Finished another long weekend in the ER. I think I saw maybe 10 people from Friday through Sunday who actually needed to be in the ER. When did our country decide that our hospital's ERs were great big walk-in clinics. Have you ever tried to call a doctor's office these days? All you hear is "hang up and call 911 or go to the nearest ER". That is what this past weekend was all about.
"I haven't had a bowel movement in 3 days."--- Go the the ER
"I ran out of my Vicodin"--- Go to the ER
"My 18 year old son keeps smoking marijuana and meth."--- Go to the ER
"I have had a toothache for a month"--- Go to the ER
"I have had abdominal pain for 6 months and have been to 4 ERs and to one different ER already today"---Go to the ER
What is wrong with our population? Do they not know the meaning of the word emergency?
I love how many hospitals now advertise average ER wait times. I have a news flash for you... If you have time to check out various ER wait times, you don't have an emergency. Another little tidbit of information, if you really have an emergency, your wait time is ZERO!
People can't figure out why healthcare in the US is so expensive. It's because we have a society of I want it all right now and can't wait. So the system keeps tolerating this behavior and chugging along wasting resources.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
How $20 and a stripper changed my life.
I always knew I wanted to be a doctor. As a kid, I don't ever remember thinking of doing or being anything else. The problem was, as I was going through medical school, I could never decide what type of doctor I wanted to become. I liked almost every rotation I did. I wanted to be a surgeon, a pediatrician, a gastroenterologist etc. The only thing I had eliminated for sure was OB. There was just something about pregnant women screaming "take this baby from me!" that made me very nervous.
Then it happened. I was a senior medical student on my rotation through the Emergency Department. It was a Friday night. A stripper came in from a local strip bar complaining that a customer had placed his tip in her vagina (no pun intended) and she could not get the money out. So.... off to the ER. The nurse and I go do her pelvic exam and I proceeded to remove a 20 dollar bill from her vagina. I offered it back to her because, after all, it was 20 bucks and I was pretty sure she had earned it. She didn't want it and told me to keep it. Cha-ching! I'm a poor starving medical student and someone just gives me 20 bucks!
It was about 11 o'clock that evening and I was starving. We had been so busy that I had not eaten since breakfast. There was a local pizzeria that would occasionally deliver pizzas to our ER. They would deliver to the patients in the waiting room as well as to the staff. So, I ordered a large pepperoni pizza to be delivered to the ER. I paid the delivery man the $12 dollars and told him "keep the change". He didn't even seem to notice or think it was odd that I was handing him the $20 dollar bill with a gloved hand. My hunger was satisfied and it was at that point that I realized my calling in medicine. I thought to myself that this was perhaps the only job in the world where you could go to work, pull 20 bucks out of a woman's vagina and then buy your dinner with it!
My life career choice had been made! I completed my Emergency Medicine residency four years later. It has been 22 years now with many adventures since.
Now I know why Mom always said never to put money in your mouth because you never know where it has been!
More true stories of my days and a life spent in the ER to come!
Then it happened. I was a senior medical student on my rotation through the Emergency Department. It was a Friday night. A stripper came in from a local strip bar complaining that a customer had placed his tip in her vagina (no pun intended) and she could not get the money out. So.... off to the ER. The nurse and I go do her pelvic exam and I proceeded to remove a 20 dollar bill from her vagina. I offered it back to her because, after all, it was 20 bucks and I was pretty sure she had earned it. She didn't want it and told me to keep it. Cha-ching! I'm a poor starving medical student and someone just gives me 20 bucks!
It was about 11 o'clock that evening and I was starving. We had been so busy that I had not eaten since breakfast. There was a local pizzeria that would occasionally deliver pizzas to our ER. They would deliver to the patients in the waiting room as well as to the staff. So, I ordered a large pepperoni pizza to be delivered to the ER. I paid the delivery man the $12 dollars and told him "keep the change". He didn't even seem to notice or think it was odd that I was handing him the $20 dollar bill with a gloved hand. My hunger was satisfied and it was at that point that I realized my calling in medicine. I thought to myself that this was perhaps the only job in the world where you could go to work, pull 20 bucks out of a woman's vagina and then buy your dinner with it!
My life career choice had been made! I completed my Emergency Medicine residency four years later. It has been 22 years now with many adventures since.
Now I know why Mom always said never to put money in your mouth because you never know where it has been!
More true stories of my days and a life spent in the ER to come!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
America in the ER
So this is my first attempt at blogging. I am a practicing Emergency Medicine Physician with 22 years of experience. I practice at a large volume urban/suburban hospital somewhere in the Midwest. I decided to start my blog because it amazes me how little people know about what is really going on in the ER's across our country. Every day I am constantly amazed myself. I have been witness to some wonderful things... compassion, caring, healing etc. However, what has become more frequent is the unravelling of our society. The ER is no longer a place to seek life-saving care, although this does happen from time-to-time. It is now the place to try and get narcotics, the place to go when you call your doctor for an appointment and all you get is "go to the ER"and of coarse the place to go for the uninsured or if your fibromyalgia is "flaring up".
I hope to try and share a little slice of the typical day in a typical ER in the heart of America so those who follow this blog will be able to become educated and motivated to bring about some change. I'm talking about change in many areas. Healthcare reform, malpractice reform, realizing this country has a huge drug problem, medicare/medicaid waste and abuse just to name a few.
I will never make things up or embellish the stories of the day. I will only post the events of the day as they happen; good or bad.
So a little preview from today. I learned something today that just dawned on me today after years of practicing. I learned that all these fertility clinics are a waste of time and money. I learned the easiest way to get pregnant is to get a Medicaid card! You will be pregnant within a month of receiving your card guaranteed ( and with many more pregnancies to follow).
Hope you enjoy.
I hope to try and share a little slice of the typical day in a typical ER in the heart of America so those who follow this blog will be able to become educated and motivated to bring about some change. I'm talking about change in many areas. Healthcare reform, malpractice reform, realizing this country has a huge drug problem, medicare/medicaid waste and abuse just to name a few.
I will never make things up or embellish the stories of the day. I will only post the events of the day as they happen; good or bad.
So a little preview from today. I learned something today that just dawned on me today after years of practicing. I learned that all these fertility clinics are a waste of time and money. I learned the easiest way to get pregnant is to get a Medicaid card! You will be pregnant within a month of receiving your card guaranteed ( and with many more pregnancies to follow).
Hope you enjoy.
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