Trauma Junkie

"Trauma Junkie gives us a view over the flight nurse's shoulder from liftoff until the patient is delivered to the hospital and the agonizing minutes in between. These fascinating true stories are impossible to put down." -- James M. Betts, MD, Chief of Department of Surgery and Director of Trauma Services, Children's Hospital, Oakland "An exciting portrayal of emergency nursing." -- Library Journal "Fast-paced nonfiction that reads like an adventure story." -- School Library Journal In Trauma Junkie, readers accompany veteran flight nurse Janice Hudson as she races in response to emergency calls in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her workplace is a cramped California Shock Trauma Air Rescue (CALSTAR) helicopter in which medical personnel try to fix the human carnage wrought by shootings, accidents and natural disasters. In this new and expanded edition, Hudson updates readers on how she and her colleagues have fared since moving on to different medical roles -- including her own battle with multiple sclerosis, which ultimately forced her to give up the job she loved. The new Trauma Junkie also contains several previously unpublished stories, including a new addition to the lineup of "stupid human tricks" Hudson witnessed and an all-new chapter describing a call involving the most heartbreaking of patients: a child who didn't make it. Hudson is a natural storyteller who conveys the excitement of her days with calstar -- heroic rescues, tragic deaths and the hilarious incidents that made the tension bearable -- and the deep commitment of her team to keep patients alive in the most perilous situations. For information on California Shock Trauma Air Rescue Ambulances Services please visit www.calstar.org

Mayo, an Emergency Medical Technician, Emergency Room Nurse, and an on-scene critical incident debriefer after Hurricane Katrina, details a progression from innocence to enlightened caregiver to burnout, providing personal and professional glimpses into each stage.

More True Stories from EMS and the ER More Confessions shares the raw and honest feelings of emergency service professionals through true 'story behind the story' revelations. Disclosing experiences from both sides of the gurney, Sherry and other EMS, ER, paramilitary, and firefighter responders walk you along their fragile line of sanity. Using humor as a life raft during perfect storms, workers reflect upon how they endure and survive personal and professional tragedy while trying not to care too much, and what happens when they fail in that attempt. A graduate student in psychology, Sherry is a paramedic, trauma nurse, and crisis interventionist who led a national paramilitary crisis response team and continues conducting crisis management training throughout the U.S. Emergency Service Professionals Praise More Confessions "Once again, Sherry brings to life the overlooked or, too often, over-hyped world of the emergency services for all to experience. She does so with a vitality and spirit that makes her prose almost poetic. If you want to glimpse the amazing world of EMS from 'behind the curtain, ' More Confessions is for you. Highest recommendations." --Rev. Don Brown, B.A., M.Div., Flight Paramedic (retired), Chaplain, Lt. Col., CAP (retired); Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Grand Saline, TX "More Confessions will take you to the edge of first responder insanity with honesty and integrity. Sherry has once again opened our world to the reader by cleverly describing the unbelievable experiences that we have every day. This book is the real deal!" --Peter Volkmann, MSW, EMT, Chief-Stockport NY Police Department. "Through the venue of real and personable human experience stories, Sherry's More Confessions is a powerfully written sequel that provides key insights into the need for those who work in emergency and disaster response, as well as their families, to actively and purposely recognize and consistently address their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. All who read this book will be touched deeply in some way." --Harvey J. Burnett, Jr., PhD, LP, President, Michigan Crisis Response Association Sergeant, Buchanan Police Department Assistant Professor of Psychology, Behavioral Sciences Dept., Andrews University From the Reflections of America Series at Modern History Press www.ModernHistoryPress.com Medical: Allied Health Services - Emergency Medical Services

The names were changed to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of the people in this nonfiction work. The author has written under a pen name to further conceal the identities of the subjects in her stories. Mimi Goldman worked twenty years as a Registered Nurse, predominately ER and Trauma, and four years as a Forensic Coroner Investigator. Throughout her career she chronicled her experiences and cases in a journal. Working in the ER's and in Forensics has revealed the human carnage wrought by accidents, shootings and natural disasters. Each chapter presents its own unique story that will take you from laughter to sadness to mortification. While you journey with the author, you will see a glimpse of the tragedy and the psychological terror she encountered by doing her job. If you are considering a career as a registered nurse or a forensic investigator, this book gives you a rare insight based on true cases and experiences of the author. If you think you have the stomach for it, you just might be cut out to be a TRAUMA JUNKIE.

""Trauma Junkie gives us a view over the flight nurse's shoulder from liftoff until the patient is delivered to the hospital and the agonizing minutes in between. These fascinating true stories are impossible to put down.""--James M. Betts, MD, Chief of Department of Surgery and Director of Trauma Services, Children's Hospital, Oakland ""An exciting portrayal of emergency nursing."" -- Library Journal ""Fast-paced nonfiction that reads like an adventure story."" -- School Library Journal In Trauma Junkie, readers accompany veteran flight nurse Janice Hudson as she races in response.

Ambulance services and paramedics perform critical roles in contemporary healthcare economies. Trained to work in the field and respond rapidly to emergencies, societies have come to increasingly rely on ambulance services to deliver urgent care. Never has this need been more acute than in recent years given intense social inequality, overstretched and underfunded health systems, and deadly pandemics. Leo McCann offers the first book-length study of the paramedic profession in England. Based on in-depth interviews and ethnographic observation, The Paramedic at Work provides a detailed account of the complex realities of work in this fascinating occupation. Chapters explore the nature of work 'out on the road', the peculiarities of ambulance organizational culture, the intensity of workplace stress and burnout, and the current and future trajectory of paramedic professionalism. The book documents the unique paradoxes experienced by those employed in this line of work. Ambulance staff are trained to handle life-threatening trauma and disease, but most callouts consist of unplanned primary care. Paramedic work features wide autonomy but is also bound into an array of micromanaging performance indicators. Paramedics are trusted and respected in society but the profession is poorly understood and employers can be unsupportive. However, no matter how intense the personal struggles can be, paramedic work also offers rare opportunities for meaningful and socially valued work. This book shows that the role and status of the paramedic is rapidly moving from a manual occupation rooted in first aid and transportation, to a clinical profession of increasing scope, versatility, and social respect.