next week. Then maybe a couple more times this summer. It's definitely different than running EMS, but they're both interesting and engaging most of the time.
Same
Activity in this thread should seriously pick up by the time AMCAS opens for data entry.👍
Oh all mighty 2013ers with your ability to post 650 times IN ONE DAY, I cower in your presence.
So much for sleeping.
Ours better not disappear, my SDN prestige would be severely damaged.
