 Well, I'm Dr. Matt Hughes, an emergency physician. From Hollywood, the drama of the emergency room, or ER, entered the American home through popular television shows. And while life-threatening situations and medical drama make for great ratings, they aren't purely the results of Hollywood scriptwriters. They occur every day in emergency rooms throughout the country. But the gunshots, car accidents, and heart attacks aren't all that the emergency department manages. In fact, a very large part of the emergency department's daily routine involves tending to the fevers and colds, aches and pains, and bumps and bruises of everyday life. The ability to manage all patients that comes through its doors and simultaneously care for the minor illnesses and injuries, as well as the life-threatening conditions from the sniffles to the shotgun wounds makes the emergency department an extremely sophisticated and complex health care resource. This mix of patients and their conditions is something that I see on a daily basis. However, to the patient, the emergency department may seem a bit overwhelming and complicated. This instructional video explores the typical emergency department, shows you its basic features and functions, and walks you through the process of caring for patients in the ER. In other words, by the end of this segment, you should have a better appreciation of just how the emergency department goes about seeing its patients. Patients typically come to the emergency department by one of two ways, independently accompanied by family or friends, or by an ambulance, which can be either auto or helicopter transport. Next, regardless of how they arrived, patients are assessed by emergency department personnel through a process commonly known as triage. Here, a brief description of the problem is recorded. Lottal signs like temperature, heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate are documented, and when appropriate, a focused physical exam is conducted. This initial assessment then determines how quickly the patient needs to be seen by the physician. Most emergency departments have a system that places patients in the categories based on how soon their problem requires a doctor's care. The triage categories range from minor illnesses and injuries to immediately life-threatening events. Every patient in the emergency department is screened and then placed into the system based upon their condition. Some important characteristics regarding the emergency department may already be apparent. By necessity, it cannot be a first come, first serve resource. For example, say you've come to the ER for a sore throat. While you need a medical evaluation, it was determined that you can safely wait until the physician's next opportunity to see you. After waiting some time, another patient arrives who may be critically ill. This patient will be seen before you because of his condition, despite the fact that you arrived first. Let me stress that this method of classifying patients does not minimize complaints or devalue patients' time by requiring a wait. No complaint is trivial and everyone's time is important. The emergency department system simply allows the sicker or more severely injured patients to be seen earlier. Along these lines is another important emergency department characteristic. The activity in the waiting room does not represent the over-activity in the emergency department. Oftentimes, while you're in the waiting room, other patients continue to arrive through the ambulance entrance and they may require immediate attention. In other words, a steady flow of patients into the emergency department can occur without ever being noticed while you're in the waiting room. Let's move on now beyond the waiting room to the evaluation and treatment area. Once in the evaluation area, a thorough workup begins to determine the nature of your problem. Here, a history is taken, a physical exam is performed, and when indicated, diagnostic tests are ordered. Again, the type of problem determines how much time and resources are dedicated to individual cases. For example, a sprained ankle may take only several minutes to diagnose and treat. However, a severe car accident may require large amounts of time, resources, and personnel. Finally, after collecting all the relevant information about your condition, the doctor develops a plan to resolve the problem. This typically involves treating the immediate problem or arranging further evaluation and treatment either in the hospital or in a clinic. That's it. That's the system. Patients arrive or assessed, categorized based on their condition, and then evaluated and treated according to their priority, with the ultimate goal being the provision of high-quality health care in an efficient and organized manner to all patients. And so, beyond providing the script material for trendy TV shows, the emergency department stands as a sophisticated health care system, managing large amounts of patients with diverse health care problems 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to all who enters its doors. The video you just saw focused upon common medical problems often encountered in an emergency department. Many of these problems can be managed by primary care physicians, such as family practitioners, internists, and pediatricians, and others. As a first step towards managing your health care, we urge you to contact your primary care physician as they are typically acquainted with your medical history and can maintain continuity in your care. If you do not have a regular physician, we strongly encourage you to establish a relationship with one.