A paramedic's tales : hilarious, horrible and heartwarming true stories / Graeme Taylor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Taylor, Graeme, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emergency medicine--British Columbia.

Emergency medicine.

Emergency medical technicians--British Columbia--Biography.

Emergency medical technicians.

Taylor, Graeme.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Place of Publication:

Madeira Park, British Columbia : Harbour Publishing, [2020]

Summary:

"In most people's minds, ambulances are best avoided--we pull over to let them pass, perhaps briefly thanking the universe that the day's events have not necessitated our own swift passage to the ER, and then we go on with business as usual. But have you ever wondered, as that siren screeches by, what it would be like to work as a paramedic, when the most dire emergency is just another day at the office? In A Paramedic's Tales, Graeme Taylor reveals all--from the humorous to the horrific. Not knowing what's around the bend makes for a fast-paced adventure every time a paramedic goes on duty. Taylor, who worked as a paramedic for twenty-one years in Vancouver's Lower Mainland, the BC Interior and Victoria, shares true stories that are both gritty and uncensored, yet the compassion and courage of co-workers, patients, strangers--and people who had previously threatened to kill our narrator--shines through the gore. The author writes that as a paramedic, to stop from crying you have to keep laughing, and readers will find themselves doing the same. From the near-daily task of deciding whether to send someone to the ER or the drunk tank, to the occasional miracle, to the just plain ridiculous, readers will gain insight into everyday life in emergency medicine. With stories set across the province, from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside to down the side of a cliff, these rollicking tales explain the perils of life before GPS, what to do if a drunk mob surrounds your ambulance, and how to drive like a paramedic."-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Some BC Ambulance Service Terms and Radio Codes

Author's Note

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I: How I Got Hired

Supernatural British Columbia

No Point Panicking

Meat Wagon

A Government Job at Last

Part II: Vancouver and the Lower Mainland

Learning the Ropes

An Impractical Joke

Emergency Driving

A Close Call

Co-operating with Cops

Working with Firefighters

What Makes a Paramedic Throw Up?

The Laws of Probability

She Can't Die Here!

Hurtin' Country Music

Down and Desolate

Another Rainy Day

Domestic Disputes

It's a Wrap

Part III: The BC Interior

Winning My Stripes

A Real Professional

Political Blackmail

Country Calls

Bottoms Up

The Mounties

My Worst Call

On (and Off) the Road

Quick Fixes

The Friend I Avoid

Breakup

Part IV: Victoria

The Right Credentials

Management

The Art of Ambulance Driving

Merry Christmas

By the Book

Spaced Out

That Glowing Feeling

Break and Enter

Where's George?

Drug ODs

A Drive in the Country

Irregular Shifts

One Step from Eternity

Taking It Like a Man

Veterans

What a Gas!

Dead on Arrival

XXX Stories

Emergency Rooms

Medevacs by Air

Medevacs by Sea

Off the Record

Part V: Down and Out

Compensation Claims

Was It Worth It?

Judgement Day

About the Author.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-55017-903-9

OCLC:

1293264096