Other night, two dudes were rather unceremoniously dumped on our ambulance ramp. They were, reportedly, not breathing very effectively, thought to be due to ingestion of some substance or another.
Dude who ‘dropped off’ his fellows walked into the ER waiting room, went to the vending machines, got a snack, and left. Didn’t talk to anyone.
With friends like these…
This is one of the saddest stories I’ve read in a while. H/t to GruntDoc.
Dr. Michael Sanchez, who in a few months as director of University Hospital’s busy emergency department slashed waiting times and reduced the number of patients turned away because of overcrowding, was struck and killed while jogging Sunday afternoon.
His own emergency department colleagues tried to save Sanchez without recognizing him because of the extent of his injuries. Only after he was pronounced dead did they learn it was Sanchez, hospital staff said.
…
Police said Sanchez was struck in the 11600 block of Bandera Road about 1:40 p.m. Sunday. The driver told police he was on his way to get the brakes on his SUV fixed when his cell phone rang. As he answered it, he said he spotted Sanchez on the side.
According to a police report, Smith said he hit the brakes and the car swerved onto the shoulder, striking Sanchez and sending him onto the hood of the car.
A witness said the driver swerved across two lanes before striking the victim. Police said no charges have been filed.
…
Rufe said Sanchez had so much enthusiasm and energy for the job, it made some of his colleagues skeptical about him. But it was that drive that allowed him to push the department beyond the way things had traditionally been done.
“He was telling me one day, ‘I love my job. I love what I do. I love my family. We have a wonderful home. I can’t ask for anything else. And now the possibility of a residency program. I’m just a fortunate person,’” Rufe said.
It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…
I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…
Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?
I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…
The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You
When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…
Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book
I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…
