Ed and Ron were honored to host Dr. Jay Baruch, author of Tornado of Life: A Doctor’s Journey through Constraints and Creativity in the ER. When a patient comes into the hospital with cardiac arrest or a compound fracture, doctors know what to do. The problem is evident, and the solution is practically algorithmic. Dr. Baruch contends that the biggest challenge and the biggest part of an ER doctor’s work is often caring for people who come in with not just problems with their body, but also social issues, emotional issues, and substance use issues—and oftentimes all of them at once. In Tornado of Life, we come to see that the toughest part of an emergency physician’s work isn’t the high-wattage drama, the mayhem and the blood, that is portrayed on television, but rather the actual getting to the heart of the patient’s story—and figuring out how to address it. Because they’re real, these stories often end without closure or solutions. Sometimes underlying causes aren’t found. Sometimes serious problems are missed. Some patients leave against doctor’s orders. Some are simply discharged into the night. A profoundly human book, Tornado of Life is poised to change the way we view doctors, illness, and the “emotional and moral contact sport” that is emergency medicine. Join us for what was a profoundly human discussion.
About Dr. Jay Baruch
Jay Baruch, a practicing emergency room physician, is Professor of Emergency Medicine at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School and the author of two award-winning short fiction collections, What's Left Out and Fourteen Stories: Doctors, Patients, and Other Strangers. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island. His recent book, and the topic of today’s show, Tornado of Life: A Doctor’s Journey through Constraints and Creativity in the ER. It is poised to change the way we view doctors, illness, and the “emotional and moral contact sport” that is emergency medicine.
Use these show notes to follow along with the audio:
Segment one:
When did Jay know he wanted to be a doctor? He went to college to be a writer and then took a course that involved hospital visits. The privilege of taking to patients and hearing their stories changed the course of his career.
Specifically, why the emergency room for Dr. Jay? Being in an ER, Dr. Jay was both terrified and invigorated at the same time. “It felt like home” is the way he described it today on the show.
We are going to speak mostly about Dr. Jay’s book today. It is called “Tornado of Life: A Doctor’s Journey through Constraints and Creativity in the ER” and there is more info at this link https://www.jaybaruch.com/
In chapter 3, Dr. Jay tells the story of Cheryl and reveals the impetus behind the title of his new book, Tornado of Life. Here is the Amazon link https://www.amazon.com/Tornado-Life-Doctors-Constraints-Creativity/dp/0262046970
Segment two:
“More data doesn’t mean more certainty if it’s in the service of the wrong questions.” —Jay Baruch from his book Tornado of Life. More at this link https://www.jaybaruch.com/
Regarding the curiosity of children, “Sometimes we should just give kids answers and ask them to name five questions that this could be the answer to.” —a brilliant quote from Dr. Jay Baruch
“A convincing story is oftentimes believed on the virtue of it being a good story. Sometimes we do not ask ‘is this true?’ We don’t examine the power of stories the same way we examine the power of data.” —Dr. Jay Baruch
“The crisis of the ER department crowding...forces physicians like me to allocate compassion.” —Dr. Jay Baruch
Segment three:
Regarding the M&M (an acronym specific to the medical space): “The root of the problem isn’t a lack of knowledge but smart physicians who just go the story wrong.” Storytelling is the most common theme in Dr. Jay’s book. More here: https://www.jaybaruch.com/
“Think about the stories that you enjoy. You bring something to it. Your own experiences. The most enduring stories are the ones that leave a place for the reader or viewer to bring themselves into it.” —Dr. Jay Baruch
“It takes some work to embrace complexity.” —Dr. Jay Baruch. Read that again. Short and couldn’t be more true
Dr. Jay Baruch describes “the pause” in a trauma center as a moment in our day that is actually a profound human experience. Listen to his words as he describes the pause in segment three of our show today. Subscribe here https://link.chtbl.com/TSOE
Segment four:
“We never went back to normal. There is no normal.” —Dr. Jay Baruch regarding the emergency room
Dr. Jay thinks about medical progress on the show today and wonders, “Are we pulling everyone forward or are we creating a widening disparity gap?”
A big THANK YOU to Dr. Jay Baruch for joining us today. This was an amazing show about his book, Tornado of Life. It is available at this link https://www.jaybaruch.com/
Bonus Content is Available As Well
Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.
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