My job as an ER doctor is simple: I need to identify those that are critically ill among those who are in no immediate danger of losing life or limb.
Usually, a chief complaint of chronic back pain turns out to be an exacerbation of the aches and pains that come with age – but it can also be the only symptom of an aortic aneurysm about to rupture. To make such discernment, I have to see all patients that come across the ER’s threshold as soon as possible. It means a minute I spend with one patient may be a minute taken away from another.
