Confessions of a Trauma Junkie: My Life as a Nurse Paramedic...Review

About the book:
Share the innermost feelings of emergency services workers as they encounter trauma, tragedy, redemption, and even a little humor. Sherry Jones Mayo has been an Emergency Medical Technician, Emergency Room Nurse, and an on-scene critical incident debriefer for Hurricane Katrina. Most people who have observed or experienced physical, mental or emotional crisis have single perspectives. This book allows readers to stand on both sides of the gurney; it details a progression from innocence to enlightened caregiver to burnout, glimpsing into each stage personally and professionally.
 

Honest and engrossing. I enjoyed this first responder perspective. Sherry Jones Mayo has been an EMT, Emergency Room Nurse and a Critical Incident counselor. She brings the reader into the ER and into the ambulance. So much of our medical experience is from television shows like ER and House, and Grey's Anatomy. But, unless you're a medical professional, you have no way of understanding the experience and pressure Emergency Service Personnel face on a daily basis. These people choose these professions; they choose to be on the front lines of emergency care and saving lives.

Sherry's book is a series of vignettes, some her own experiences, some from other EMS personnel. Many are hysterically funny and irreverent about those strange and obnoxious patients. Others are tender, recounting an EMTs first patient loss, or the aftermath of a traumatic experience and the importance of crisis counseling for care givers.

It's a rare look into the healing profession. As I read, I came away with a greater appreciation for those who save lives daily.

Thanks to Sherry for sending me her book. You can learn more about Sherry Jones Mayo here. You can purchase the book here.

Read 7/09

* * * *
4/5 Stars

Comments

  1. Sounds like a very interesting book! I"m sure she has seen it all!

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  2. I love books about EMS and emergency medicine. I'll have to look for this one. Great review!

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  3. This sounds like a read I would really enjoy. I have a friend who is a retired ER nurse, and I admire her so much because I know it's not something I'm cut out for.

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