Some Minor Differences

Thanks to Netflix, I have been watching lots of old Emergency! shows from 1972.  Spending my days in the medical profession, I was just noticing some of the differences in forty years.

Getting to the scene, I noticed how people actually took responsibility for what they did.  Drivers generally got out of the way of the emergency vehicle, and the emergency vehicle didn't even slow down for red lights.  Love the stock footage, over and over and over.  My kids would call the colors of the vehicles by the side of the road.

On the arrival at the hospital, it's interesting what happens when they arrive.  Cars driving up to E.R. doors, and employees actually helping get them in the building.  It's wilder than Dr. Brackett's muttonchops that ambulances take them to the exam rooms without any sort of registration procedure.  Treatment without signatures in general emergency situations.  Almost as interesting as Dr. Brackett, Dr. Early, and Dr. Morton being E.R. doctors, diagnosticians, cardiologists, and almost every specialty but radiology.  We get situations where patients think our radiology exams are read by their family physicians, who generally read our radiologist's reports.  Rarely heard of an E.R. doctor doing diagnostic work beyond the E.R.: these days that is the bailiwick of the hospitalist.

I am impressed by firefighters and their willingness to rush in when others rush out.  It is admirably portrayed in this series.  They also portray the professional way to handle people who are occasionally out of control.  We owe them gratitude for the job they do and the way they do it in real life.

It was a good series, if occasionally acted woodenly.  Brought back a lot of memories.  As a 7 year old, we played a lot of Emergency!  I was alway DeSoto, my best childhood friend, always Gage.  Just set up the IV, Ringers and bring it into Rampart.

So...am I off base?