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Defining Emergency

StorytellERdoc

I originally wrote this piece in December, 2010. To office appointments sent to the ER because "we are overbooked today." And our ER is not alone. I hear the frustration of my colleagues and see first-hand how overworked most of us who provide health care in the ER setting have become. Go right to the ER," she was told.

ER 100
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The Witness

StorytellERdoc

On arrival to our ER, we found this patient to be in pulseless ventricular tachycardia--a malignant, life-threatening electrical rhythm of the heart. As the cardiologist and our ER team continued with resuscitation efforts, I went to the family room to speak to this patient's wife. Our reality was that time was not our friend.

ER 100