1. Can you explain for us nondocs what a steeple sign is

Check out the current issue of Discover (if not familiar they have a Vital Signs column usually written by ER doc about a case they had and the detective work involved in diagnosing and treating the case always NOT a slam dunk one) It was on an older guy who had balance probs. I learned you have 3 primary types of instability as an old guy. Two for this patient you can fix the problem by a series of head movements. My family doc growing up was a DO so when you can fix me w/o drugs esp the flawed ones being put on the market today Im all for it.

2. Whats the deal with the specialists thinking the ER docs are lower caliber? I can relate to the ER docs because a big part of my job as a waiter is like yours. I constantly have to run like a computer a list of what the next 5-10 things I need to do are and the list is changeable by the second based on what I see let alone by interactions with my guests. We are the ones who have to explain to the customer/patient how a failing by another area of the employer has failed and take thei grief on it. You have to apologize for a lab result cycle of 10 hours and I have to tell a self entitled ass his well down 2 inch thick tenderloin can NOT be cooked in the whopping 20 minutes since he ordered it and since his table was the last table to order of the current dinner rush then his steak probably didnt get put on the grill for a good 15 minutes.

I can understand the mentality of I spent X years focused on specialty X and you the ER doc trained on it specifically for a single rotation. But when you factor in you have to be fluent in EVERYTHING and deal with it in a trama situation. Pile on the drug seekers ( my coworkers), the homeless, the legitimate psych cases, and the uninsured using the ER as a primary care clinic. How is what you do any less worthy than the sheltered scheduled life they lead. And as a potential patient the pompous asses who refuse to come in on call when its inconvenient to them-WTF its part of being a hospital doc -you get to be on call so you can man up and do your job. Its not like you didnt figure out during residency a hospital doc will be on call -if that is a deal breaker form a private practice.

Yes, doctors get sick too. And very frequently they end up in the ER - either because they wait too long to be seen and by the time they finally do, they are in severe pain or really sick, or they are too busy/lazy to go to their own PMD! ER stories …