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Emergency!: True Stories from the Nation's ERs
Long before the hit TV show E.R., emergency room doctor Mark Brown decided that the world just had to know about real life in a hospital's E.R. He canvassed 15,000 doctors and nurses across the country, asking them to contribute the stories, dramas, the ridiculous sagas, and the immensely humorous moments that make up their lives in the war zone, or "pit."
221 pages, Hardcover
First published January 16, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
October 29, 2010
I've had this book for quite some time & have re-read it more than once. Each time I'm struck by how true to life most of the stories are & how many I've experienced in the time I've worked at my hospital ER. The only trouble? Some of these stories are known urban legends.
This book collects several stories, some of which are sad, some infuriating, some hilarious. One of the stories that always seems to stick with me is the one about the insane violinist. It's a truly sad story, that one. Luckily there's just as many hilarious stories to even the book out.
The only spot that marred this book was that there were a few urban legends thrown into the mix, such as the "Superman" sex fiasco. While I am willing to believe that there's people out there who might have gotten into a jam, the story given is pretty much identical to the one floating around on the internet. The story is still funny, it is painfully obvious that the person copied it off of the internet & it makes the many of the obviously real stories seem somewhat false by comparison. This isn't the only one in the book- there are several interspersed throughout the volume, some of which are ones that I've heard time & time again via various sources. How am I sure that these people didn't witness these? Because they submitted stories that have gone through several incarnations over the years, with the ones in the book being the "latest" versions. It just makes me wonder what type of screening & fact checking was done when this book was put together. Again, I just found that it made the true stories feel cheaper & faker just by being listed by those that were obviously listed so the submitter could see their name in print.
Other than that, this book is definitely worth the time to read. It makes for a wonderful "bathroom" or quick read book for those times when you can't sit & have a lengthy read. (Although if you do have the time, it's fine as a continuous read as well.)
This book collects several stories, some of which are sad, some infuriating, some hilarious. One of the stories that always seems to stick with me is the one about the insane violinist. It's a truly sad story, that one. Luckily there's just as many hilarious stories to even the book out.
The only spot that marred this book was that there were a few urban legends thrown into the mix, such as the "Superman" sex fiasco. While I am willing to believe that there's people out there who might have gotten into a jam, the story given is pretty much identical to the one floating around on the internet. The story is still funny, it is painfully obvious that the person copied it off of the internet & it makes the many of the obviously real stories seem somewhat false by comparison. This isn't the only one in the book- there are several interspersed throughout the volume, some of which are ones that I've heard time & time again via various sources. How am I sure that these people didn't witness these? Because they submitted stories that have gone through several incarnations over the years, with the ones in the book being the "latest" versions. It just makes me wonder what type of screening & fact checking was done when this book was put together. Again, I just found that it made the true stories feel cheaper & faker just by being listed by those that were obviously listed so the submitter could see their name in print.
Other than that, this book is definitely worth the time to read. It makes for a wonderful "bathroom" or quick read book for those times when you can't sit & have a lengthy read. (Although if you do have the time, it's fine as a continuous read as well.)
September 2, 2008
This consists of doctors and nurses sharing stories with the readers and I very much like the way it's put together. When I found out the type of book this was I expected it to be put into neat little compartments....like driving related accidents, SIDS deaths, and other disasters. In the beginning a doctor mentions that it isn't like that in an ER and that you never know what's coming through the doors and when. That is how the book is shared. You can go from laughing so hard to doing everything in your power not to cry in a matter of seconds. I'd recommend for anyone for sure but there are plenty of stories that will leave you in tears. I will say that there is some language as one can expect when reading true accounts of gang members, homeless people, etc. ER experiences. I'm not easily offended but I've seen reviews from people that are so I add this in to be a warning to some. I'd definitely recommend and I hope he's hard at work on more than just sewing people up- I hope he's working on a part 2!
February 27, 2012
This is one of my absolute favorite books, and I've read it so often that the inner piece of the front cover has come loose from its binding. Because it is broken down into many short pieces, it is the kind of book I can pick up for a few minutes at a time or read it cover to cover in one sitting. I have laughed over the humorous stories and been saddened by the tragic ones.
In an era of HIPAA and other restricted privacy laws, I've found more recent medical books to be bland and watered down when compared to this book and the paramedic book,Rescue 471: A Paramedic's Stories, which is in a similar format that spans the range of emotions.
The only disclaimer I have is that some of the more sensational stories, such as ones about finding objects among the fat rolls of obese patients, have made the rounds on the internet and may seem familiar to those who read medical stories on message boards, humor sites, and the like.
In an era of HIPAA and other restricted privacy laws, I've found more recent medical books to be bland and watered down when compared to this book and the paramedic book,Rescue 471: A Paramedic's Stories, which is in a similar format that spans the range of emotions.
The only disclaimer I have is that some of the more sensational stories, such as ones about finding objects among the fat rolls of obese patients, have made the rounds on the internet and may seem familiar to those who read medical stories on message boards, humor sites, and the like.
January 21, 2011
I love emergency room stories. There need to be so many more books like this
January 28, 2025
cried a lot. laughed a bit.
April 12, 2025
Some of these stories were wild! Many of these will be thought about for quite a while. Definitely worth the read.
September 5, 2025
Do you love watching medical dramas (like the Pitt???) and/or actual medical shows with real life medical issues in front of doctors (who try so hard to act but should stick to their day job)? Well you might want to pick up this book. The author has asked friends, family, and colleagues to share their own crazy stories they’ve experienced. Some of them can be outdated, but you’ll be surprised how much is still an issue today. The stories will shock you, amaze how humans are still alive, get a good laugh, or some will break you.
I did enjoy this when I initially read this. However, there are moments where it shows you how life really is, even then, and it would trigger my depression. But don’t let that stop you reading it. Again, not all of them will be sad (or cause your irrational fears to come out.)
I did enjoy this when I initially read this. However, there are moments where it shows you how life really is, even then, and it would trigger my depression. But don’t let that stop you reading it. Again, not all of them will be sad (or cause your irrational fears to come out.)
November 1, 2016
This book is quite the adventure. The book leads you through several tales of the nation's ER rooms. Some stories are lengthy lasting several pages, or others are short niblets of paragraphs. Despite their difference in number count, they all share the same characteristics. They will evoke emotion and compassion. The emotions are often variable as they range from the side splitting hilarity to the tear inducing sadness, or maybe all in one. Though, after a while, the book tends to be somewhat boring yet, fascinating. It will become boring in the sense it's repetitive with stories sharing similar aspects -such as: drunkards walking into the ER, language miscommunication, etc.- but fascinating as every story offers insight into the ER. If you enjoy stories about what goes in the ER and a fascination for the potential macabre, you'll definitely enjoy this book.
February 15, 2012
As an ICU RN this was a very fun read. It's composed of short stories experienced by nurses and doctors across the country. Some of the stories are hilarious while others are heart breaking. It talks about how grueling night shift and life in the ER can be. Many of these stories have/could also been seen in the ICU. It was a very fun and a very fast read. If anyone has a family member in the medical field I encourage you to read this. It's well written and gives a little insight to the horrific world of hospital life. :)
July 10, 2009
Riveted to this book! Chris is thinking about a medical career and picked out all these books in the bookstore and library- I was worried that they might be too graphic so started reading some of them first- sooo hooked! while I might not ever go to the hospital again without nightmares... I can't stop reading these short stories about all kinds of ER situations. Read it in one night- crazy!
January 8, 2009
Would have been better without the handful of urban legends and painfully old email forward jokes about how "lol this woman was so fat we found a remote in her vagina and she couldn't even feel it!"
December 5, 2010
Loved it! There are some stories in here that made me cringe, laugh, cry. This book is my right down my alley. I've shared many of these stories with my nursing students in post conference.
December 27, 2011
I absolutely loved this. These kinds of books are always my favorites. I want to be a nurse and this book has officially made me want to work in the emergency room.
March 19, 2013
Read this book. Seriously.
It's hilarious, sad, optimistic, amazing, and offers an incredible insight into a profession that often does the impossible.
It's hilarious, sad, optimistic, amazing, and offers an incredible insight into a profession that often does the impossible.
March 25, 2019
EMERGENCY! is nonfiction that reads like a page-turner novel. This book contains over 100 vignettes written by emergency room doctors and nurses all over the country. Some are dark and sad, some are hopeful and uplifting, most are gruesome, and all are so compelling that you can't help but go on to the next. I don't think I have a particular penchant for morbidity, but I read this book in one afternoon.
There are stories of GOMERs (Get Out of My Emergency Room), elderly people barely hanging on to life who must be resusitated; patients with DSB (Drug-Seeking Behavior), who come in with an imagined complaint in hopes of getting narcotics; SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) babies; mothers having babies in cars; severed body parts; Code Blues; people with, er, complaints of a personal nature.
We meet a young man who needs a blood transfusion thanks to a stab wound, but won't get one because he carries a card in his wallet that states he's a Jehovah's Witness. Gastroenterologists try out their new toy; interns try to intubate patients; lab techs faint in patients' laps; everyone works long hours.
EMERGENCY! brings us straight into the ER, where we know the stress of trying to keep patients alive, and the anguish of family, friends, and staff left behind when it can't be done. You will cry, you will laugh, you will wonder why you are reading this book--but once you've started it, read it you will
There are stories of GOMERs (Get Out of My Emergency Room), elderly people barely hanging on to life who must be resusitated; patients with DSB (Drug-Seeking Behavior), who come in with an imagined complaint in hopes of getting narcotics; SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) babies; mothers having babies in cars; severed body parts; Code Blues; people with, er, complaints of a personal nature.
We meet a young man who needs a blood transfusion thanks to a stab wound, but won't get one because he carries a card in his wallet that states he's a Jehovah's Witness. Gastroenterologists try out their new toy; interns try to intubate patients; lab techs faint in patients' laps; everyone works long hours.
EMERGENCY! brings us straight into the ER, where we know the stress of trying to keep patients alive, and the anguish of family, friends, and staff left behind when it can't be done. You will cry, you will laugh, you will wonder why you are reading this book--but once you've started it, read it you will
November 21, 2019
This is a collection of brief vignettes from all over the country, written by ER doctors and nurses, and compiled by an ER doc who introduces each section with a related recollection of his own. It started out great, with amusing and heartwarming stories, and you could really feel as though you were a part of the team as they faced each day, each trauma. But as the book went on, it gradually became more and more depressing. I'm not sure if this was by design or not, but each part became progressively more serious, and the stories became more heartfelt and/or callous. I found each event to be fascinating, but honestly I took a whole star off my rating because it eventually became downright discouraging. Many of the ER staff become burned-out, which makes them seem less heroic and more down-to-earth and realistic, of course, but it also shows their dark sides and, often, their inability to cope. It was also disheartening to see how so many people abuse the system--the homeless looking for a place to sleep, the drunk and disorderly causing problems, and some who are just plain jerks who, unfortunately, often take their frustrations out on the ER staff. I have a whole new appreciation for the ER medical staff, and this book recognizes that it takes a certain kind of personality to succeed and thrive in this intense environment. Very interesting book, a very quick read, but be prepared to take the bad with the good.
July 22, 2022
I liked it because I'm a sucker for medical procedural writing. I loved it when I volunteered in the emergency room, mostly because the pace and variety were interesting and because most of the visits resulted in "saves." In my three years there, I saw only one person die, and the way the docs and staff fought to save him was really inspiring.
This book had some great stories, some very bizarre incidents, and too many in which the patient died. I didn't like the poetry included in it, but I can understand why someone who works in an ER would want to express himself/herself in some creative way, just to deal with the stress.
On a sour note, though, it amazes me how "free" people seem to feel to shame people who are larger than average. Fat folks are still the lowest on the totem pole.
This book had some great stories, some very bizarre incidents, and too many in which the patient died. I didn't like the poetry included in it, but I can understand why someone who works in an ER would want to express himself/herself in some creative way, just to deal with the stress.
On a sour note, though, it amazes me how "free" people seem to feel to shame people who are larger than average. Fat folks are still the lowest on the totem pole.
October 31, 2021
This book was a 5/5 for me! But I realize that unless you're an EM doc, like I am, you may not find if as entertaining, endearing, and relatable. I've read a lot of med literature, and this is one of the few books that I think really depicts all the aspects - the good, bad, and ugly - of what I do everyday. It was 100% relatable and after 15+ years of practicing EM, I felt that I could've written any of the numerous anecdotes shared. If you want an inside glimpse, then read this book. I find it particularly interesting that despite the decades since this book was published (1996, I believe), this book is still 100% relevant today (2021). A testament to the unchangeable nature of human beings.
January 22, 2023
If the events of the last 2+ years hadn't already killed my last vestiges of trust in the medical profession, then this book certainly put the final nail in the coffin. It's just appalling to see the attitude so many medical "professionals" have towards those in need of medical attention. They mock patients, refer to them with demeaning terminology, and even blame them for the incompetent medical treatment they received. Particularly disgusting were those who clearly violated the Hippocratic Oath and then lied about what they did to cover their tracks. Had I read this book prior to 2020, I might not have believed any of these stories were true. But the events of the past two years have ripped off the bandaid and revealed many of these folks as unbelievably callous monsters.
October 19, 2022
S'alright : ) You get a wide swath of stories here, so it's pretty good variety. There's a small handful that I thought had a bit too much medical talk, but I also didn't realize there was a guide for that in the back... Procedures are described, but I didn't personally think they got too gory or gross - most were actually very careful
Not emetophobic safe, as one would expect. I don't think there were any trigger words, but people are ill and feel ill. All scenes including are thankfully brief in mention
There's also two N-words, both hard R and one f-slur (if you're the type to care). Skip Frank's story to avoid
Not emetophobic safe, as one would expect. I don't think there were any trigger words, but people are ill and feel ill. All scenes including are thankfully brief in mention
There's also two N-words, both hard R and one f-slur (if you're the type to care). Skip Frank's story to avoid
October 4, 2022
As a former ER nurse, I have to stop falling for medical “kindle daily specials”. This was another collection of anecdotes that may have been exaggerated as some seemed similar to urban legends. Unfortunately including these takes away from the included real reports of staff abuse by superiors and patients, burnout from long hours, exasperation of internet and self-diagnosis resulting in receiving care too late, etc
July 20, 2017
Basically a quick beach read for me. I'm being generous with 3 stars. Some of the stories were hard to believe... like the sweet potato shot out of a rectum all the way across the ER. Far too many sexual stories, way out stories and it actually showed ER personnel as being sort of jerks. I'll be more careful what I say during an ER visit after reading this.
December 7, 2017
Quick. Largely humorous. Sometimes heart-breaking. I expected a lot of stories about foreign objects inserted in different orifices, and I wasn't disappointed. One of my favorites was the story of the 'fetus' which was determined to be an old tampon, but only after the priest had given last rites.
October 27, 2016
A Reader's Digest of ER Stories
A compilation from various medical personnel and extremely uneven. Some stories are horrifying, some hackneyed. Interesting but probably not worth your time.
A compilation from various medical personnel and extremely uneven. Some stories are horrifying, some hackneyed. Interesting but probably not worth your time.
May 29, 2021
Excellent book giving an internal look into medical staffs.
Heartfelt compilation of doctor to patient events. Funny stories. Tragic occurrences. Behind the scenes camaraderie. One of the best medical books I've read.
Heartfelt compilation of doctor to patient events. Funny stories. Tragic occurrences. Behind the scenes camaraderie. One of the best medical books I've read.
November 13, 2022
Telling it like it is
Nothing has changed over the years. A very entertaining read of very faced paced work environment. Well written, easy to read, and ent for those of us who have worked in the trenches.
Nothing has changed over the years. A very entertaining read of very faced paced work environment. Well written, easy to read, and ent for those of us who have worked in the trenches.
December 15, 2023
what a fun book.. yeah, maybe not the genre most would consider a fun read, but i thrive on true stories.. this book was put together in a unique way.. like stories or essays from so many different medical personnel.. stories they may remember the most, some amusing, some magical, some weird..
June 6, 2017
Some great stories here. Funny, sad, gross. You'll get it all. Great book for waiting on your flight at the airport. Pick it up when you can.
July 5, 2017
Short stories submitted by ER Drs, nurses, and support staff from all over the country. Having worked in the ER I found it all the more interesting, and truthful.
September 27, 2017
These short stories range from hilarious to pathetic to tragic. No wonder emergency room doctors burn out, seeing so much human stupidity and suffering.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews