The emergency room is the American English term for a room, or group of rooms, within a hospital that is designed for the treatment of urgent and medical emergencies. American English or U.S. English is the diverse form of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... A hospital today is an institution for professional health care provided by physicians and nurses. ... A medical emergency is an injury or illness that poses an immediate threat to a persons health or life which requires help from a doctor or hospital. ...

Nomenclature

In the United States an emergency room is often referred to by the acronym ER. Actually these ER's are full departments with many "rooms." The ER interacts with every other department in the hospital and often represent a significant percentage of the hospital's work load and finances. An effort was made to change to the more correct term emergency department (and ED) which is used frequently in the United States. However, a popular TV show named ER and the unfortunate heavy marketing of the euphemism ED for erectile dysfunction by former Senator/Presidential candidate Bob Dole (as a drug-company-spokesman) pretty much sealed our fate as the ER. ER or er may stand for: Elizabeth Regina (Elizabeth the Queen); see Elizabeth I of England and Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. ... The emergency room is the American English term for a room, or group of rooms, within a hospital that is designed for the treatment of urgent and medical emergencies. ... The text editor ed was the original standard on the UNIX operating system. ... ER is a popular NBC serial drama primarily set in a teaching hospitals emergency room, the fictional County General Hospital (based loosely off Cook County General, a real hospital) on Division Street in Chicago, Illinois. ...

A hospital with an emergency room will have prominent signage stating EMERGENCY (often in white text on a red background) and an arrow to indicate where patients should proceed. Some states like California closely regulate the design and content of such signs, and require wording like "24 Hour Emergency Medical Service" and "Physician On Duty." State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ...

In the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand this is usually called the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department. In the Australia and the UK it is still frequently referred to by its old name, Casualty. A casualty is a victim of an accident, injury or trauma. ...

In Canada, a slang word for emergency room is "emerge".

Definition

By definition, an emergency room has an assigned doctor trained in emergency medicine on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Emergency medicine is a branch of medicine that is practiced in a hospital emergency department, in the field (in a modified form; see EMS), and other locations where initial medical treatment of trauma and illness takes place. ...

A smaller facility that may provide assistance in medical emergencies is known as a clinic. Larger communities often provide a drop-in clinic where people with medical problems that would not be considered serious enough to warrant an emergency room visit can be seen. These clinics often do not operate on a 24 hour basis, and are sometimes less expensive than going to the ER. A medical emergency is an injury or illness that poses an immediate threat to a persons health or life which requires help from a doctor or hospital. ... A clinic or outpatient clinic is a small medical facility that provides health care for ambulatory patients - as opposed to inpatients treated in a hospital. ...

Entering patients are typically triaged by a nurse with training in emergency medicine. Patients are seen in order of medical urgency, not in order of arrival. There is usually one entrance with a lobby and a waiting room for less-urgent patients, and another entrance reserved for ambulances. Typical triage tag used for emergency mass casualty decontamination. ... A nurse comforting a patient A nurse is a health care professional, who is engaged in the practice of nursing. ... Emergency medicine is a branch of medicine that is practiced in a hospital emergency department, in the field (in a modified form; see EMS), and other locations where initial medical treatment of trauma and illness takes place. ... Ambulance An ambulance is a vehicle designated for the transport of sick or injured people. ...

The services that are provided in an emergency room can range from simple x-rays and the setting of broken bones to those of a full-scale trauma center. Emergency medical technicians often work as support staff in emergency rooms under the supervision of nurses and doctors. Bertha Röntgens hand, one of the first x-rays The x-ray machine is a machine used to produce x-rays. ... A trauma center is a hospital equipped to perform as a casualty receiving station for the emergency medical services by providing the best possible medical care for traumatic injuries on a 24 hour, 7 days per week, 365 days per year basis. ... An emergency medical technician (EMT) is an emergency responder trained to provide emergency medical services (EMS) to the critically ill and injured. ...

A patient's chances of survival are greatly improved if emergency care begins within one hour of an accident (such as a car accident) or onset of acute illness (such as a heart attack). This critical time frame is commonly known as the "Golden Hour". A myocardial infarction occurs when an atherosclerotic plaque slowly builds up in the inner lining of a coronary artery and then suddenly ruptures, totally occluding the artery and preventing blood flow downstream. ... The Golden Hour is a term used in emergency medicine which refers to the first sixty minutes after an accident or the onset of acute illness. ...

Most emergency rooms in smaller hospitals are located near a helipad which is used to transport a patient to a trauma center. This inter-hospital transfer is often done when a patient requires advanced medical care unavailable at the local facility. In such cases the emergency room can only stabilize the patient for transport. A helipad is a landing area for a helicopter. ... A trauma center is a hospital equipped to perform as a casualty receiving station for the emergency medical services by providing the best possible medical care for traumatic injuries on a 24 hour, 7 days per week, 365 days per year basis. ... Stabilization is a process to help prevent shock in sick or injured people. ...

Emergency rooms around the world are increasingly being used for nonemergent care because of overburdened health care systems. Many people are forced to resort to attending the ER for minor injuries or illnesses if they occur late at night or at times when their doctor is closed. This is especially true for conditions which have severe symptoms, for example a child's ear infection.

See also: General practitioner A general practitioner (GP) or family physician (FP) is a physician who provides primary care. ...