Nonfiction

The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER

The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER

  • Downloads：2398
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-03-24 00:19:58
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Thomas Fisher
  • ISBN：B096DN56XX
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Reviews

Lynda Coker ，

It only took reading a few pages before I knew I needed to get comfortable because I was going to be in this story for a while。 Two hours later， I had to put the book down because I was so exhausted。 Following Dr。 Thomas Fisher as he navigates the impossible hurdles of an ER physician working under America’s flawed healthcare system was an exercise in frustration。 But it was also an opportunity to appreciate the many medical staff members that do all they can under a system that limits， curtails It only took reading a few pages before I knew I needed to get comfortable because I was going to be in this story for a while。 Two hours later， I had to put the book down because I was so exhausted。 Following Dr。 Thomas Fisher as he navigates the impossible hurdles of an ER physician working under America’s flawed healthcare system was an exercise in frustration。 But it was also an opportunity to appreciate the many medical staff members that do all they can under a system that limits， curtails， puts off， and abandons many of those who come to it for help。 I finished the book the next day。 It was a compelling read。There are so many facts and an abundance of personal perspectives about what works and what doesn’t work in America's healthcare and hospital policies。 And some perplexing views on injustice and partiality showed prospective patients/clients。The author puts you in his shoes as he strives to make the best medical evaluations he can in about 3 minutes， the average time he has to spend with each patient in the ER’s rapid evaluation unit as he makes triage type decisions on their options for further care。Dr。 Fisher writes letters that may， or may not， be sent to these individuals explaining the conditions and policies that hinder so many from getting the best healthcare available， reasons， and conclusions which left me with a lot to ponder。Between the actual ER cases， the people， and the letters， this book kept me completely immersed in this account。#Goodreadsgiveaway 。。。more

Louise ，

This is a worth-reading true story of continued hope and good work in the face of overwhelming systemic resistance; I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to understand what medical professionals who are trying to serve our underserved communities have been dealing with， particularly during this global pandemic。Full review at Lone Star on a Lark This is a worth-reading true story of continued hope and good work in the face of overwhelming systemic resistance; I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to understand what medical professionals who are trying to serve our underserved communities have been dealing with， particularly during this global pandemic。Full review at Lone Star on a Lark 。。。more

Christine ，

As a retired infectious diseases physician， I was immediately drawn to this nonfiction book penned during the initial year of the COVID pandemic。 Read the blurb。 I almost always like to go into a book cold， but this beautifully written， powerful synopsis is inspiring and will hopefully make you want to read the book。 As an aside， the book is not specifically about COVID， which is a peripheral issue here。Thomas Fisher is a Black man from the South Side of Chicago。 He went to medical school in ord As a retired infectious diseases physician， I was immediately drawn to this nonfiction book penned during the initial year of the COVID pandemic。 Read the blurb。 I almost always like to go into a book cold， but this beautifully written， powerful synopsis is inspiring and will hopefully make you want to read the book。 As an aside， the book is not specifically about COVID， which is a peripheral issue here。Thomas Fisher is a Black man from the South Side of Chicago。 He went to medical school in order to come back to his home community and take care his people。 He did indeed secure a job with the University of Chicago as an emergency room physician on the South Side。 Dr。 Fisher works as hard as he can， making the most out of the 3 minutes per patient he is allotted in the rapid evaluation unit where people are seen for triage。 He spends his evenings reflecting on the patients he saw and regretting not having more time to bond with and take better care of them。 The book is laid out in a unique way。 The chapters alternate between a day in the ER and a personal （yet never sent） letter written by Dr。 Fisher to a patient or colleague or family member that he saw that day。 The letters explain why many Black and other disadvantaged people are not offered the same opportunities for care as those （mainly white people） with private insurance。 He puts forth a thoughtful and convincing argument that it is not race and/or genetics that cut life expectancy for Blacks and others who are disadvantaged; it is the medical system of our society。 I read these letters with great interest; they gave me lots of food for thought。Dr。 Thomas Fisher is a jewel of a man。 He cares deeply for his patients and has done everything in his power to try to jumpstart changes in our country’s health care system。 Unfortunately， the system we have seems to be deeply entrenched， and I’m not sure we will be seeing any significant improvements any time soon or even ever。 That makes me sad。 This is a book for everyone。 It is well written， full of empathy， and very compelling。I would like to thank Net Galley， Random House/One World， and Dr。 Fisher for the opportunity to read an advanced review copy。 Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way。 。。。more

Jen Juenke ，

I really enjoyed this book。 The writing is clear and I loved the alternating chapters of letters to important people in the doctors life。 The book really doesn't delve too much into the COVID pandemic。 It focuses more upon the life and dedication of a Black doctor in the Emergency Department in a Southside Chicago hospital。It was real， gritty， caring， hopeful， and touching。The author/doctor let the reader peek inside his thoughts and feelings about medicine， healthcare， love and how to balance i I really enjoyed this book。 The writing is clear and I loved the alternating chapters of letters to important people in the doctors life。 The book really doesn't delve too much into the COVID pandemic。 It focuses more upon the life and dedication of a Black doctor in the Emergency Department in a Southside Chicago hospital。It was real， gritty， caring， hopeful， and touching。The author/doctor let the reader peek inside his thoughts and feelings about medicine， healthcare， love and how to balance it all。 The only issue I had with the book was the chapter dealing with something that he was the CEO of。 I wasn't sure what was going on。 Did he leave the hospital to start his own clinic？ Did he produce something that he was a CEO of？ I just wasn't sure。Overall this is a great book about the struggles of an urban emergency doctor。 Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for allowing me this ARC in exchange for this honest review。 。。。more

Val ，

My thanks to@One World， as well as to @NetGalley， for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The Emergency。The Emergency was written during the first year of Covid but it delves into so much more！ As an emergency room doctor working on the rapid evaluation unit， Dr。 Thomas Fisher has about three minutes to spend with the patients who come into the South Side of Chicago ward where he works， before directing them to the next stage of their care。 Bleeding: three minutes。 An untreated w My thanks to@One World， as well as to @NetGalley， for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The Emergency。The Emergency was written during the first year of Covid but it delves into so much more！ As an emergency room doctor working on the rapid evaluation unit， Dr。 Thomas Fisher has about three minutes to spend with the patients who come into the South Side of Chicago ward where he works， before directing them to the next stage of their care。 Bleeding: three minutes。 An untreated wound that becomes life-threatening: three minutes。 Kidney failure: three minutes。This was quite an eye-opening book！ Does our healthcare system work？ Not by a long shot。 Dr。 Fisher considers it his mission to heal wounds and relieve suffering - but how can he do that in three minutes？As if that weren't bad enough， in February 2009， the hospital administration announced they would shutter ten ICU beds and save them for Patients of Distinction。 You know the ones。 The white patients。 That's the way to segregate the Emergency Department or any department for that matter！ （That plan was eventually rescinded。） The book is written in an interesting manner in that some of it is in letters to Dr。 Fisher's patients， his colleagues， and even his mom。 （I believe none of the letters are actually mailed。） In that fashion， he is able to write about events like the Great Migration when 500，000 Black people fled to Chicago， fleeing white terrorism in the South 。。。 or of his love for the Southside of Chicago。 I think everyone needs to read The Emergency！ 。。。more

Jennifer ，

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy:As one of Newsweek's Most Anticipated Books of 2022， I had high expectations for this book。 Sadly， I was disappointed。 While this book had potential， the author chose to use it as a means to lament all that is wrong with American society。 Instead of an inside look at how one inner-city hospital coped with COVID， it was a platform to spotlight the overought issues that are burdening American today: racism， poverty， lack of education， lack of insurance， Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy:As one of Newsweek's Most Anticipated Books of 2022， I had high expectations for this book。 Sadly， I was disappointed。 While this book had potential， the author chose to use it as a means to lament all that is wrong with American society。 Instead of an inside look at how one inner-city hospital coped with COVID， it was a platform to spotlight the overought issues that are burdening American today: racism， poverty， lack of education， lack of insurance， etc。。。 instead of hailing the medical workers of the ED as the heroes they are。 The author seems to have written two different books within the context of one。 The first is an insight into a hospital in the grips of a pandemic， but every other chapter the author devotes to what he calls "a letter to a patient。" It is within these "letters" that the author rails against racism， poverty and the litany of other societal ills continues。 He is outraged at the VIPs who receive what he considers the gold standard of care at the expense of the minorities that come to his ED。 However， it's a much different story when the author's own mother comes for care and he demands VIP care for her and is upset when after receiving VIP level of care， she is treated like just another black woman during a change of shift， until he calls in to speak to the new ED doctor。 Such hypocrisy that it is stomach-turning！I would do yourself a favor and save yourself both time and money by finding another book to read。 。。。more

Sara ，

If you're under some sort of illusion that our healthcare system works， read this book and find out who it works for and who it most definitely does not work for。Dr。 Fisher describes his year in a Chicago ER。 Does it read like Grey's Anatomy or （more likely） Chicago Med？ In some ways， it does。 It's riveting reading and the stories of his patients' realities are very sobering。 I can't even imagine how Dr。 Fisher doesn't want to drink himself to sleep every night because it is so obvious that he c If you're under some sort of illusion that our healthcare system works， read this book and find out who it works for and who it most definitely does not work for。Dr。 Fisher describes his year in a Chicago ER。 Does it read like Grey's Anatomy or （more likely） Chicago Med？ In some ways， it does。 It's riveting reading and the stories of his patients' realities are very sobering。 I can't even imagine how Dr。 Fisher doesn't want to drink himself to sleep every night because it is so obvious that he cares， that he's trying and that the system is beating him down; even the good ones are powerless with the healthcare system we have that is motivated far more by $$$ than health or care。 I wish that people who don't believe in systemic racism would read this book and see exactly how pervasive racism is when seeking out medical care--which should not be determined by race or economic status。 But it is and Dr。 Fisher has painted a compelling picture for us。Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book。 。。。more

Marika ，

Dr Thomas Fisher is a man of color who writes passionately about his life as an emergency medicine physician in Chicago。 He goes home each night after his shift and writes letters （that he never mails） to his many patients about the care that they received by him。 He apologizes for what he sees as the lack of health equality for all。 He apologizes for the poverty that his patients live in。 He apologizes because he recognizes that just because a person is living in poverty does not mean that they Dr Thomas Fisher is a man of color who writes passionately about his life as an emergency medicine physician in Chicago。 He goes home each night after his shift and writes letters （that he never mails） to his many patients about the care that they received by him。 He apologizes for what he sees as the lack of health equality for all。 He apologizes for the poverty that his patients live in。 He apologizes because he recognizes that just because a person is living in poverty does not mean that they should receive less than optimal healthcare。 One might go into this book thinking that the emergency that he writes about takes place in the E。R only。 But readers will come away asking themselves what is the real emergency。 The right to education， employment， community safety affects how well and how long we live。 So what is the real emergency？Award winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates writes the forward for this moving book which will bring much attention。 * I read an advance copy and was not compensated。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0