Over a 30 year career in emergency, Dr Michelle Johnston has seen the tragic, the absurd and the life-affirming — all while being asked to do the impossible in an ED bursting at the seams.

Her latest book, Fifty Beating Wonders, reflects on being an emergency doctor against the backdrop of a single shift at Royal Perth Hospital while she helps care for a patient after a catastrophic motorcycle accident.

In this extract, she reveals the oftentimes ridiculous nature of her job.

When people (normal people I mean, not emergency folk) discover you work in an ED, they will often ask one of a narrow range of questions: Do you find it stressful? How do you cope with the shiftwork? What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen?