Sep

20

Emergency Medicine Residency (Part 1)

September 20, 2007 | 11 Comments

(The following article is directed primarily at those contemplating matching into Emergency Medicine. Those of you who are not may read it but I make no apologies for targeting a particular group of readers. Emergency Medicine has become a very popular specialty lately so I’m sure there is some interest out there. Most of my [...]

Jun

9

Ask Yer’ Uncle Panda….

June 9, 2007 | 35 Comments

Say Uncle Panda, I notice you haven’t written about chiropractors. What do you think about them and chiropractic in general?
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Chiropractors serve a useful role in society, particularly when it comes to taking some of the pressure off of used car salesmen who would otherwise have the market cornered on chicanery. Nobody likes to [...]

May

31

What ED Crisis? (And Other Random Thoughts)

May 31, 2007 | 36 Comments

Shake that Money Maker
They say there is a crisis in the Emergency Rooms and while I certainly see a little of its effects at my own program, the crisis is not universal. Some Emergency Departments compete for patients, at least this is my understanding from the numerous billboards I saw the other day as I [...]

Apr

20

Random Ramblings

April 20, 2007 | 27 Comments

That Doctor
It’s official, I have become “That Doctor.”
You know, the guy who told them that their father only had three months to live and here he is, six months later, being wheeled in by his triumphant family. I mean, he looks almost the same as when I saw him the last time, maybe [...]

Mar

17

A Patient’s Guide to the Hospital: Part 1

March 17, 2007 | 4 Comments

(The first in a series of public service articles for our many non-medical readers.-PB)
In the Emergency Department Waiting Room
Welcome to our Emergency Department. I hope we can take care of your problem. The fact that you are here at 3AM predisposes us to take you seriously. Nobody who wasn’t really sick would drag [...]

Nov

15

Mr. Smith Has an Epiphany

November 15, 2006 | 2 Comments

I’ve got Your Back
It’s my wife. The pager displays our super-secret marital code for “Everything is all right. I just want to see how you are doing. Call me at home.”
“Hey baby,” I say when my lovely wife picks up, “How’s everything going?”
“I’ll be home in another hour. Sorry. Things are kind [...]

Nov

10

Son of Random Madness

November 10, 2006 | Leave a Comment

I Hope This Doesn’t Catch On
Vanilla extract tastes just like schnapps and has almost the same alcohol content, at least according to one of our frequent fliers who finally sobered up enough to tell me why he was shop-lifting the stuff. Not only that but because it’s not considered an alcoholic beverage nobody really [...]

Nov

3

Spectator Medicine

November 3, 2006 | 1 Comment

Emergency
Mrs. Jones looks like a cadaver. Her bony yellow legs stick out of the bottom of the gown. A pack of relatives clutch at each of her claw-like hands and stare confidently at the monitor over the bed.
“She’s doing better, right?” Her blood pressure had been coming up steadily. A great-grandson reads the numbers to [...]

Aug

3

Ask Uncle Panda

August 3, 2006 | Leave a Comment

1. Say, Uncle Panda, what exactly do you like about Emergency Medicine? I thought the hours were crazy and the burn-out rate was high. What about it?
From the perspective of residency training, Emergency Medicine is far superior to any other specialty. First of all, it’s the most like a regular job of any residency. With [...]

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