Blood and Guts Blogs

Have you ever watched ER, or better the reality versions of ER where they actually show someone with a real knife embedded in his skull, or an actual tree stuck up his ass? Well if you like that kind of stuff you may be interested in a Guardian article I came across about an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) in the UK who has his own blog:

Since he started blogging a year ago, Reynolds has built up a dedicated audience who have been absorbed by his accounts of dealing with knife fights, spurious call-outs and little old ladies grabbing his testicles.

In March this year, a man with Aids coughed vomit and blood into Reynolds' mouth, sentencing him to three months of nagging worry that he could be HIV positive. Reynolds' concerned readers waited with him as he detailed the hideous side-effects of the cocktail of antiretroviral drugs he had to take following the incident. On June 25 he discovered that his blood tests had come back negative. (click here for the full article)

Reynolds, the subject of the Guardian article, is a member of the EmergiBlogs, a blog ring of emergency medical professionals.

Fair warning, however, if you're not into blood and guts, you may want to avoid the subject matter. But those considering a career or career change into some form of emergency medicine may want to take a look at some of the real life experiences of some of those involved in the professions.

I've always had a deep interest in medicine, especially emergency medicine. Having to deal with the immediate visceral nature of high stress dangerous situations has a bizarre appeal. Combine that with medicine, where you're helping to save lives and you've got yourself an exciting job to say the least.

Emergency medicine professionals, however, tend to be paid far less than the value of the service they provide. ER physicians, in fact, are among the lowest paid doctors. But even ER physicians are intimidated by the situations that EMTs regularly face. And EMTs make far, far less while taking on considerably greater risks with far less support than a hospital ER setting provides.

In my opinion, after public health measures and infrastructure, emergency medicine is the most valuable healthcare service, because unlike so much other medicine, immediate emergency medical attention after serious injury really does save lives.