Sept. 12, 2021

An emergency medicine life

"I called my wife of 31 days, anxious and dazed. I told her that the pace I was on was crushing me. I told her I had done seven admits since 5 p.m. and taken floor calls, too. It was not yet midnight. I told her I don’t know if I can do this job....

"I called my wife of 31 days, anxious and dazed. I told her that the pace I was on was crushing me. I told her I had done seven admits since 5 p.m. and taken floor calls, too. It was not yet midnight. I told her I don’t know if I can do this job. But I soldiered on.

It was the first of July.

I picked up my first chart of the shift and began to walk to see the patient. Felt some apprehension. I looked at the chart and noticed the name printed in the box for the attending physician. The name was mine.

I felt awe. I felt pride. I felt fear."

Duane Corsi is an emergency physician.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "An emergency medicine life." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2021/07/an-emergency-medicine-life.html)