When Minutes Matter

(Hardback)

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From a late-night crocodile attack in Australias remote outback, or a volcanic eruption off the coast of Aotearoa New Zealand, to a Palestinian city under aerial bombardment or a cardiac arrest in a remote Pacific atoll, emergency clinicians are every societys safety net.

When Minutes Matter is a collection of deeply personal stories written by frontline healthcare workers who connect with patients experiencing acute illness and injury, and support communities in times of crisis. It showcases global emergency care at its best honouring the tireless and selfless work of emergency care providers who care for patients at their most vulnerable and celebrates the common humanity and solidarity of clinicians around the world. During the darkest of times for many individuals, these stories from clinicians reaffirm the strength of human connection and the powerful role emergency medical care plays in peoples lives.

The impacts of COVID-19 have shone a much-needed spotlight on the essential role of healthcare workers. In times of stress and uncertainty, these are the people in whom patients and their families place trust, not only to provide immediate, life-saving care but to advocate for them beyond the crisis. This important anthology highlights entrenched inequities and reveals the challenges for urgent healthcare delivery in both resource-rich and resource-limited environments, through the voices of those who understand healthcare systems best.

The knowledge, skill and empathy of these extraordinary professionals has a deep impact on the communities they serve every day, in all the moments that matter most.

This book was edited by Jennifer Jamieson and Rob Mitchell, Australian emergency physicians engaged in emergency care development across the globe, on behalf of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and International Federation for Emergency Medicine.

Stories contained within the book reflect the experiences and perspectives of the individual authors, and do not represent the Colleges formal views or positions.

Author Bio

When Minutes Matter is a collection of essays written by emergency care workers across the globe, including:

• Katrina Starmer, an emergency physician at Cairns Hospital and a member of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, who details her experience in saving a mans life after he was attacked by a crocodile in remote Queensland.
• Evan ONeill, a doctor who has worked extensively with Mdecins Sans Frontires, and shares his recent experience working in a refugee camp in Bangladesh.
• Nada Hassan Ahmed Abdelrahman, an acute care physician and a pioneer in the field of emergency medicine in Sudan, speaks about the challenges that African-Sudanese women face and the way Sudanese cultural can impact their healthcare and treatment.
• Harendra Cooray, an emergency physician based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, who recounts his experiences working through the aftermath of the Boxing Day Tsunami.
• Aloima Taulfilo, who is the first doctor from Tuvalu to undertake specialist training in emergency medicine.
• Ankur Verma, a senior consultant in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Max Super Specialty Hospital in Patpargani, New Delhi, who tells us about his experiences of working through the COVID-19 pandemic crisis in India in 2021.
• Meg McKeown, who completed her post-graduate training with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) in Antarctica and rural Australia.