The Night Shift

Dr. Brian Goldman spent his overnight shifts in the emergency department of Mount Sinai Hospital in downtown Toronto, and this book recounts what he saw during those late hours. Among the patients who arrive after midnight are people hurt on the way home from a night out, teenagers attacked on the street by other teenagers, and a woman who strikes another woman in a fight over a man.

Alongside these incidents, Goldman describes the quieter and more painful visits that also fill an ER. Adult children must decide on life-or-death treatment for a critically ill parent, survivors of sexual assault come in for care, and patients who are mentally ill or homeless seek someone to listen to them, along with some fast relief, in the round-the-clock waiting area.

The author uses these cases to look candidly at problems facing doctors and the health care system today. Written with a frank voice and plenty of humour, the book gives readers a close look at a hospital world that is often hidden from view. Goldman is an emergency physician who also hosts CBC Radio's White Coat, Black Art.