Emergency Surgery as a Team Sport

A 68-year-old man with multiple co-morbid medical conditions presents to the Emergency Department complaining of abdominal pain for 1 day duration. A clerk immediately notifies the nurse of the patient’s arrival. The patient is triaged by a nurse who quickly realizes that the patient is in critical condition. The medical technician records the patient’s vital signs, medications, medical history, and contact information in an expeditious manner. She alerts the Emergency Medicine physician who promptly examines the patient, orders laboratory work, and other appropriate diagnostic tests. He then consults the Emergency General surgeon on call after discovering pneumoperitoneum on an X-ray.