You never know when you'll meet (or need!) an emergency physician.
I met Angela at Jefferson's Trauma Survivor Cycle-A-Thon last spring. She'd just become Chief Resident in Emergency Medicine at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, a Level 2 Trauma Center in northeast Philadelphia.
When we started pedaling, we didn't know much about each other, but as we rode...
...we fell into deep conversation -- the kind you can only have while riding stationary bikes in the cafeteria of a busy hospital!
We talked about the human side of medicine, a favorite topic of mine, and Angela's too. Treating patients as people, not just as problems.
Today at Mile Marker 6,575, she invites me up north to talk to her team.
In the conference room of the hospital, every seat is filled. There are medical students, residents, and even attending physicians. All these people work in the Emergency Department, and I know there are still many more doctors down there! It's eye-opening. The emergency room never sleeps. In fact, Angela has just come off the night shift!
I share my story with medical teams because it gives me a chance to THANK them for what they do.
But I also share my story for what it reveals about the human side of medicine. Through 2 years, 15 surgeries and 7 trips to the emergency room, my doctors and nurses never lost sight of me -- or my family -- as human beings.
I'm awed by the lifesaving potential in this room. It's unlikely I can teach this group anything they don't already know. But perhaps, in retelling my own story, I can make another patient's journey a little bit easier.
When I hop on I-95 to head home, I expect a quick ride, but traffic is at a standstill. It's mid-day, just before noon. Ugh. Probably construction.
After creeping along for 3 miles, I finally see the cause of the backup. It's not construction. It's an accident. The ambulance has already left the scene.
All hands on deck. I know the ER is ready.
Thanks, Jefferson Torresdale, for all you do!
...we fell into deep conversation -- the kind you can only have while riding stationary bikes in the cafeteria of a busy hospital!
We talked about the human side of medicine, a favorite topic of mine, and Angela's too. Treating patients as people, not just as problems.
Today at Mile Marker 6,575, she invites me up north to talk to her team.In the conference room of the hospital, every seat is filled. There are medical students, residents, and even attending physicians. All these people work in the Emergency Department, and I know there are still many more doctors down there! It's eye-opening. The emergency room never sleeps. In fact, Angela has just come off the night shift!
I share my story with medical teams because it gives me a chance to THANK them for what they do.
 |
| Without emergency teams like this one, there wouldn't be survivors like me! |
But I also share my story for what it reveals about the human side of medicine. Through 2 years, 15 surgeries and 7 trips to the emergency room, my doctors and nurses never lost sight of me -- or my family -- as human beings.
I'm awed by the lifesaving potential in this room. It's unlikely I can teach this group anything they don't already know. But perhaps, in retelling my own story, I can make another patient's journey a little bit easier.
When I hop on I-95 to head home, I expect a quick ride, but traffic is at a standstill. It's mid-day, just before noon. Ugh. Probably construction.
After creeping along for 3 miles, I finally see the cause of the backup. It's not construction. It's an accident. The ambulance has already left the scene.
All hands on deck. I know the ER is ready.
Thanks, Jefferson Torresdale, for all you do!
No comments:
Post a Comment