Customer Reviews

The Emergency Room: Lives Saved and Lost - Doctors Tell Their Stories

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Some twenty doctors offer stories of their times in their life when they served in the ER. Some quite touching; others brutal -- not just in the cases which presented themselves but also in the behavior of some of the doctors.One conclusion that I can't help to realize is that the "old boy's way" of completing ridiculous on-call hours is inhumane and should be changed and changed quickly. The impairment -- emotional and physical -- that many of these doctors suffered as a result of the length of their on-call hours caused some of them to treat patients abusively, perhaps even criminal. One doctor speaks of an uncooperative patient who needs stitches. Since he's tired and has no patience left, the doctor solved the contentious patient problem by threatening him and sewing his ears to the rails of the ER treatment bed while he proceeded to stitch the man's head.Interesting reading; provides a broad range of points of view -- professional -- speaking of their experience, challenges and downright blunders. Each story is very short and this is a great book to keep by the bedside to complete a bit at a time.Worth a look!

True dramas from the E.R., some funny, some sad, some horrifying. And these docs can write. Contributors include marquee names such as Ethan Canin, Sam Shem, Michael Palmer, Perri Klass, & Richard Selzer. Other, "less well known" contributors have been recognized by the Pushcart Prize, Pulitzer Prize, & Best American Short Stories Anthology. As a fan of the television show ER, my interest in the book was piqued by the flattering review in Kirkus Reviews. Interestingly, the editor is himself an emergency room resident training in a Chicago trauma center (just like the actors in the popular television show). If you enjoy the TV show, you'll love this collection.

Most of the stories in this book are good; a few are great and a few are boring. While it is not as compelling as "Believe It or Not! True Emergency Room Stories" or "Emergency: True Stories from the Nation's ERs", it is definitely a book that you won't regret buying.

It is a story about how you saved a life, but there are times when a life is lost and you get a perspective on what happens in the emergency room.

This is a great book about cases from the Emergency Room. Anybody who ever wanted to be behind the scenes should read this book and experience the courage and skills of the doctors and nurses. Experience the adrenaline that must me going through the ER people's body every minute they work on a person that clings on a thin thread to life. Feel the joy when a person is revived and feel the devastation when every effort was futile. Reading this book the reader will realize that the doctor's and nurses are only human with feelings and yet heroes at the same time, but they would not accept that term because they are "only" doing their job to the best of their ability. This is a fast paced book that will definitely hold your attention.

Good, readable, well-written book, but a bit disappointing given the title. Yes, these are ER doctors and they tell compelling, graphic, somber and touching tales. However, given the TV show ER, and cable productions involving trauma and emergency rooms, this book pales in comparison. On the positive side, we see these medical men and women as real, vulnerable humans with both strong and weak moments. If faced with buying the book, or going to the library and borrowing it, do the latter. Save your money for one of the other books on the subject.

I was disappointed in this book. As a potential career changer into medicine, I had hoped to get some insights into Doctors lives and the ER. You won't get any of that here.

Expect some self-absorbed essays from Doctors that highlight their fears, anxieties, disappointments and successes in the ER. If you want to learn anything about medicine look elsewhere.