When you think of an emergency room, what comes to mind? Doctors and nurses everywhere, rushing from one trauma to the next, no time to rest while dealing with a steamy romance on the side?

Unfortunately, the life of an emergency room provider is much different than that of a Grey’s Anatomy star, especially in a rural area. Some days are quiet, while other days are full of excitement. With so many high school students around the country wanting to enter the medical field, myself being one of them, it is interesting to learn about just what being a medical professional entails.

Steve Rolls, Certified Physician’s Assistant at Alliance Family Medicine and Box Butte General Hospital’s emergency room, answered my questions about working at a critical access facility. When a complicated trauma comes through the door, what is done next depends on the patient’s wishes. “If they want everything possible done, we would try to transport them to a different hospital with the appropriate series available. If they were a DNR (do not resuscitate), we would treat them as best we could and try to keep them as pain free and as comfortable as possible,” said Steve.

When asked how long he has to make the decision to transport someone who’s wishes include extraordinary measures, Steve replied,”It may be as early as they come through our door if it’s a complicated trauma or an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). I just depends on their condition and if we can manage them here effectively. We may not have any air transports on a given day, or you could have multiple transports. You just never know! It is always complicated by the weather and acceptance at hospitals with higher levels of care.”

As someone looking forward to enter the medical field, I enjoyed a glimpse into the decisions made by a provider on a daily basis. During my time in the ER as an intern this summer, I came to love the element of surprise that came with a new case, and I look forward to discovering rural medicine first-hand in my future.