33 Eye-Opening Confessions From An ER Doctor

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16-06-2025

Recently, on Reddit, an emergency room doctor hosted an AMA, inviting users to "ask me anything" about their profession.
Here are some of the best questions and answers from the AMA:
Q: What led you to become an ER doctor, and what part of your job could drive you away from wanting to continue to be one?
A: I was drawn to emergency medicine because I loved the variety, every rotation in med school had me thinking, "I want to do this," and the ER let me do a bit of everything. I also really like the shift work. When my shift ends, I'm done. A full-time schedule is around 120 hours a month, so most days I still get to enjoy life outside the hospital.I don't really know what would make me leave. A lot of ER docs do burn out eventually, but so far, I still really love it.
Q: How much money do you make?
Q: What would you keep at home if you really wanted to not die from anything that's sometimes immediately fatal (ie, stroke, pulmonary embolism)?
Q: One health tip for the general public given your position and experience?
A: If I had to give one health tip based on what I see every day: wear a seatbelt, don't drive drunk, and stay off motorcycles. I've seen too many lives changed — or ended —because of those exact things. Simple choices, but they make a huge difference.
Q: I imagine you must have lost a patient at some point. How do you handle informing the family, and how do you make sure it doesn't affect you personally?
Q: Recently, a wonderful younger doctor took care of us in the ER, and I would like to give him something to show our appreciation, but I'm not sure what. Any suggestions? Thanks for helping other humans survive!
Q: What's the craziest case you saw?
A: One of the craziest cases I've seen was a young patient who had a massive pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs) and was bleeding heavily into her abdomen at the same time. She was literally dying from clotting too much and bleeding too much at once. Treating one made the other worse — it was an incredibly tough balance and a real challenge medically. She had a thrombectomy, then emergency surgery, and was placed on ECMO. Amazingly, she walked out of the hospital a few weeks later.
Q: What was the most surreal/bizarre situation you experienced during a shift?
Q: Have you seen The Pitt? If so, what does it get right and what does it get wrong?
Q: How often do you think people in extreme pain, perhaps not from an obvious source, are denied pain medication by doctors suspicious of their claims?
A: The only times I hold off on giving pain meds are when someone is so sick that the pain might actually be helping keep them alive, or when we need to address something more urgent first, like stabilizing them or protecting their airway.Otherwise, I take pain seriously, even if the source isn't obvious right away. Just because we can't see it doesn't mean it's not real.
Q: Why do emergency doctors tell you what is wrong with you and to follow up with your doctor for further testing, instead of doing the testing while you're in the hospital?
Q: When people come through and they have health anxiety and they are talking way too much because that's how they cope, does it annoy you?
Q: What are common issues that are right on the border of needing to go to the ER vs Urgent Care and vice versa? Like, where you say, 'Yeah, I can see why you thought to go to urgent care vs. the ER, but you really should have come to the ER,' and vice versa.
A: That's a tough one; there's no perfect line between urgent care and the ER. Minor things like small cuts, sprains, or basic infections are usually fine for urgent care. But anything more serious, like chest pain, trouble breathing, bad abdominal pain, high fevers in neonates, or anything that could be life-threatening, you should head to the ER.
Q: Have you ever seen signs of obvious terminal cancer that were a complete surprise to the patient being seen?
Q: As someone who gets panic attacks, what do you think when someone shows up with one?
Q: Your answers have been very empathetic and thoughtful—do you think most of your colleagues have a similar attitude toward patient care, tolerance, etc?
A: Thanks. Everyone's a little different, but in general, I do think most people in this line of work, like doctors, nurses, techs, etc., choose it because we genuinely want to help.
Q: My 17-year-old just graduated from high school and got through an EMT program in her senior year. She is going to college in the fall, doing pre-med. Her end goal is to be an ER physician. I want my kid to reach her potential, and she is for sure cut out for it, personality-wise, but would you actually recommend the profession to others? If you had a chance to do over and pick a different career (or specialty), would you?
Q: I'm extremely phobic about needles and blood. If I came in in distress, what would your staff be able to do to make things less traumatic for me? I'm really afraid that if I thought I was having a heart attack or something, I would genuinely think twice about going in for help.
Q: Knowing what you know and having seen what you've seen, what advice would you give us?
A: If there's one thing I've learned, it's that family is the most important thing. At the end of someone's life, no one talks about the news, politics, or work. It's all about the people they love — holding hands, saying goodbye, being surrounded by family. Those moments make everything else fade into the background.
Q: What is the FUNNIEST thing that has happened?
Q: Is there any particuliar kind of accidents you prefer not to see?
Q: Are there days or times of year when the ER is a lot busier?
A: Mondays are usually the busiest, and we also see spikes right after big storms or bad weather clears.
Q: Does work provide any resources to help you recover from any trauma you experience as a result of being exposed to intense scenarios?
Q: What's the funniest story behind an injury you've treated?
Q: Do you enjoy working with paramedics or do they bother you?
A: I really enjoy working with paramedics, especially the ones who are engaged and curious, and I always try to follow up with them when I can so they know how their patient did. We're all part of the same team. The only thing that can be a turn-off is when someone's overconfident to the point that they miss something important, like a STEMI, or ignore a patient's pain. There's no room for ego in this work; we all need to stay sharp and humble because lives depend on it.
Q: I went to the ER recently for upper GI pain (it was bad). Turns out I was severely dehydrated and needed to pass some good ole material. I was kinda embarrassed about it. How many people come to the ER because they are backed up?
Q: I had a severe injury a couple of months ago and was scared of going to the ER due to the costs. Is that a genuine fear? I fear that if my life is in danger, I'd be too scared to call an ambulance or go to the ER because of costs.
Q: What's the common thing you see children under 10 come in for? The most severe cases and the less severe cases?
A: Most common reason kids under 10 come in? Definitely fever or upper respiratory infections — especially in the winter. We see tons of those. On the more severe end, things like allergic reactions, accidental ingestions, and trouble breathing.
Q: How often do patients not believe your diagnosis? Got some fun examples?
Q: Whats the craziest thing someone has put in their butt?
Q: Do all the staff sleep with each other like in movies, or is that, like, just in movies?
A: That's mostly just in the movies, but every hospital definitely has its fair share of drama. When you work long hours in a high-stress environment, relationships and gossip happen. It's not like Grey's Anatomy, but yeah, things go on.
Q: Whats the worst thing you have seen someone (mostly) recover from?
Q: What is the best way to advocate for yourself if you think the doctor or nurse has it wrong?
Do you work in an ER or a similar medical setting? Tell us about your experiences in the comments or via the anonymous form below: