August 16, 2011 with 9 Comments

413.

The Bane of the ER

I have the greatest job in the world. It’s exciting. It’s uplifting. It’s crazy.

I get to help people every single day of my life, and they pay me for it.

What’s not to love about it?

There are actually 4 things not to love about being an ER doctor. And if there’s one thing I’ve observed over time, it’s that the Emergency Room is a little bit like life. So I have a feeling you’ll get this.

1. The Parents. No! I don’t mean all parents, but a whole lot of them. And the thing they don’t tell you in medical school is that a pediatrician spends an awful lot of time with the parents. Don’t get me wrong. I love trusting, happy parents. Unfortunately, many parents are not.  I’ll sum it up to you in 2 words for you: Unrealistic Expectations. It’s time to throw them out the window. This is real life, and I’m not a magician. I’m just a doctor.

2. The Cancer. I hate the cancer. I hate it every time I come face to face with it. The problem with the cancer is that it represents what I cannot fix. It’s permanent. It’s painful. It leaves scars – both emotional and physical – that will haunt families for a lifetime, and it often takes casualties along with it. I hate the cancer. I could do without it.

3. The Lab.  Ask any ER doctor. The lab is the bane of our existence because it is waiting without control. Hands off, folks, there is nothing you can do to speed up the lab. You know the feeling. You’ve been waiting on an answer to a problem in your life forever. And there’s nothing you can do to expedite the answer. Yep. The lab is heinous yet I cannot live without it. It has the key to the answers that I need. It’s been hard but I’m learning to accept the lab.

4. The Lawsuits. They tell you in residency that it’s not “if you get sued” but “when you get sued” in the ER. It’s true. The threat of a lawsuit is always present for the ER doc, so we learn to practice medicine with minimal risk. Listen, life is full of risk. You can’t avoid it, but you can learn to balance it wisely. And here’s a secret: experience minimizes risk. So live.

If you have unrealistic expectations for a problem you can’t fix that’s taking forever to get answers to in a life full of risk – take heart.

As long as you have the great physician everything will be all right.

Related posts:

In medicine

  • http://ZCxz Milo

    Thank God we have the Great Physician. We have hope and when risk comes, He is still there. Life is full of risk. If God can care enough for a nine pound canine run over a by a car to be healed completely and live as though nothing happened, how much more will He care for people He died for and knows have value. every person you come in contact with has value because Jesus died for them. enjoy every day as it comes, be thankful and learn from it. This is life.

  • Gina

    Morning. let me 1st say this.I’ve met you.I came into church 2 talk with you abt.things i was going thru.while training 4a ride.be4 my baptism. If there was any1 besides God you would find a cure,do whatever you could 2 take someones pains away.You even sent me a message checking on my training progress. I wish my moms doctors were as passionate /committed 2 their patients as you. Great post 2day like what you said. So happy your our Director of women’s ministries. happy Tues.from mom&I. :)

  • Ruth

    Very clever and love the parallels between life and ER!

  • ramzi

    This is a nice blog

    I actually read it all, like …experience min risk

  • ramzi

    I hope in our lifetime bane #2 is beat.

    • lina

      amen!

  • Amber

    So thankful for the ER doctors that worked on my Mom. They have a hard job to do in a short amount of time. You could also say God gives you a short amount of time here on earth to make a difference. Are you going to do it or are you going to be the bane of the earth where God has put you?

  • Gina

    amber- yes amen sister. Im calling my mom and reading this all.she might have something to say.

  • Gina

    My Moms thoughts. She loves her primary Doctor. Our family is grateful 4 the ER doctors that have worked on both my parents. she doesn’t like waiting on lab results because waiting 4 the results scares her. She is waiting 4 a referral for a heart doctor and doesn’t understand why its taking so long? But without our doctors and new cures for things we would be worse off. We’re praying & have faith in God that her referral comes in soon if its what God wants.My thought. Please lord give us good news.