In my few years in the ER, I’ve learned a few things.

• don’t sleep on the train tracks
• 68 year olds should not do cocaine
• some people want to be miserable
• true love does still exist
• the will to live can be brutal
• 2 minutes of CPR can wear you out
• sometimes TPA works, sometimes it doesn’t
• “elderly fall” = ticking time bomb
• esophageal varices is an ugly way to die
• the former drug addict with mouth sores may just need a hug and be told she’s beautiful
• it’s ok to tell the patient’s spouse to call the children
• just because someone is “being dramatic” doesn’t mean there isn’t something horribly wrong
• never let an hypotensive GI bleed out of bed
• always check to see if the patient who’s been in the ER awhile is diabetic
• withdrawals ARE life threatening
• sometimes the dementia patient who has been in the ER a few days waiting for long – term placement needs to go on a “field trip” outside
• we don’t only take care of law-abiding citizens
• firemen are awesome
• a stretcher carrying a 350 lb man with a tech doing compressions rolled over ones toe will break said toe…
• every shift I learn something new
• it takes a team to care for the sick, and I’ve got the BEST one!