I am George Clooney

People ask me all the time how my life in the ER is anything like Television.

I tell them I am George Clooney.

Before you correct me and tell me I’m not a man, I would remind you that I, like Clooney, am a Pediatric ER doctor in Chicago. I’m also commitment-phobe and pretty hot. Well, ok, I’ll take back the hot comment.

The truth is that people have long wondered what life in the ER is really like. Is it as sexy as Grey’s Anatomy? Is it as cynical as Scrubs? Is it as fast paced as ER? Is it as smutty as General Hospital?

I’ve gotten lots of questions from many of you in the past about my life in the ER. In an effort to bring you an accurate view of it, I thought I’d share how my life in the ER compares with TV medicine.

1. Women really do deliver their babies at triage. And they still claim they didn’t know they were pregnant.

2. I get my fair share of drunks too.

3. The only McDreamys I know are on Grey’s Anatomy.

4. The janitors (aka environmental service folks) generally don’t feel comfortable giving me medical advice.

5. Nurses – not doctors  – pretty much run the show.

6. Sex….um, no. Not going there.

7. Doctors addicted to pain meds get fired.

8. Doctors with an attitude get sued.

9. Cynicism is a class they teach in medical school.

10. ER doctors are not surgeons.

11. Things aren’t usually as complicated as they appear to be on TV. Most doctors did spend at least 4-10 years in school in preparation for life in the ER after all.

12. For the most part patients live through their ER experience.

13. The ambulance bay in Chicago is cold. The staff generally prefers the lounge.

14.  Nobody uses the overhead paging system anymore.

15. We actually do save real lives in my ER.

Got any other questions about life in the ER? Send them via the comments section.

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