The Five Rules of Emergency Medicine

I, like many of you teaching attendings out there are, constantly asked (especially before graduation), "what do I need to know to take care of sick patient.” Early on I always struggled for a concise answer and failed, but, then one day I stumbled onto this statement. I have to admit I laughed hysterically at it, but was also inspired by it. From there on whenever I was asked that question again I would simply say, "if you can keep a patients heart, lungs, and kidneys alive, you will keep them alive to be fixed if fixable". The liver's viablility is a marker of how successful your efforts are. If it's function stays good, you are doing good. If not you have more work to do and if it is the primary reason they are dying that is not "fixable." As for "you can't fix stupid", we just have to be honest with ourselves. Our patients can be struck down by a variety of conditions, but you have to love them for one thing; the creativity they show in the ways they accidentally and sometimes deliberately hurt themselves. How does this series work. Well ask yourself,” how do I keep these systems going”? The answer? KNOW THE WAY THEY NORMALLY FUNCTION COLD. Once this is done understanding the abnormal is a leap of faith. Section 5 focuses on difficult patient management.