It is hard trying to establish a new specialty in a conservative profession.
My own turf wars at present:
Intensivists who want to run the trauma team and the retrieval service
Radiologists who refuse to acknowledge that anyone but they can do
ultrasound
Orthopaedic surgeons who are furious that their fracture clinic has been
closed and the ED has taken over their acute work!
However all these wars will be one. Specifically Intensive Care is dominated
by control freaks who are so unpleasant to members of their own specialty
that many a young specialist packs it in and recruitment is a real problem.
They have enough work to do in their own units!
The key to developing the ED is to employ medical staff who are so good and
so experienced that it is obvious they are capable of performing procedures
previously done by others by default.
I do not mean experienced juniors although it helps if middle grade ED staff
are clearly more experienced than the inpatient registrars.
I mean specialists who are present and clearly in charge.
Emergency Medicine will never gain respect if the consultants are thought of
as office workers who do review clinics and do paper work.
The average ED should have at least 5 consultants, larger units 10 or 11.
This will happen and sooner than you think.
Emergency Medicine is in its ascendancy, other specialties are actually
frightened of losing their workload. Don't fight them, ignore them - employ
more senior staff and demonstrate a patient centered focus to those who pay
the wages !
I have been working bloody hard all weekend on the floor. Better do some
paper work!
End of the sermon
JohnC
> ----------
> From: Jel Coward[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Monday, 31 May 1999 10:23
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: We look after really sick people dont we ?
>
> In article <[log in to unmask]>, Craig Ellis
> <[log in to unmask]> writes
> >I would be
> >interested in your opinions.
> >
>
> Probably best if I keep them to myself ;-)
>
> ...but you have my sympathies :-)
>
> Why are folk so happy to fight turf wars?
>
> ...I guess I am lucky where I am because no-one is prepared to come and
> do their thing around here so it is difficult for them to attack me in
> such a way.
>
>
> Cheers :)
> --
> Jel Coward
>
> ..take a look at the Wilderness Emergency Medicine and Command Physician
> courses
>
> http://www.wildmedic.org
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> 'There's no such thing as bad weather - just bad clothing"
> Anon Norwegian
>
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