SIGHTS
Automatic sliding doors that lead to a waiting room full of beat-up chairs, patients with varying degrees of injury or illness (with broken bones and bloody noses, cuts, scrapes, bruising, holding garbage bins to catch vomit, pressing ice packs to injuries, wearing surgical masks, crying, holding onto the person next to them for support), loved ones waiting to hear a report on a patient (reading magazines or books, using a device to surf the internet, clutching at purses or holding tight to jackets slung over an arm, sleeping in a chair, pacing), garbage bins, half-finished coffee containers left on tables, chaotic piles of newspapers and magazines, employees (nurses, orderlies, janitorial staff) in color-coded scrubs, a dividing curtain or glass to separate people who may have a contagious disease from the rest of the patients, a glassed-in admitting and reception area, clerks taking information, restrooms, hand sanitizer stations, vending machines, signs pointing to other hospital areas, stretchers zooming past with paramedics attending to victims, doctors in scrubs and white coats passing through the area, people in wheelchairs, intoxicated people loudly complaining about the wait, worried parents and friends crammed together, small children huddled in parents’ arms, cab drivers coming in for pickups, bandage carts, stethoscopes hung around necks, people whispering, security personnel patrolling the facility, a triage area, a room for casting broken bones, X-ray and CAT scan rooms, sliding doors to the individual rooms where patients are waiting (lying in treatment beds, hooked up to IV poles, wearing blood pressure cuffs as a nurse takes measurements, wearing heart monitors)
SOUNDS
Murmuring, crying, labored breathing, someone gagging and throwing up, moaning and whimpering, a loved one whispering a prayer, newspapers rattling, people arguing, magazine pages being turned, glass doors sliding open and shut, patients being called to the admitting station, someone being paged over the intercom, police or security radios, the calming voice of a nurse, the rustle of paperwork, a pen scratching as someone fills out a form, swearing, drunken slurring, coins clinking in the vending machine, a candy bar or pop hitting the tray, sirens outside as ambulances pull up, the squeaky wheel on a crash cart or stretcher, a defibrillator charging, bleeps from heart rate monitors, supplies being yanked from protective packaging (dressings, needles, tubes), curtains being jerked closed, paramedics concisely relaying vital signs to a nurse, doctors barking orders, drawers on medicine carts sliding open and banging shut, screams
SMELLS
Antiseptic, cleaning products, hand sanitizer, vomit, body odor, booze breath, air-conditioned or filtered air, blood
TASTES
Some settings have no specific tastes associated with them beyond what the character might bring into the scene (chewing gum, mints, lipstick, cigarettes, etc.). For scenes like these, where specific tastes are sparse, it would be best to stick to descriptors from the other four senses.
TEXTURES AND SENSATIONS
Plastic or thinly-padded seats offering little comfort or room, metal arm rails digging into one’s forearms, a plastic admittance band sliding along one’s wrist, the prick of an IV needle, anxiety and worry, one’s bed being raised or pushed, nurses or paramedics manipulating one’s body to gain access to a wound, a painful area being probed by a doctor, pain increasing as one is moved from bed to bed, the blissful release as pain killers kick in, feeling increasingly cold or burning up as one’s temperature reaches critical levels, the uncontrollable shivering that accompanies shock, pain associated with specific injuries, various illness symptoms
POSSIBLE SOURCES OF CONFLICT
A person who is paranoid or violent from drug use
A large accident that overtasks the ER staff (such as an accident involving a city bus, an apartment fire, or a terrorist attack)
A shortage of staff
Needing care but not having the correct documentation or insurance
An airborne illness that spreads quickly, infecting others
Being treated by a doctor who is sleep-deprived
Having an allergic reaction to medication
Trying to treat patients who aren’t honest about their histories
Discovering a serious problem with a patient who was admitted for a minor issue
Losing a patient (especially a child)
PEOPLE COMMONLY FOUND HERE
Custodial staff, doctors, family and friends for support, nurses, orderlies, paramedics, police officers, sick or injured people
RELATED SETTINGS THAT MAY TIE IN WITH THIS ONE
Ambulance, car accident, hospital room, waiting room
SETTING NOTES AND TIPS
Hospital ERs will differ slightly due to funding, the size of the area they service, and the typical type of emergency cases they see. Ones that are in high crime locations will likely have tighter security measures and more security officers on staff. They will also be well-versed in treating stabbing and gunshot victims, whereas a small town hospital may have lighter security as their cases mostly deal with children who grow too sick to wait for a doctor appointment, bone breaks, heart attacks, car accidents, and strokes.
SETTING DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
After the symphony of coughing, hacking and wheezing that greeted Becky in the ER waiting room, she found the closest antibacterial hand dispenser and starting working it like a gambling addict hitting up a slot machine.
Techniques and Devices Used: Simile
Resulting Effects: Establishing mood