Should you go to the emergency room? Or should you wait for the physician's office to open?

The best thing you can do is to contact a nurse hot line and speak to them about the situation.  They can often give you advice on what to do to handle the situation.  They might also be able to give you a few first aid tricks that could keep you from having to go to the doctor.  If you don’t have a nurse hot line available to you, you could contact the ER and ask them.  They aren’t always willing to give you advice, but they can put you in touch with a nurse or physician’s hot line that can.  Also, if your physician’s office is still open, call them. 

If a patient is choking, has been hit by a car, has fallen down a cliff, or has fallen off of a high bridge, etc. you should probably call 911 immediately.  These types of situations are usually time sensitive, meaning the faster help arrives the better the chances are for survival. 

If a patient is bleeding and you cannot stop or slow the flow of blood, it is probably a good idea to call an ambulance and/or seek medical attention at the ER depending on the area that is bleeding.  Head, hands, and feet will generally bleed much more than other areas of the body because they have more capillaries located there.  Generally if the sides of a wound are puckered, then the wound is deep enough to require stitches.

If a patient has lost consciousness, it is usually a good idea to seek medical help via ambulance if possible.

If a patient has been burned, bad and not so bad burns.  If the burn is deep or covers more than a 1/2 dollar sized area of the body, or is badly blistered, then a doctor’s visit is usually the norm; use burn ointment, cover the area with a sterile bandage and call your physician’s office.  An ER is usually reserved for a person who is burned over a large portion of their body or whose burns, though small, are bleeding, or if the burn is by a chemical that is still burning.

If a patient is running a high fever (over 100) it is usually a good idea to seek medical attention, however unless the temperature is above 103, you can call your physician’s office and get a sick visit appointment rather than going to the ER.  Physicians keep several appointments open each day for just such situations.

If a patient is a child and they have a cold, sore throat, rash, or cough, you should try not to bring them to the ER unless your physician has advised it.  Usually such situations can be handled (and are preferred to be handled) at the physician’s office.

It is easier to have a few things listed and know they mean ER than to sit for hours and hours wondering if you should or shouldn’t call for an ambulance.  Take a moment to check the person out before you panic.  Children especially are very resilient and a fall that would seriously injure an adult, might only give bruises and a few scratches to a child.  Also, if the injury or illness is not, or does not seem to be life threatening, try to hold off until the next day and get an appointment with your physician.