Shocktrauma

If you are an innovative manager, or involved in the politics of funding government bureaucracies (EMS, Fire, Police, ER, etc.), or are or have been one of the rank-and-file providers (ER or ICU nurse, law enforcement officer, firefighter, ambulance EMT, etc.) this book should appeal to you. This book will also appeal to anyone who loves reading and to any non-fiction writer because it is one of the best written non-fiction books of the twentieth century. Author Jon Franklin received the Pulitzer Prize for its original run when it was published as a newspaper series. Revised into a book "Shocktrauma" is remarkable. I compare this book to Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" insofar as SHOCKTRAUMA tells the history, politics, management, and personal stories of an important, innovative, and ultimately successful but unlikely project. In fact, as readers of "The Right Stuff" and "Shocktrauma" will understand, going to the Moon was easier than getting our nation's Shock-Trauma centers and programs started. People reading this in 2003 or later who are accustomed to calling a three digit number (911), and then witnessing a coordinated response by a team of well-trained emergency personnel, with first responders and ER personnel all cooperating, may be shocked at learning that only a quarter-century ago this system was fought against, and fought hard and bitterly, by the medical community, fire departments, ambulance services, and hospitals. I have been working in the emergency services system since 1975. I was a certified Ambulance EMT for 17 years, worked 2 years full-time in an ER, was a firefighter for 9 of those 17 years, have been an attorney for the past 10 years, and was politically involved with these issues much of this time. This is a book that should never go out of print because (1) it is a wonderful read, (2) it is valuable to anyone at any level in the EMS system, and (3) it is a wonderful model for anyone aspiring to learn to write non-fiction well. (See also Jon Franklin's "Writing for Story") Highest recommendation. Robert M. Beattie, JD (former Firefighter-EMT & ER medic)

I would highly reccomend this book to the medical community because it tells of how the first Shocktrauma unit got started. It especially hits close to home because of it being set in Baltimore and I live 3 hours away from Baltimore. It talks about how the MD State Police and this Shocktrauma unit essentially initiated the program that MD stil has in effect to this day. This is a great book and I would definitely reccomend it to anyone with and interest in EMS or medicine. Definitely worth the out of print service!!

A really entertaining book, showing some of the pioneers in the trauma medicine field, written in an unusually entertaining fashion- the book had me checking to make certain it was not a work of fiction! While it focuses on the work of one doctor, the methods that were used previous to his work are more frightening than most other books! (when treating an accident victem, there was not much that could be done except waiting by the roadside for the victim to expire and record the time of death) And, as with many pioneer books, the ideas that were considered and thrown out, such as the idea of putting trauma wards onto tractor trailers and shuttling them about the country going to patients as an oversized ambulance. Scary to see how far we have come in only 20 years!