Morris Hospital’s Dr. Sean Atchison cares about people

Dr. Sean Atchison, an emergency medicine doctor at Morris Hospital, believes collaboration and compassion belong in the emergency department.

In fact, Atchison recommends emergency medicine for anyone who “truly wants to do something that is going to make a difference, potentially, in somebody’s life.”

But be prepared for long hours, spending time away from family and catching up on charting during your off-hours, he said.

“If you don’t care about people, no way can you continue in this profession,” Atchison said. “The people are the No. 1 reason I do this, why I keep coming in.”

Yet, because Morris Hospital’s emergency department is not as busy as one in a large city, the wait time for patients is typically less than usual, he said. Still, an elderly person with chest pains most likely will be seen before the patient with the sprained ankle, even if the patient with the sprained ankle arrived first, he said.

“But at Morris Hospital, it’s not uncommon to get people back pretty rapidly,” Atchison said.

I’m really a person who enjoys sitting down with a family and putting my hand on their back and talking to them and explaining to them in layman’s terms what’s going on.”

—  Dr. Sean Atchison, emergency department doctor at Morris Hospital

The unpredictability of emergency medicine

Atchison first considered emergency medicine in childhood. He said his neighbor was an emergency room doctor.

“When I was in medical school, I spent some shifts with him over a couple of summers,” he said. “I found out it was the right kind of fit for me.”

Atchison said he loved the collaboration among nurses, technicians, secretaries, radiologists, phlebotomists and even the “different doctors who help me transfer patients when they need a higher level of care.”

“If everybody didn’t work together, we’d never be able to succeed,” he said. “I like that idea of a team. And I think, well granted, I’m the doctor, of course. Some people look at it that I’m the head of the ship. But my personality is such that I’m not the guy that you put on a pedestal. I’m the guy that’s part of a group all working together. My job is no more important than everybody else’s in the group.”

Atchison said he also likes the unpredictability of emergency medicine. He never knows what he will treat on any given day – and which patient must be treated very quickly. The patient might not have “textbook symptoms,” and Atchison will have to “think outside the box,” he said.

Plus, if the patient is new to Morris Hospital, Atchison may not have the patient’s medical background, either.

Unfortunately, not every patient is guaranteed the best outcome, he said. That’s where compassion is imperative. The health care team may need time to decompress and discuss the case as a group, he said.

“Several of us go out, sit down and talk it out. I think our human psyche needs that,” he said. “You deal with a lot of negativity. And you have to release that so it doesn’t eat you alive from the inside out.”

Atchison said he also makes sure the patient and loved ones understand the situation by “talking to them openly and honestly.”

“I’m really a person who enjoys sitting down with a family and putting my hand on their back and talking to them and explaining to them in layman’s terms what’s going on,” Atchison said. “I’m not somebody to try to sugarcoat something or not give information that might be hard to take. But I am somebody that will explain to them what is going on, what potentially the diagnosis may be and the right follow-up that patient is going to need.”

Atchison is part of EPIC Group providers, who treat patients in the Morris Hospital emergency department. He also is the medical director of Morris Hospital’s emergency medical services and said he provides continuing education with paramedics in various agencies in the hospital’s region.

Continuing education is important – even for Atchison, who’s worked in the field for more than 20 years – because “the emergency room is the safety net of our culture,” he said.

“We are there 24/7, 365 days a year,” Atchison said. “There’s always a doctor you know you can see.”