When I mention that I work in an emergency room, people usually say,
- Are you a nurse?
- Wow. That must be really hard.
- What's it like?
This is what it's like to be an emergency doctor.
That teenager puking up two liters of vodka and his stomach lining at triage? Yup. Blood pouring out of a terrified pregnant woman? Call me. And, of course, the patient who no longer has a nosebleed screaming at me across the department, "YOU are the most UNFEELING DOCTOR I have EVER MET!" Fun fun fun.
Let me peel back the curtain for you. It's not an iron curtain. In the emerg, it's most likely a crummy fabric curtain that too many other people have sneezed on.
Come on in.
Nominated for the Top 50 Must-Read Books for Nurses in 2012
