Maryland's Health Matters - Midtown - Winter 2014 - (Page 9)

acute priority," Dewese says. Patients the UMMc Midtown campus eD is an with cold symptoms, minor injuries or extension of the University of Maryland ear pain will be assigned the lowest Medical center eD. the department is led Meet the clinical Staff severity level. "as with most eDs, we by University of Maryland School of Med- these are the types of clini- follow the standard of care known as icine faculty physicians, and eD patients cal staff you may see at the the emergency Severity index algo- from UMMc are often transferred to emergency Department: rithm," Dewese notes. UMMc Midtown campus to ensure have been involved in a non-life-threat- example. the eD experience could last ening car accident are given a less as long as four to six hours." Step 3: Waiting Room oR patient Room. Depending on the severity level, Attending physician: patients are quickly provided beds if their Physician overseeing each condition requires an overnight stay. patient's care. all UMMc a patient will be moved to a patient room or back to the waiting room. "Patients often ask how long they can expect to wait if they are sent back to the waiting room. Many factors need to be considered, including how busy the eD is at the moment," Dr. Geroff says. "Once a Midtown campus attending During the triage step, a patient is assigned a severity number, which helps determine how quickly she needs to be seen. physicians are board-certified or board-eligible, and are also faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Resident physician: a patient is taken back to a patient room, physician with a medical li- the wait time depends on the type of cense in specialized training. tests needed, the time it takes to get Intern: a medical school test results back and the number of graduate in training before specialty consults that may be needed, receiving a medical license. with neurology or cardiology, for Primary nurse: the lead nurse providing patient after triage, and depending on severity of condition and availability, the patient is either sent back to the waiting room or is taken to a patient room to be seen by a physician. care throughout a patient's entire emergency Department stay. Emergency Department technicians: healthcare professionals who assist the physicians and nurses. they are trained to draw blood and take electrocardiograms (records of the heart's activity). Radiologic technicians: Specialists responsible for facilitating the entire X-ray process. Respiratory therapists: Specialists trained to help people with breathing problems. monday through Friday, and noon to 8 p.m., Saturday. umm.edu/midtown | Winter 2014 9 http://www.umm.edu/midtown

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland's Health Matters - Midtown - Winter 2014

Maryland's Health Matters - Midtown - Winter 2014
Contents
A Healthy Start
Stroke 101
Navigating an Emergency
Back on the Beat
At a Glance
Your Guide to the Affordable Care Act

Maryland's Health Matters - Midtown - Winter 2014