Comments on: EM Blogger “Hate”: Nature or Nurture?

By: Bianca Castafiore

Bianca Castafiore — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 05:13:00 +0000

Thank you, Enrico, and Dr. Schwab, for taking this on in a reasoned and thoughtful manner. I hope you don’t mind that I make mention of it on my blog (that has yet to assume any definite form, being mostly a vehicle for the personal).

By: Karl

Karl — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:44:12 +0000

In the 400 documented 250 semi-docu-hours that I spent working in the
ER’s of two large community hospitals
as a Resident, I very very rarely saw any patient who did not belong there Medicaid or Private Third Party.

The tired old bitter gripe from some
of the less than motivated ER Staff
was always “why are all these Medicaid people coming in here instead of going to their blocked PCP’s…that kid just
has a runny nose…blah blah blah “.
Often as not, the kid with a runny
nose also had serious RSV Bronchio-
litis or Febrile Seizures or Rabies
Encephalitis. I’m no psychologist
to even conjecture at what such
people may be acting out over,
nor would I really want to know,
but, quite obviously, if someone
has a problem with treating the
indigent or poor people, they
really dont belong in Healthcare.

By: Peggikaye

Peggikaye — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:40:13 +0000

try reading blogs by ambulance drivers and emts … it will curl your toes.

By: Sid Schwab

Sid Schwab — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:38:48 +0000

I guess we’re all victims of our own prejudices; and god knows I’ve let loose with plenty of lefty screeds on my blog. But as you inferred, my main point was simply in pointing out what a consider a couple of facts: a great majority of ER bloggers seem to be very conservative, and many of those are very vitriolic. I posited a couple of possible explanations, is all. None of the commenters really tried to refute my central points, only to say, in essence, “I know you are but what am I?” And whereas I admit to my own rantings (and label them as such), that sensibility doesn’t (I think and hope) suffuse the entirety of my posts, as opposed to those ER bloggers. I also said, “not all, and not always,” or some such thing.

Nor, contrary to the implications of some, did I in any way suggest their CARE was less than proper. I agree with your inference that the post was something of a Rorschach test, in that people saw in it, at least in part, what they chose to see rather than what I actually said. Not that the same can’t be said of most of us, at one time or another.

I figured it’d piss some people off, which is why I didn’t post it for so long. I wasn’t kidding when I said I finally said WTF and did it, partly because i’m intending (once again) to hang it up. Emptied out my out box…

By: Agraphia: ravings of a med student » Free Care

Agraphia: ravings of a med student » Free Care — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:48:27 +0000

[...] was reading Enrico’s latest post and figured that I’d weigh in on a patient that I saw just [...]