Compassion Amidst the Chaos: Tales told by an ER Doc

by Christopher Davis MD, Kathleen Davis (Editor)

Over the course of a 35 year career as an Emergency Department Physician, Dr Davis has cared for over 100,000 patients. He has taught emergency medicine in the Washington DC area, the Pacific Northwest, and as guest faculty member in Laos, Bhutan, Cambodia and Uganda. This book follows his personal journey and lessons learned from his life caring for people in their most vulnerable moments. He shares his most memorable stories from the front lines of the emergency room, some uplifting, some tragic and some sharply funny. This book will give you a glimpse into the intensity, fear and satisfaction of the life of an ER doc.

Genres: Medicine, Medical, Memoir, Nonfiction

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 7, 2020

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast Moving and Interesting

This book is a compelling and fast paced read involving a variety of patients suffering from various traumas and illnesses. Some were fairly routine and to be expected in an Emergency Department environment and a few others not so common. However all were quite interesting!
Dr Davis is clearly an accomplished and caring medical professional with military experience as well as training in other countries with entirely different cultures and much less modern equipment and medicines. His wife was also a doctor although the two practiced separately for the most part. They seem to be very compatible, great bedside manner and the type of people one would welcome whether it be as friends, colleagues or one's own physician.
I found the book to be an easy read and in fact wished it were longer. Editing is good but had a few minor mistakes. For example, one patient is introduced to the reader as "Alecia" and on the very next page is referred to as "Elizabeth." However given that the names of patients are changed to protect their confidentiality anyway due to HIPPAA, I did not deduct any stars for this type of error.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author tells about his medical career, from his first volunteer shift to see if he wanted to be a doctor, through his internship/residencies, his military service (mainly Iceland, including helicopter transport!), his many years as an ER physician, and his later volunteer work in Africa and Southeast Asia. He tells about many of the patients and situations he encountered. It's all interesting, with just the right amounts of sadness, satisfaction about handling things correctly, humor, and information. I liked how he made a big effort, over time, to be more respectful to all his patients, as well as everyone he worked with, and how he gives major credit to the nurses as highly skilled professionals. He is apparently a wonderful doctor, an excellent teacher, and a good person.

I enjoyed reading the book, though I was a bit put off at first because it needed some copy editing. It was well organized, but the wording was awkward in places. Also, and this is not the author's fault and doesn't affect my rating, the Hoopla version I read had formatting problems that included missing text.

[Paul King · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Beautiful Memoir by a Devoted Doctor

Dr. Davis mixes stories of interesting cases with the humanity needed to deal with them. He has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of symptoms for various diseases and tramas. You'd have been lucky to have him as your doctor in any emergency situation.

[Koren · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title says, this is a memoir of an ER doctor. Nothing here that is different from the many other books doctors have written about their experiences, but this one will make you wish if you have to go to the ER you would get this guy. He just seems like a super nice guy.

[Frrobins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining collection of recollections of an ER doctor. While there were times where it seemed as if he would throw out a random idea and move on to a completely different one, I enjoyed the behind the scenes perspective of what goes on in an ER department.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I enjoyed some of the stories but his tone / view of people just sat a bit uncomfortable with me. I think the story about the brilliant psychotic emphasised it the most - testing him by using big words.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, easy read! Agree with other comments about some copyediting errors, but aside from my own neuroticism about that, great book. I enjoyed the pacing and the detailed clinical scenarios which I felt always kept my attention.

[David Lippincott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Davis is a fantastic storyteller whose long, rich career in the emergency department leaves him with no shortage of anecdotes and poignant reflections upon them. If, a decade from now, you find me working as an ER physician, know that this is the book that first inspired my path.

[Del Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good story. I found it very interesting and easy to read.

[Suzette Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put it down

This author not only entertained me with his stories, but he also taught me a lot about emergency medicine. A wonderful book!

[Kelly Sapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Enjoyable

If you enjoy read medical stories, this is a great read. Very well put together. Great stories even if you're not a doctor. A+

[Katelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories were just ok. The writing style could have used some work.

[Ruben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sobrio


Excelente libro para quien piensa en medicina de urgencias como especialidad, lectura obligatoria no lo dudes es un Gran libro

[Larkin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf: too much profanity.

[Julia Sweeten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting and informative

I enjoy reading real life stories written by people who are willing to be vulnerable and real with the reader. This book is just that.

[Scotia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting stories, but the writing was a bit stilted and the real voice of the author didn’t shine through.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a level 1 trauma center ED RN, I thoroughly enjoyed this! The stories were very relatable and I enjoyed the stories from the author’s volunteering overseas in Asia and Africa. How fortunate we are to live in the US, where we don’t have 100 sick patients in one room! I also learned that the first Emergency Medicine program was developed in 1970 in Cincinnati. Emergency Medicine is truly a young specialty, more than I had realized. Thank you Dr. Chris Davis for writing this book and for your work in the Air Force and civilian life as an Emergency Medicine specialist!