Confidence in EM restored

[emeddo]

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So I've had some really bad luck over the last few years being exposed to some EM attendings that treated their patients like crap (I'm talking about patients with real emergencies and not abusers of the system). Anyways it was enough to make me shy away from wanting to go into EM for the first few years of medical school. Last week I had my confidence restored in EM when I took my daughter there (knives go up one shelf higher from now on, babyproofing seems to be a continous process) for a finger lac. I felt bad going to the EM for this, but no one is open in this town on a Friday night so the only place to get stitches is the good old ER. Anyways, to make an already long story short the attending was wonderful with my daughter. She was very caring and worked really well with her, not only that I could see she was the same to all of her other patients. It was a nice awakening for me to realize that yes I can go into Emergency Medicine and still care about my patients. Like I said I must have just been really unlucky with all my previous exposure, or maybe I wasan't. Anybody have any opinions on the matter. Is Emergency Medicine not for me if I actually care about my patients?

 

[iatrosB]

Is Emergency Medicine not for me if I actually care about my patients?

Come on, seriously? This can't be a real question. Most, if not all (you'll always have exceptions) EM docs care about their patients. Different docs will show it in different ways. Your particular doc was the reassuring type, they come in all sizes. Cool thing about EM is you can make your own style. I've seen attendings be gruff, but damn good and efficient, and I've seen attendings be nurturing and just as good/efficient...it's a matter of style.

I say go for EM, don't let a few cases of personality differences sway you from doing EM and doing it your way.

 

[southerndoc]

I care for all my patients. Well, only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. 😉

 

[USCDiver]

Caring about patients is not the same thing as babying them or coddling them.

 

[GeneralVeers]

Caring about patients is not the same thing as babying them or coddling them.

I agree completely. A lot of of our patients don't think that we "care" about them because we won't give them their narcs, specialist consultation, or big hug that they come to the ED for. In my view caring about patients is doing what's right for the patient and representing their best interests.

 

[EctopicFetus]

I agree completely. A lot of of our patients don't think that we "care" about them because we won't give them their narcs, specialist consultation, or big hug that they come to the ED for. In my view caring about patients is doing what's right for the patient and representing their best interests.

Exactly.. Some people come to the ED with "my pcp wants me to get an MRI". Me not obliging (assuming it isnt something serious) doesnt mean I dont care. Actually it is a sign their PCP doesnt care because he wont go thru the proper avenues to ensure their pt gets proper care. Also what does it say about a pcp when instead of taking call to answer Qs for their patients they say go to the ED. Makes me wonder who really doesnt care about the pts.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

i think you pose a pretty ridiculous question. first of all, its insulting to come into an EM forum, insinuate that most EM docs are incapable of caring about their patients, and then ask us if the field is right for you. in my experience, doctors who care for their patients vs. those who don't is not a field specific entity...its person specific. some doctors have kind hearts and exceptional people skills. some are socially ******ed and/or think they are a god and treat everyone as if they are beneath them. I've seen surgeons who were incredibly nice, and pediatricians who were completely mean. you can't try to pigeonhole yourself or us based on personality. i treat every patient with compassion. even the felons that are brought into our ED are treated as people. thats just my way of doing something. some patients are harder to deliver that compassion to than others for a number of reasons, but that is a challenge i continually try to meet. thats just my style. others have other styles that they have found works for them.

what concerns me more is that you are so easily swayed by a couple of experiences with particular attendings. a few suck, so you hate the field. one sews up your daugher's finger, and now you're considering it again. choosing a residency requires a little more conviction and self-knowledge.

do some more research and soul searching, then come back and ask us if your application is good enough to match in an EM program. then we can drop the Big FATTY on you, and the fun will start all over again.

 

[emeddo]

I'm sorry that everyone feels insulted, I had not intention for it to be that way

 

[southerndoc]

Once again you have reassured me that SDN is not a good place to get information on any field.

Any discussion forum is limited in its worth.

Your behaviour appears to be near-Trollesque.

Good luck in whatever field you may choose.

 

[emeddo]

Any discussion forum is limited in its worth.

Your behaviour appears to be near-Trollesque.

Good luck in whatever field you may choose.

Sorry, by no means was I trying to sound like a troll, I started out this thread in hopes of just getting some reassurance from what I want to cosider fellow friends on SDN and all I seem to have gotten were insults. That was why I was feeling a little let down by SDN.

 

[southerndoc]

Sorry, by no means was I trying to sound like a troll, I started out this thread in hopes of just getting some reassurance from what I want to cosider fellow friends on SDN and all I seem to have gotten were insults. That was why I was feeling a little let down by SDN.

What do you expect when you come here and accuse all emergency physicians of not caring for their patients? Did you expect to receive an overwhelming welcome?

If I were to tell you that you suck as a medical student, would you then ask to be my friend?

 

[emeddo]

What do you expect when you come here and accuse all emergency physicians of not caring for their patients? Did you expect to receive an overwhelming welcome?

If I were to tell you that you suck as a medical student, would you then ask to be my friend?

Well for you and all else reading this I did not mean to insinuate that all EM do not care for their patients. I just meant that I had had bad experience in the past and was hoping everyone would clarify to me that that is not the norm. I am not assuming it is the norm. I acknowledge that I lack expereince and was hoping to draw on yours. Sorry for the misunderstanding, I am totally willing to admit it is all my fault and my lack of being able to communicate clearly.

 

[FoughtFyr]

So I've had some really bad luck over the last few years being exposed to some medical students in the ED who treated their patients like crap (I'm talking about patients with real emergencies and not abusers of the system). Anyways it was enough to make me shy away from allowing medical students in the department through my first years as an attending. Last week I had my confidence restored in medical students when I took my daughter to an ED where medical students worked (knives go up one shelf higher from now on, babyproofing seems to be a continous process) for a finger lac. I felt bad going to the ED for this, but no one is open in this town on a Friday night so the only place to get stitches is the good old ED, even though the one in our town allows those awful medical students to rotate through. Anyways, to make an already long story short the student was wonderful with my daughter. She was very caring and worked really well with her, not only that I could see she was the same to all of her other patients. It was a nice awakening for me to realize that yes I can allow medical students to rotate in my ED and still care about my patients. Like I said I must have just been really unlucky with all my previous exposure, or maybe I wasan't. Anybody have any opinions on the matter. Is Academic Medicine not for me if I actually care about my patients?

Get the point mbHopper? Your post is incredibly insulting.

- H

 

[leviathan]

Even if emergency physicians were apathetic, why would that change YOUR decision to enter the field? Wouldn't you want to make a difference and be that physician who DID care about his/her patients? I don't see the relevance. At any rate, you're going to find people who don't care about their patients in every single field of medicine, but you'll also find lots of bleeding hearts. It's not a specialty-specific issue, but a physician-specific issue.

 

[roja]

Well for you and all else reading this I did not mean to insinuate that all EM do not care for their patients. I just meant that I had had bad experience in the past and was hoping everyone would clarify to me that that is not the norm. I am not assuming it is the norm. I acknowledge that I lack expereince and was hoping to draw on yours. Sorry for the misunderstanding, I am totally willing to admit it is all my fault and my lack of being able to communicate clearly.

mBHopper- Your apology is appreciated. Online communication is often fraught with miscommunication. (and SDN forums, especially EM, places where people come in and drop ridiculous trollish post trying to stir up trouble).

I can understand why you might have come to a 'bad' conclusion about EM from a bad experience or two. Med school requires one to decide rather quickly which specialty one goes into. The first impressions we have often sway us towards which field we want to go into. For instance, I wanted to go into peds rheum because my premed experience had been so phenomenal. I'm sure the MD's there had an imprinting effect on me (positive). When I finally realized I hated peds, I had no idea what to go into. My first exposure to the ED was with one or two rather quirky EMP's. Although I knew intellectually not to draw huge conclusions about all EMP's, I did momentarily ask myself if this is what EM turned people into. 😉 But I went and got more experience and knew without a doubt EM was for me.

 

[AmoryBlaine]

Even if emergency physicians were apathetic, why would that change YOUR decision to enter the field? Wouldn't you want to make a difference and be that physician who DID care about his/her patients? I don't see the relevance. At any rate, you're going to find people who don't care about their patients in every single field of medicine, but you'll also find lots of bleeding hearts. It's not a specialty-specific issue, but a physician-specific issue.

Bingo. The widespread application of physician stereotypes is the stuff of premed-M2.

I do have to disagree with leviathan a little bit, with respect. You should never go into a field expecting to change it or buck a huge trend.

 

[leviathan]

Bingo. The widespread application of physician stereotypes is the stuff of premed-M2.

I do have to disagree with leviathan a little bit, with respect. You should never go into a field expecting to change it or buck a huge trend.

I do agree with you there. The way I see it is akin to that story about the starfish, if you've heard that one before.

 

[8744]

Wait a minute. We're supposed to care about our patients? Goddamit. That's why I left Family Medicine; to get away from all of the caring crap.