Many people who set out to pursue a career in medicine encountered a question at some point in their studies—one their teachers often posed, about triage, urgency, and having to make difficult choices.
Suppose one day you and your unlucky colleague found yourselves short on both time and staff, when several patients arrived at once. Their situations were as follows:
Option One: A young woman accompanied by a male friend, tearfully describing her symptoms: dizziness and headaches, blurred vision, chest tightness and pain, difficulty breathing, abdominal pain and nausea, and weakness in all four limbs. She also had congenital heart disease, immune dysfunction, wind-heat invading the lungs, disharmony of the spleen and stomach, and kidney yin deficiency.
Option Two: An injured worker brought in by his coworkers. He had found a spot in the hallway, sat down to smoke in silence, and was holding a ball of tissues as he contemplated something. Wrapped inside the tissues were two freshly severed fingers.
Option Three: A big guy who might just have fought heroically at some disreputable drinking establishment. A broken bottle had split his scalp in several places, leaving the flesh gaping. Blood covered his face and head, and he was bawling so loudly he drowned out the number-calling broadcast.
Option Four: A young child brought in by an elderly family member. The child wasn't crying or fussing. "Everything was fine before. He's never had any serious illnesses. He's just been coughing for a few days, no fever. We came in to get him checked." Now his breathing was rapid, and his lips looked a little dark.
Option Five: A middle-aged man driven in by his children. He lay silent on a nearby bench, with no obvious external injuries, oblivious to the noisy surroundings and enjoying a baby-like sleep.
Option Six: