EMT BOOK

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mrh

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Hi everybody.

I am currently working on a book to show the hard call and struggles faced in this field as well as the more interesting/entertaining calls we get. If anyone if willing to share their stories with me that would be greatly appreciated. Please reach out to me if you want to help out or if you just need to talk.

Thanks

Mary
 
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M

mrh

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akflightmedic said:
Soooo, are you a counselor or an author?
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I am an aspiring writer. I am just finishing up the BLS course and am a student/driver for an ambulance company in upstate NY. I am happy to listen to anyone who needs an ear even if they don't feel comfortable being apart of the book. Any stories that you are willing to share are greatly appreciated.
 
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mrh

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NomadicMedic said:
Just what we need... another 'thank me for my service' EMT/hero book.
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That is not what I want to write at all. My instructor for my BLS class told us several of his stories some were hilarious and some were tragic. I just want to tell our stories as they happened ... no need for flamboyance or an in your face heroic writing.
 
VentMonkey

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mrh said:
I am an aspiring writer. I am just finishing up the BLS course and am a student/driver for an ambulance company in upstate NY. I am happy to listen to anyone who needs an ear even if they don't feel comfortable being apart of the book. Any stories that you are willing to share are greatly appreciated.
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EMS books full of war stories, and gore are played out, good luck getting any stories out of random internet strangers you hardly know.

Also, next time you include yourself in the "we" of what "we" see I'm willing to bet you'll have seen enough "stories" to write your own book.

Maybe by some small miracle it will have humbled you enough to not want to share them with the world for the sake of your own prophets. Also, if you want really helpful tips on writing EMS type books maybe research people like Joe Connelly, and Kelly Grayson.

Maybe you can even get a hold of them. TMK, Connelly wrote one EMS book that became legendary, and then it became a Scorsese movie, though that was it. He wrote (writes?) other non-EMS books. The parallel I saw in both his and Grayson's books were experience, none of which you have yet.
 
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mrh

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VentMonkey said:
EMS books full of war stories, and gore are played out, good luck getting any stories out of random internet strangers you hardly know.

Also, next time you include yourself in the "we" of what "we" see I'm willing to bet you'll have seen enough "stories" to write your own book.

Maybe by some small miracle it will have humbled you enough to not want to share them with the world for the sake of your own prophets. Also, if you want really helpful tips on writing EMS type books maybe research people like Joe Connelly, and Kelly Grayson.

Maybe you can even get a hold of them. TMK, Connelly wrote one EMS book that became legendary, and then it became a Scorsese movie, though that was it. He wrote (writes?) other non-EMS books. The parallel I saw in both his and Grayson's books were experience, none of which you have yet.
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I realize that I do not have the depth or experience needed to write this book made up of my own stories. I have seen some interesting and funny calls (that is why the "we" was included in that part). I am working in a very rural area and was hoping to get a wider range of stories and even if no one is willing to share thats fine, I remain hopeful and no one feels comfortable sharing so be it. I don't honestly know if anything will come from my writing of this but it is something I am passionate about. I want to share these stories and even if I don't get any stories, I will still be here for anyone who ever needs to talk to someone because I know how important that can be.
 
VentMonkey

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mrh said:
I am more than willing to lend a ear whenever you need someone to talk to!
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Since his sarcasm went completely over your head, I will try one last time:

I'm not knocking you for being a writer. I'm not knocking you for having goals. I'm not knocking you for being passionate. What I am saying (if you actually listen) is that those books are a very small niche market. Most of us on here (i.e., actual experienced EMT's and paramedics) don't care enough about what we've done, seen, or have endured in a career.

I know I personally would not shudder my eyes, or think twice about reading another EMS novel. There's a writer out there right now who used to work for my service, and all I will say on here publicly is I have absolutely no desire to read his work.

Look at it this way, when was the last time someone wrote about all of the "stories" a nurse experienced? The majority of folks on here worthy of the title professional care nothing about such vanity. It glorifies an overused word that makes many quite frankly, nauseous; that word is "hero". I'm not surprised your instructor shared their stories with you. Sometimes it's applicable, oftentimes it's a distraction.

If you want to know what we do 90% of the time it's house-call-style social work, thrilling, isn't it? Keep being passionate, but at the same time learn to listen with your ears, not just hear people out, laterz.
 
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hometownmedic5

hometownmedic5

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VentMonkey said:
Since his sarcasm went completely over your head, I will try one last time:

I'm not knocking you for being a writer. I'm not knocking you for having goals. I'm not knocking you for being passionate. What I am saying (if you actually listen) is that those books are a very small niche market. Most of us on here (i.e., actual experienced EMT's and paramedics) don't care enough about what we've done, seen, or have endured in a career.

I know I personally would not shudder my eyes, or think twice about reading another EMS novel. There's a writer out there right now who used to work for my service, and all I will say on here publicly is I have absolutely no desire to read his work.

Look at it this way, when was the last time someone wrote about all of the "stories" a nurse experienced? The majority of folks on here worthy of the title professional care nothing about such vanity. It glorifies an overused word that makes many quite frankly, nauseous; that word is "hero". I'm not surprised your instructor shared their stories with you. Sometimes it's applicable, oftentimes it's a distraction.

If you want to know what we do 90% of the time it's house-call-style social work, thrilling, isn't it? Keep being passionate, but at the same time learn to listen with your ears, not just hear people out, laterz.
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Nurses and doctors write "I'm awesome, here's why" books too. Perhaps not with the frequency of Emts and medics, but they exist.
 
akflightmedic

akflightmedic

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Hobbyists read books about their hobby, how great it is, the stories, the players in the game, and the aspirations...

Career people read journals, study on their own and take higher education or continuing education to improve themselves and their career.

With few exceptions, most career people are not inclined to read all about how great X is at being X...because they themselves are already too busy becoming their own personal best version of what they think X is.
 
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Ambulance_Driver

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mrh said:
I realize that I do not have the depth or experience needed to write this book made up of my own stories. I have seen some interesting and funny calls (that is why the "we" was included in that part). I am working in a very rural area and was hoping to get a wider range of stories and even if no one is willing to share thats fine, I remain hopeful and no one feels comfortable sharing so be it. I don't honestly know if anything will come from my writing of this but it is something I am passionate about. I want to share these stories and even if I don't get any stories, I will still be here for anyone who ever needs to talk to someone because I know how important that can be.
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My advice: tell the human stories -the humor and the pathos, and the relationships between partners and between caregiver and patient. "Look at me, I'm a hero!" stuff gets tiresome, because frankly, we're not heroes 99.9% of the time and most of us know it. Nor do we wish to share the blood and guts and horror stories.

Too many aspiring EMS writers use the same trope: "So there I was, first-in medic on the busload of hemophiliac Jehovah's Witnesses that crashed into a glass factory, and me with nothing but a half box of 4x4's and a tube of expired Neosporin. And I said to myself, 'Kelly, this is the kind of call where legends are made'..."

Because experienced EMS people roll their eyes at that ********, and inexperienced people get a very unrealistic view of EMS.

So tell a human story about ordinary people who do a tough job. Sometimes they win, most times they lose, sometimes they're damaged even in a win, and sometimes they behave like *******s.

Tell THAT story, and it'll get an audience beyond the very small niche that is EMS readers.


Kelly Grayson
 
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luke_31

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I remember reading a ems book about a medic who was experiencing burnout and depression over the loss of a partner. Don't remember the name of the book, but it humanized the person and the job without making it all glory and praise. If anyone remembers the book and knows the name I'd want to read it again, the author did a good job with it.
 
VentMonkey

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luke_31 said:
I remember reading a ems book about a medic who was experiencing burnout and depression over the loss of a partner. Don't remember the name of the book, but it humanized the person and the job without making it all glory and praise. If anyone remembers the book and knows the name I'd want to read it again, the author did a good job with it.
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The only one I've read that I can remember coming close to this is "Black Flies"
 
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luke_31

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VentMonkey said:
The only one I've read that I can remember coming close to this is "Black Flies"
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Close but not it. Does sound interesting though. The book from what I remember had the partner killed by a passing vehicle on the highway, there was also a bar across from the station that they went to after work and put a napkin with a clothespin over their patch signifying they were off duty. There was also a new female paramedic that the guy was working with. All these details and I can't even remember the books name.
 
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