The Casino Shift: Stories from an ER on the Edge

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

For fans of The Pitt, a look at life on the front line in one of Canada’s busiest ERs

The Casino Shift is an hour-by-hour account of what a Canadian emergency room is like in these turbulent times when ER staff must be prepared to see, diagnose, and treat any condition, often under unrelenting pressure. In addition to the introduction of the “casino shift” (a shorter night shift), there have been incredible leaps in technology and the know-how of ER physicians since Dr. Brian Goldman wrote the bestselling The Night Shift fifteen years ago. But patients’ problems can be exponentially more complex too.

But The Casino Shift is about much more than one shift at one hospital, though. It’s also about what goes on in ERs big and small across Canada. From the incredible challenges of practising “waiting room medicine,” to discovering untreated cancer in a twenty-something patient, to diagnosing an extremely rare case of auto-brewery syndrome, Dr. Goldman shares the stories of frustrated and burned-out colleagues as well as the passion they have for being there in your hour of greatest need. With inspiring stories about diagnoses made, puzzles solved, and lives saved, The Casino Shift is a raw, revealing, and compelling look at life on the front line.

"The Casino Shift is a real-life take on The Pitt and a warning to all who care about Canada's fractured healthcare system. A must-read." - Linwood Barclay, bestselling author of Whistle

"Dr. Goldman lifts the facade of emergency medicine revealing the impossible weight behind every choice." - Dr. Alika Fontaine, author of The Outrage Cure

" In the last two decades healthcare has undergone striking changes in North America, with some of the most dramatic shifts playing out in the ER. In The Casino Shift, Dr. Goldman details how ERs have had to adapt to these new realities and what it means for our future." - Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor at Baylor College of Medicine

"Early in this gripping book, Dr. Goldman tells the reader to 'buckle up' because it's going to be a 'bumpy ride.' Good advice! This book is a fast-paced journey through the challenges of being a doctor--and a patient--in the current Canadian healthcare system. The Casino Shift is a unique mix of compelling and remarkable stories, and highly relevant research informed by Goldman's deep experience from the frontlines of our healthcare crisis." - Timothy Caulfield, Professor at the University of Alberta and Bestselling Author

"A real-life thriller about heroes who are working against the odds, The Casino Shift shows what a modern ER in Canada is really like." - Terry O'Reilly, Bestselling Author of Against the Grain