long run, finally!

it's been a good while since i've done a long run, but i finally got my butt out on the road today for a 14-miler.

i thought i'd share this one with you, since it's an ED classic.


yes, it's funny but also sad. although there are people like this that come to the ED with "fake" medical conditions, these folks invariably have a lot of pain. perhaps it's not the kind of pain that morphine and valium can fix, but ED doctors can at least let these folks know that we care about them.

this has nothing to do with the technical skills of being an emergency physician, but at the heart of our work, we are in the emergency department to offer comfort and make people who are in pain feel better.

all of our patients will die. so we're never going to "save" anyone. but we can help people to feel better. and the best weapon i have to effect this end is my ability to let patients know that care that they are in pain and genuinely want to make them feel better. i hope to have the strength and insight to do this.