Something for the Pain: Compassion and Burnout in the ER

by Paul Austin

Book Overview

In this eye-opening account of life in the ER, Paul Austin recalls how the daily grind of long, erratic shifts and endless hordes of patients with sad stories sent him down a path of bitterness and cynicism. Gritty, powerful, and ultimately redemptive, Something for the Pain is a revealing glimpse into the fragility of compassion and sanity in the industrial setting of today's hospitals.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393337790
• ISBN13: 9780393337792
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

From the wife of an ER physician

I picked up this book as an ER physician's wife who is in a completely different line of work. It was great to see another person's perspective of life in the ER to get a better idea of what the work entails. The book was incredibly informative as well as witty, humorous, lighthearted and heartbreaking all at the same time. The book does an excellent job of taking us through the experiences of an ER doctor (including flashbacks of the medical training) by explaining procedures, specific terms and etiquette, the hospital system, etc, while the whole time remaining accessible to readers not in the field. This is a great book for someone who is not in the medical field who would like to understand what doctors go through (and why the long wait in the ER), the emotions and decisions they wrestle with, and the juggling of work and family life. I would give this book my highest recommendation.

ER Life

I enjoyed Something for the Pain from start to finish, and I learned something about life in the ER room, as well as something about how that life impacts the people who attend to our medical emergencies. As hard as it is for individual families to deal with medical crisis, I saw how a daily slate of such things could tax both the professional and private life of the doctors who dedicate their careers to helping save lives. Dr. Austin weaves case stories with incidents from his family life, drawing from his experience as a student and doctor, and ultimately provides a generous and honest account of the trials and triumphs he's faced over the years he's dedicated to medicine. Reading his work, one can easily imagine the fast-paced ER; the patients, nurses and doctors inside it; as well as how easily we could ourselves lie on one of those beds, and how we rely on the compassion and competence of our doctors.

From an Emergency Room RN

This book was refreshing. Dr Austin allows the reader to see what it is really like for a person who works with life and death every day. I was thrilled that this was not just another medical book, but one about a real person and the joys and struggles he faced. Anyone who has ever worked in an ED will be able to relate to the frustration and emotional feelings he dealt with. This book made me laugh but it also brought me to the brink of tears. It was a great read and I am recommending it to all my friends, especially the ones who don't work in health care. I certainly hope he has another book in him!!

Honest but Hopeful

As a former ER doc, one of the things that drives me insane is reading books where the physicians are so compassionate, I wouldn't recognize them among the dozens (hundreds?) of docs I've worked with over the years. Sure, we're all nice to little old ladies from nice families but it's the six sigma guy who can be that way with the drug addict in the middle of the night. Outsiders - our friends and family even - will never understand the daunting nature of this profession. This is an even handed narrative of the frustrating day to day work that emergency docs (and nurses) do, usually without thanks. Good job, Paul, for telling it like it is.