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Something for the Pain: Compassion and Burnout in the ER Paperback – September 8, 2009

by Paul Austin (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 789 ratings
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"A stunning account of the chaos of the emergency room." ―Boston Globe

In this eye-opening account of life in the ER, Paul Austin recalls how the daily grind of long, erratic shifts and endless hordes of patients with sad stories sent him down a path of bitterness and cynicism. Gritty, powerful, and ultimately redemptive, Something for the Pain is a revealing glimpse into the fragility of compassion and sanity in the industrial setting of today’s hospitals.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    W. W. Norton & Company
  4. Publication date
    September 8, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0393337790
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0393337792
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"It turns out there are all kinds of things about working in an ER that most of us haven’t learned from TV or having sat in one. In Something for the Pain, Paul Austin―the ER doc you’d hope to get if something really bad happened―tells us, vividly and with uncommon candor, how, if you aren’t careful, saving people’s lives can make you sick."
― Ted Conover, author of Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing

"The searing honesty of Something for the Pain makes the heart glad and breaks it at the same time. Austin’s clarity is sobering; his humanity is simply staggering. This chronicle is the unsentimental account of a man who has seen men and women at their worst―and at their best. He has been to the Valley of the Shadow of Death but refused to stay there. Reading Dr. Paul Austin’s riveting story makes me proud to be a human being."
― Randall Kenan, author of The Fire This Time

"In these fast-paced and extremely dramatic vignettes, Paul Austin puts us in the middle of the harrowing work that emergency room doctors and nurses face around the clock…Something for the Pain is remarkable for its compassion, humanity, and scrupulous honesty."
― Michael Collier, author of Dark Wild Realm

"Moving, troubling, and revelatory, Something for the Pain offers intimate glimpses of the behind-the-scenes human costs of one man’s work in the ER. With his honesty, need, frustration, and humanity, Austin is a narrator you can trust, and he tells a story of disturbing power."
― Joy Castro, author of The Truth Book

"Something for the Pain has everything you want in a medical memoir: urgencies, emergencies, life-or-death. Austin, writer as much as physician, can turn the simplest procedure into an occasion for elegy, paean, or profound meditation, phrased with the elegance of a Thoreau. Blood, yes, and pain aplenty―this is a book about the body. But it is also about the spirit, about trauma in all its definitions, about what it costs to heal and be a healer, what it truly means to save a life."
― David Bradley, author of The Chaneysville Incident

"Buy this book! I simply could not put the book down. These are not Hollywood rewritten vignettes…This is real-life emergency medicine…Buy it, read it, share it, and enjoy!"
― Academic Emergency Medicine

"This vivid memoir of an ER doctor will make readers by turns cry and cringe. A definite page-turner and a riveting debut."
― Library Journal (starred review)

"[A] relentlessly honest look at modern emergency medicine…What makes this inspiring medical memoir stand out is the courageous measure of Austin’s humanity."
― Publishers Weekly

"Austin examines the diametrically opposed perils of cynical detachment and overemotional involvement, pondering the question of just how empathic a clinician can be and still be competent. An ER physician gives serious thought to what he does, how he does it and what it does cost him."
― Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Paul Austin, an emergency-room doctor, is the author of two memoirs: Something for the Pain and Beautiful Eyes. His essays have appeared in Creative Nonfiction, the Southeast Review, and the Gettysburg Review. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; Reprint edition (September 8, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393337790
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393337792
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.3 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 789 ratings

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
789 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Thoughtful
5.0 out of 5 stars great book and insight into mind of ER doctor
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2011
Verified Purchase
I found this book to be a great read and very fast moving. It does go back and forth between Dr. Austin's encounters with his patients and those with his family at home. It even depicts how he chose to become an ER doctor which is sort of not very well thought out but at least honest.

There are a wide range of patient encounters depicted ranging from good ones where he takes time to help a little girl not be scared and fight him for an ear infection to really sad ones where either the patient has a terminal diagnosis that he catches or a bad outcome that he is not able to prevent. He paints a very real picture of life in the ER in terms of drunks and other noncompliant patients as well as consulting doctors who don't want to admit patients even when they should. He does not back away either from discussing the real fear most providers have in this judicious age of being sued.

He also paints a very real picture of the struggles that ER doctors face to leave it all behind when they go home and are tired and need to sleep. He tells of almost unloading on his innocent children and having to build a space separate from them to rest after trying different measures to get rest including hotels and such.

Despite all of the real parts to the story there are also very optimistic things portrayed. Dr. Austin obviously has a lot of respect both for his wife and those he works with in the ER. He also says several times he realizes that the reasons patients are upset when he sees them are valid like having to wait a long time. He comes across as a fascinating character and hopefully he will write more books very soon!
3 people found this helpful
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Frederick S. Goethel
4.0 out of 5 stars Honest Look into the Life of an Emergency Room Physician
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2008
Verified Purchase
The vast majority of books written by doctors are filled with details about cases and diseases; rarely touching on the struggles these individuals face at home due to extended work hours, stressful decision making and sleep deprivation. It was refreshing to read a book written by a doctor that examined his personal, as well as professional, life.

In "Something for the Pain", Dr. Austin exams cases that bothered him, but rather than examine exactly what when wrong with the case, he examines how that case made him feel and why. Not just medically, but mentally as well. He also takes a deep and very honest look into how his job created problems with his home life. Along the way we get an insight into life in an ER.

During a volunteer career as a firefighter, with a stint in ambulances, I can state that the book not only sounds true, but caused my nerves to twitch just a little. He hit some feeling and emotions dead on, and I have to admit that I hoped these were feelings I had buried. His discussion of treating drunks was as close to real as I have ever seen.

This is a wonderful book with a lot of insight to offer. My only complaint was that the chapters didn't line up chronologically, so when I was trying to compare work with his home relationships, I occasionally had problems. This is a pretty simple thing and could be fixed by changing the chapter order. Overall, an excellent read and maybe a book we all need to read before we get caught in the machinery of the ER.
34 people found this helpful
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Raleigh reader
5.0 out of 5 stars An engaging but hard look at the cost of emergency medicine to those that practice it.
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is a well written exploration of the effects of his career on one ER doctor's life and family. Paul Austin is a talented story teller who doesn't sugar-coat his experiences in this very challenging career but who chronicles his growth as a professional and family man with grace and humility.
One person found this helpful
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Navy Brat
5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Austin has written a wonderfully enjoyable book!
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
Dr. Austin has written a wonderfully enjoyable book! Not only is it a fast, engrossing read (slipping in interesting medical issues to the flow), but he has done a terrific job of humanizing what can be a sterile (thankfully), chaotic and always rushed environment, and the critically important (and often taken-for-granted) people who work there. As an aging man who's spent too many occasions bothering those good people, I truly appreciate those like Dr. Austin and his co-workers. Amazingly, given the stress, sleep deprivation, and chaos, there are thankfully many who accepted the challenge (and "calling"). One can only hope that they can feel how much their efforts -- and attitude -- are appreciated by the thousands of lives they touch. As one who has been married for over 40 years to my best friend, I also appreciated the parts he shared about his awesome wife, Sally, and their life together. We're all "works in progress," but she clearly deserves the kudos delivered (as does he for the candor on his part and the tremendous progress they've made). My sincere thanks for a wonderful read!
One person found this helpful
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E. Henderson
4.0 out of 5 stars overall, a good read.
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2011
Verified Purchase
This story gives an interesting perspective on the life of an emergency medicine physician. The author does a decent job of tying together his medical cases with his personal life, and he balances the two aspects well in his storytelling.

The biggest issue I have with the book (and the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars) is that it is, at times, repetitive, and even occasionally inconsistent. He frequently re-explains medical terms or procedures that he has already covered earlier in the story, and I'm still trying to figure out how his sons who were 7 and 9 in part 2 were only 3 and 5 in part 3.

Overall, though, I would still say that the book is a good read, especially for anyone interested in medicine. It offers unique insights into the life of a doctor in training, and into the physical, mental, and emotional challenges faced by ER doctors.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Devi S
3.0 out of 5 stars Le falta
Reviewed in Spain on September 29, 2016
Verified Purchase
El libro comenzó bien, y me tuvo entretenida, hasta que la segunda mitad del libro fue en déclive, el autor es repetitivo, y pierde el sentido del libro.
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Meghan
5.0 out of 5 stars Great insight into the life of an ER doctor
Reviewed in Canada on January 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book was an excellent, honest account of the struggles of an ER resident, and doctor. Dr. Austin hits the nail on the head with his tales of late nights, losses felt, and the ebb and flow of the emergency room. Unlike Gray's Anatomy or ER, he tells the true side of what really goes on at 3 am on a Tuesday. He addresses grief, anger and loss, and his frustrations with himself. I loved this book and I think it was a very well-written, candid look into his interesting life, both personally and professionally, and how the two were impossibly intertwined.
One person found this helpful
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Barbara
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Australia on March 12, 2015
Verified Purchase
Wonderful insight into a doctor's life in ER and his home life.
Really worth reading.
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