THE FUSE

For most of my career in the ER, I was good at asking the right questions. When a patient presented with chest pain, I always asked, “When did it start? Does it radiate? Any cardiac history?” For overdoses, I would query: “What did you take? How much? When?” In a psychiatric crisis, I would investigate: “Are you safe? Do you have a plan to hurt yourself? Do you have access to means?”