Emile “Sam” Miller is nurse manager of Emergency Services at UTMB Health Galveston Campus.
Why did you choose emergency medicine? Did someone or something influence you?
Since I was a child, I’ve always been excited by emergency situations. I can remember having my father chase fire trucks so I could see the firemen fight fires. I was intrigued by the way they crawled inside of these burning structures to extinguish the fire. When I turned 17, I joined the local fire department and became an EMT. The rest is history.
How do you get through a tough shift?
By focusing on the positives of the day. We have a lot of people who come here in pretty bad shape secondary to some horrific traumatic and medical emergencies. Some of them we are not able to save because of the damage that is done. However, every day
we show up to work, we make a positive impact on patients. Some of these positive impacts are not grandiose, but nevertheless very impactful. It can be something as simple as comforting a child who is scared to have stitches or shots, and then have
them give you a big ol’ hug at the end of a visit. You know, sometimes it’s just the simple things.
What do you do to relax when you are not at work? And why do you do that?
I spend time with my wife and hang out with my friends. I do this because my wife tells me I’m going to do it. LOL. I like hanging out with my wife because she brings a great deal of peace to my life. It’s just cool to be around her. My friends are also very important to me. When I’m with my friends, I get to wild out a little bit, smoke cigars, cook and watch sports. My wife is not fan of smoke.
What can you tell us about a recent EMS-related case that was a success? Was there a medic who made a difference? Tell us about it.
I cannot speak on a specific recent event, but I will say this: Our EMS partners are some of the best in the industry. They go out into some of the most austere environments and provide excellent prehospital care. EMS has come a long way in the past 10 to 15 years. The advancements in prehospital care are directly related to our patients having positive outcomes. Some of the areas include stroke recognition and treatment, STEMI recognition and treatment, airway management, administration of antibiotics in the field, hemorrhage control and the initiation of blood products in the field. Make no mistake about it, without the prehospital care that is provided, some of these patients would never even make it to the hospital. I tip my hat to those guys.
What is your favorite type of food? Do you have a recipe for that?
That’s easy—BBQ! Man, I love some good BBQ. As mentioned earlier, cooking and BBQ-ing is one thing that I find to be very relaxing. I have actually won BBQ competitions. I can’t tell you my recipe, but if you go down the dirt road, behind the fourth tree, across from the pond, buried under a rock you’ll find the recipe. If you find it, you can use it.
What’s something you want people to know about you?
I hate public speaking.