As many of you are already aware by now am sure I have the ambition to be a paramedic. Being in the Red Cross and going out on duties I have mixed with quite a number of paramedics and watch the work they do and I have nothing but admiration for them. I’m also a keen reader of an online blog written by a paramedic (The Paramedic’s Diary) where he documents the callouts he has (edited for confidentiality, of course) and his thoughts and feelings on the job and the people he comes across.

Stuart Gray has published a few books in his time of being a paramedic, and he recently posted a link to this one in his blog. ‘The Street Medic’s Survival Guide’ and it looks superb. Definitely on my wishlist for Christmas! Here’s a description from SP Services:

The Street Medic’s Survival Guide has been written by an experienced frontline paramedic to fill a void that exists for everyone embarking on the journey into the profession. Even if you are just thinking about becoming a paramedic, this book will take you through the realities of the job – the stuff they don’t tell you in training school or university.

Written with humour and common sense by the author of ‘A Paramedic’s Diary – Life and Death on the Streets’, the book will open your eyes before you embark on the long, arduous training programme that is standard for paramedics-to-be. Everything you need to know about ‘out there’ is in here, including:

• The recruitment and training process
• Salary and work conditions
• How to use the radio properly without making a fool of yourself
• How to wear uniform properly, including how to iron it!
• Call types and how to handle stress

With illustrations and real-life examples throughout, this book is destined to become the ‘how to’ bible of paramedicine.

Woohoo!!!

The book I’m reading ‘The Interpretation of Murder’ by Jed Rubenfeld. A thiller about Sigmund Freud assisting a Manhatten murder investigation. Has a bit of history thrown in too and surprisingly I am getting into it. Am 100 pages into the book and find it interesting and I don’t normally say that when it comes to historical subjects (sorry – I just am not really into history as a subject, at all). I like how it switches from one scene to the next and the description is great and detailed so much so it actually feels like you’re there in New York in 1909!

So ya so far it’s a good book, requires thinking and a tad of brain power – something I feel is fading day by day but this brings that spark to ignite the flame to get the brain going again.