People of the ER

Standing in the trauma room of an emergency department is like standing at ground zero of a nuclear reaction, only it’s not radiation that is released—but stories. Stories that are told and retold, sometimes just until the end of the shift, but sometimes for decades.

A survivor of domestic violence makes it to the hospital but cannot trust anyone. An anonymous man passes away after being taken to the emergency room, and no one can identify him. The spouse of a cancer patient must decide whether to force her to undergo chemotherapy or to let her pass away in peace.

These stories—and all the rest in People of the ER—grapple with what it means to be human in the face of trauma and death.

Written by the author of Trauma Room Two, People of the ER, delves deeper into the lives of the patients and staff that work in a small, rural emergency room.

Philip Allen Green, MD, is board certified in emergency medicine. He works full time as an emergency medicine physician in Walla Walla, Washington. His previous book, Trauma Room Two, has been praised for its originality and authenticity in revealing the life of an ER physician. When he is not working in the ER he can be found spending time with his family or exploring the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon.