ER Psychiatrists: The Couch Potatoes of Adrenaline Junkies
Why did I choose to work in psych emergency?Since seven years of psychotherapy hadn't provided me with the answer, perhaps I needed the three years it took me to write DANGER TO SELF: ON THE FRONT LINE...
View ArticleThis Is Your Brain on Drugs: A View from the Psych ER
If it weren't for drugs and alcohol, I might be out of a job.I work as an emergency psychiatrist at San Francisco General Hospital.read more
View ArticleWhose Leg Is It Anyway?: Medical Decision-Making in the ER
In considering the motivations and conduct of an ER doctor, should paternalism be such a dirty word? Determining if a medical problem represents an "imminent loss of life or limb" for a patient seems...
View ArticleWhose Leg Is It Anyway?: Medical Decision-Making Part 2
While working in the psych emergency room at San Francisco General Hospital, I take a call from my medical colleague, Dr. Jones, toiling away in the "regular" Emergency Department."Paul, I'm gonna need...
View ArticleSave the Appendix! A View of DSM-5 from the Trenches
When I look at the creation of DSM-5 from the perspective of an ER Psychiatrist, I feel as if I've been left behind, disqualified, overrun by hobby horses.read more
View ArticleSan Francisco's Homeless Mentally Ill: Still Neglected
The homeless mentally ill in the city of San Francisco have been so visible for so long they've become almost part of the landscape to us city dwellers--essentially invisible people who, for all...
View ArticleAre We Headed for a Mad Max Society?
Psychiatry is the only medical specialty that does not admit patients to the hospital based on how sick they are. Psychiatrists in California have to dance around the state's civil commitment laws,...
View ArticleI Haven't Seen the Evidence for Evidence-Based Psychiatry
"Patients don't read the textbook" is a perennial truism in medical education, especially in teaching students, interns, and residents how to treat patients. And for good reason. read more
View ArticleWhose Leg Is It Anyway?: Medical Decision-Making in the ER
In considering the motivations and conduct of an ER doctor, should paternalism be such a dirty word? Determining if a medical problem represents an "imminent loss of life or limb" for a patient seems...
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