An open letter to the Author of "What does an EMT do?"

[jordanfstop]

This is kind of old, but I came across it lately and I haven't seen it on here.. I'm sure you lot would get a kick out of it.

Dear Ms. Jordan,

My mother, an elementary-school librarian, gave me a copy of your book for Christmas. As an EMT working on Pittsburgh's East Side, I was delighted to find an EMT-related text whose clear, straightforward prose style is accessible not only to children aged 8 to 10 but also to most emergency medical personnel. However, I'm afraid you may be giving your readers an inaccurate view of what EMTs really do. I've suggested a few minor changes that I hope you'll consider for future editions.


Page 6: "When a person is hurt, EMTs come quickly."

Try something more like:

"When a person is hurt, EMTs come quickly. Unless the EMTs are eating breakfast at Tracy's. Then the EMTs pay for breakfast first. Tracy's needs all the help it can get. Tracy's is in a bad part of town. Sometimes the EMTs find their ambulance has been vandalized in the parking lot."

See the rest here: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/openletters/1emts.html

 

[Kimmy Schaub]

WOW thats funny... sometimes very true I'm sure.

 

[mikeylikesit]

i don't get it...it that the sarcasm thing people are always talking about or just realism?

 

[mdkemt]

I think it is a bit from colum A and B. It is reality but the bright side of it!

MDKEMT

 

[Turner]

'"

Page 21: "Most EMTs work one day or one night a week. Most of them are volunteers. That means they do this job for free. They are EMTs because they want to help people. They want to save lives. EMTs are community heroes."

Consider something more along the lines of:

"Most EMTs work two or three jobs. They're paid around $9 an hour. They are EMTs because they are hoping to be hired someday by the city of Pittsburgh, which has union jobs. At some ambulance companies, 'union' is a magic word—whoever mentions it gets fired! EMTs everywhere work a lot of overtime. Overtime means EMTs can afford to buy groceries. Overtime is hard on relationships and marriages. Some EMTs (Wayne, for example) have become the subject of popular discussion: Did Wayne's marriage fail because he works 80-hour weeks, or does he work 80-hour weeks because his wife found out about the child he fathered out of wedlock? Wayne is a community hero."


Well true but the hour wage is getting higher now.