Customer Reviews

Paramedic: On the Front Lines of Medicine

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you want an idea what it is really like to be a medic on the streets, this is it--good, bad and ugly. I read it when I was starting EMT school, and nothing prepared me better for what I would see in the field. Definately a must read for anyone in the medical field, or anyone who wants to go into emergency medicine.

Peter Canning once worked for Lowell Weicker as a speech writer. Then he got "the bug." I can't think of a better way to describe that sense of duty and commitment that seems to possess people who are underpaid, overworked, and have to deal with the worst in our society.

Like most "bugs," this bug changes over time. Canning makes the switch from a high paying job to EMS out of a sense of wanting to help. I've known others like him. One fellow I know made the switch from electrician to paramedic even though it cost him (and his family) a third of his salary.

In the beginning is the desire of the new EMT or paramedic to earn the respect of others in his profession. Canning was so proud as he marched into an operating room and established an airway with doctors looking on. I've known those feelings.

The bug metamorphasizes. EMS people often have to deal with the poor in our society. This means a call from someone who has no health insurance and who has to depend upon an ambulance trip to an ER for normal health care.

Or this means the poor in spirit who find nothing productive to do with their lives. For example this includes the elderly woman who calls EMS due to shortness of breath, and then she wants a cigarette.

After a while in EMS you see plenty of folks whose lives could not be saved. The hardest is the feeling of "if I had been there" or "if I had made another decision." Canning writes of those feelings. The bug has changed again from the time Canning was so proud to march into an operating room and establish an airway.

Sometimes EMS burns people out. Canning was not one of them. This book is just the first that he wrote about his EMS experiences.

Wow. This was a wonderful read. I've read a few other EMT/Paramedic books, and none of them have come close to the quality of this one. Other books have been watered-down, amateurish versions of Peter Canning's book. He tells it like it is, from bloody accidents to his unedited feelings about some of the people he encounters. Wonderful description (I actually got nauseous at times)and good writing. There were a few slow places where he sidetracks to politics, but I see why those segments are there. The rest of the book is a clear view into EMT jobs. Those people are WAY underpaid. Only one thing bothered me: Mr. Canning says that he wants people to see him as a hero. Well, hello! YOU ARE! All of you are. Thank you for what you do every day for horrible pay and the threat of bodily harm from disease, drunks, criminals, and a million other dangers I don't have the room to describe. Be proud. You deserve it.

Peter Canning does an excellent job realistically portraying the life of a paramedic. With so many shows on television presenting EMS inaccurately, Canning isn't afraid to describe what really goes on, even if it isn't lights and sirens 24/7. I enjoyed this book so much that I wrote a review of it on MedicPLANET.com. Buy this book! You won't regret it.

I am currently a M.I.C.T (Mobile Intensive Care Technician-Paramedic). This book not only gave an excellent presentation of the position from a professional position with excellent description of treatment and protocol, but also caters to the layman who may not have any medical treatment. They book will not only show a true paramedic, but also give a Paramedic the credit where credit be due. Some think that being a Paramedic is all glory,...you will find out the true life of a Paramedic in this book....which is Glory for a mere second and waiting forever for a call, and transporting patients that did not have a ride to a doctors appointment.

"On the Front Lines of Medicine" explores a much more humanistic and introspective view of Paramedic work. His book is more of a confession than a narrative. It is in this confessional nature that he trancends the superficial stereotypes of paramedics as arrogant adrenaline junkies, and readily discloses the toll that EMS work has on its practitioners. In a way that not many books do, Canning describes the nuances and boredom, as well as the excitement and danger, in EMS.

Once I started reading, I was hard pressed to quit until fatigue forced me to stop reading until the next morning. I'm pretty hard on book authors and EMS books in particular. Despite this, I have only positive things to say about this book.

Rescue 471 is the most insiteful book I have ever read! Peter Canning paints a vivid picture of the word of EMS today. His stories relate to the true feelings of hope and dispair we all feel day to day in this profession. I recommend this book to any one in EMS!!

Mr. Canning does a good job describing the process he went through to get where he is. However two problems with his work.
1. He can go over your head every now and then if you have no medical training.
2. He goes off every now and then on government and spends a great deal of time reminiscing about his political career that he had before becoming a paramedic.
But, Mr. Canning does give you a feel of feelings go through an EMT/Paramedic during the course of their day as well as what you feel like at the end of the day.

This book was an excellent buying choice! I loved it and could not put it down. Canning describes the reality behind what it is like being a paramedic in the best way. I am becoming an EMT and this book helped me greatly. I hope Canning writes another masterpiece!

I am a 5 year Paramedic/Fire Fighter. I couldn't put the book down. I have shared those very same feelings that Peter Canning has on the streets. Battling the feeling of "Is this call for real?" This book really gave a true insight of emergency medicine. One moment your throwing a football around with your friends and the next moment your pumping some guys chest, starting an I.V. line and pushing medicine trying to revive a man that you do not know. I loved this book. Great job Peter.