Posted 5/11/2007 11:27 AM (GMT 0)
Interesting. Howver, you also have to understand that that amount of trauma being brought in isn't the norm in most places. Grady is THE trauma center of Atlanta - that's where you want to go if you've been in a car accident, because the people who work there are highly skilled in trauma. It's similar to UAB in Birmingham, but on a much larger scale.
What this article doesn't touch on is the problem that occurs in most ERs. In most places (and I have worked in several), it is not the trauma patients that are overwhelming. It is the people who are uninsured, and use the ER for a clinic. They come in with a sore throat, a "sore pinkie" as one report that i was working with read, generalized malaise, all of which would be better treated at an actual clinic or by a GP, but there is also a lack of low-cost or free clinics for people below the poverty line or who are uninsured.
I applied to work at Grady, and actually toured there. I was wanting the NICU, but they didn't have any openings at all, and I really did not feel comfortable in that area of town, so i ended up going elsewhere. But yeah - definitely interesting. Most places don't have that much trauma rolling through their doors though - not even UAB (which is also a Level 1).