II. Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine is the sexiest of all rotations, in my humble opinion. It is feast or famine in as much as work to be done. There is little that needs to be said about Emergency Medicine as it is often glamorized on television. Major differences include the location of the ED you work in, the population, and whether or not the facility is a Trauma Center. Emergency medicine doctors are often felt to be lazy medical cowboys by their inpatient counterparts, as they basically are there to 1) Keep you alive if you are dying, and 2) Figure out if you are sick enough to be admitted or well enough to go home once that is ascertained. Not to diminish the skill necessary to think quickly on one's feet and stabilize a dying person, but they are specialists in rapid disposition. Once you are deemed viable, their job is to move you from point A (the ED) to point B (home, inpatient, surgery, etc). This often thankless job includes meeting the masses of mentally ill people that wander in off the street, the homeless drug addict who wants a quick fix and knows if they complain of pain, they will get drugs if their story is close to right, the abused children and women, the neglected elders, you name it. If you can't develop a tough skin and crass manner, the huddled masses will eat your soul.
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Confessions of an Intern
Non-FictionThese are musings of mine, told as I grow through residency. I hope to share a little insight into the making of a doctor, one who still cannot believe she's been blessed with this responsibility.
