- Secure the ABCs.
- Consider or give naloxone, glucose and thiamine.
- Get a pregnancy test.
- Assume the worst: rule out serious disease.
- Do not send unstable patients to radiology.
- Look for the common red flags.
- Trust no one, believe nothing (not even yourself ): check lab results and rethink clinical decisions.
- Learn from your mistakes.
- Do unto others as you would your family (and that includes coworkers).
- When in doubt, err on the side of the patient.
Source: Life in the Fast Lane Blog, with root source being ‘Ten commandments of Emergency Medicine’ in 1991 Published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine by Wrenn and Slovis