Book: An Emergency Medicine Mindset

I decided to pursue Emergency Medicine early; Lewis Goldfrank and his team at Bellevue were incredible role models.  Faced by piercing questions on each of my clinical rotations, I never once wavered.  Each perceived downside was a meaningful challenge in my book.  Blessed to have seen a big chunk of the world early and meet folks from all different walks of life, EM seemed like a natural fit… a lifelong cultural exploration.  Do the best you can for the person in front of you at any time of day or night.  The flow and approach is different than what is taught in many medical schools.  Thankfully, I stumbled upon Brian Zink’s “Anyone, Anything, Anytime: A History of Emergency Medicine”.  Yes, a historical perspective can be fun to navigate.  Incredible, our field literally began in 1970 (1st EM resident) or some may argue 1989 when ABEM was accepted as a primary Board by the ABMS.  In several decades, we have come a long way.  The development of our field was inevitable and necessary.

EM is still misinterpreted or misunderstood by many.  Sometimes the work of frontline physicians goes unrecognized (e.g. Dallas July 2017; Orlando June 2016).  ‘What do you do again?’  ‘Which part of the hospital do you work in?’  The Ground Floor; the first to greet our patients.  As my career has developed, it’s been fascinating to watch and learn from the various successful approaches to patient care and teamwork.  Documenting these skill sets is important to our field, the students we hope to attract, the residents we are training, the public we want to educate and continue to build our trust with, etc.

“An Emergency Medicine Mindset” is a humble attempt to accomplish the aforementioned.  A deep thanks to all of the talented authors and emdocs.net team for making it a reality.  If you’re interested in reading this work in full, please go here: https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Medicine-Mindset-Alex-Koyfman-ebook/dp/B0718XBG9W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1494456774&sr=1-1 or check it out on Barnes & Noble or iBooks store.

Alex Koyfman, MD (@EMHighAK)

One thought on “Book: An Emergency Medicine Mindset”

  1. As a former Police Officer (1986-1996) and current EM Physician assistant (after several years as Paramedic) I greatly appreciate your mention of Dallas in July… I’m assuming you are speaking of the horrific MCI involving Dallas LE on the the 7th in 2016? That day sent me back to a dark time, the silver lining being the knowledge that EM in and out of the hospital has my LE brother’s and sister’s backs in all circumstances! I look forward to reading your book.

    Be Safe,

    Joseph J. Hamilton, PA-C, NRP
    LAPD #26566

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