Thread by @just1doctorwala

Unfortunate remnant of our British past
In UK even today the ED is called "Casualty"
The term Casualty in India has negative connotations
As we have been trained with American based books and protocols we are more used to the term Emergency Medicine Department or ED

https://twitter.com/muddledsoul23/status/1403999676219551747

In India historically and in many places to date "Casualty" was staffed by junior inexperienced freshly graduated MBBS doctors who were poorly trained in emergency situations. They were employed with minimal pay and for these doctors it was a chance to gain soke experience.

Now that emergency medicine has become a recognised specialty in India we need to educate the general public of the change and that ED docs are now well trained to handle all emergency cases. Unfortunately this is still a growing specialty. And the awareness is only spreading.

Even older senior doctors of other specialities are hesitant to recognise ED specialists or the ED as a department as such.

When fellow doctors do this how should the general public behave?

We need to educate our colleagues first. Our friends and family.

When I started in this specialty my own family asked me "what is the difference between you and a paramedic?"

Only when my family saw me deal with an emergency in the middle of a family event did they realise what I do.

So yes we want a change & so changing the name from Casualty to Emergency Medicine is a good start

I agree

Side note
The other issue is while our spoken language is influenced by British past
Our medical education is predominantly American based. Especially emergency protocols.
BLS/ACLS and Heart Attack guidelines are from American Heart Association AHA

Stroke guidelines from American Stoke Association ASA

Accidents and trauma management from ATLS guidelines which are made by the American College of Surgeons

Sepsis guidelines from American College of Physicians

Etc etc etc