The ER

Rade B. Vukmir, MD, JD, is president of Critical Care Medicine Associates, a medical service consulting enterprise. He is trained in emergency and critical care medicine and has a degree in law with health care specialization. Critical Care Medicine Associates has a twenty-three-year history of providing precision medical, legal, education, and industry consultative services. Dr. Vukmir has written forty-three peer reviewed medical journal articles. He is the author of seven books including The Mill (1999), Airway Management in the Critically Ill (2001), Outcome of the Critically Ill (2001), Lessons Learned (2003), ER: A Year in the Life (2005), ER: One Good Thing a Day (2008), and The Maximally Efficient and Optimally Effective Emergency Department (2009).

Contents Preface Introduction 1. Gland Trouble 2. A "Tired" Heart 3. The Dance 4. Stroke 5. "I Work for the Government" 6. Things are Not Always What They Seem 7. "My Arms are Tingling" 8. "I Can't Feel My Feet" 9. It's Not Always What it Appears 10. In Dire Need of a Procedure 11. An Unbearable Burden 12. The Second Visit 13. Seizure-"Can I Smoke?" 14. "Throwed Off My Horse" 15. Halfway Around the World 16. "What Did You Used To Do?" 17. The Dancer 18. Common Things are Common 19. Now That's Constipated 20. "My Boss Made Me Come" 21. "He Can't Move His Arm" 22. "My Back Hurts" 23. "I Was Just Dancing" 24. "He Can't See" 25. "It's Radiology on the Phone" 26. "I Think She Works Here" 27. "I'm Just Aching" 28. Headache for Five Years 29. Furniture Stripper 30. "I Don't Know What Happened" 31. "You Got a Good Head of Hair" 32. "Doc, I Can't Swallow" 33. "I Can't Move My Legs" 34. "I Have Swollen Glands" 35. "My Stomach Hurts" 36. "Someone Fell Off the Roof" 37. "Why, You Can Kiss My Rusty Ass!" 38. "Who's in Charge Here?" 39. "My Legs Are Weak" 40. "I Have a Rash" 41. "I Can't Talk" 42. Blood Pressure Check 43. Just a Migraine Headache 44. It's Another Chest Pain 45. Swollen Lymph Nodes 46. "He's Just Not Quite Right!" 47. "My Stomach Hurts" 48. "I'm Just Weak with Fever" 49. Shoulder Pain 50. Another Motor Vehicle Accident 51. Low Blood Sugar 52. Strep Throat 53. It's Just Another Chest Pain 54. It's Just Gastroenteritis 55. "My Blood Counts are Down" 56. "I Can't Open My Mouth" 57. "I Have a Headache" 58. Right Lower Quadrant Pain 59. Chest Pain 60. "I Have a Headache" 61. "He's Sick" 62. "They Won't Admit Him" 63. Wrist Pain 64. Hip Pain 65. Car Accident 66. Sick-"I Have the Flu" 67. "Her Stomach Hurts" 68. "She Had a Seizure!" 69. "My Stomach and My Leg are Swollen" 70. "I Feel Weak" 71. "He Has Croup Again" 72. Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) 73. Abdominal Pain 74. "I Can't Pee" 75. "I Have a Headache" 76. "Her Rash Is Getting Worse" 77. "I've Been Weak" 78. "I Think I Had a Stroke" 79. "I Think I Have a Staph Infection" 80. "I Passed Out" 81. Cough 82. "I Can't Eat" 83. Weak and Dizzy 84. "My Arm Hurts" 85. Bitten by a Tick 86. "My Side Hurts" 87. Impetigo 88. "My Neck Hurts" 89. "My Doctor Says I Have a Kidney Stone" 90. "My Body Hurts" 91. Courage 92. "I Have a Headache" 93. "I Have Chest Pain" 94. "He Has a Nosebleed" 95. The Sign Out 96. "My Feet Hurt" 97. Chest Pain and Shortness of Breath 98. "I've Been Trying to Lose Weight" 99. "She's Confused" 100. "I've Got Double Vision" Conclusion About the Author