Trauma Junkie

 Janice Hudson wrote Trauma Junkie: Memoirs of an Emergency Flight Nurse. Janice worked in the Emergency Room Department of a hospital in San Francisco. She likes emergencies. She likes the adrenalin rush of handling a crisis. After reading her book I think she is good at it. She heard about a chance to be an emergency flight nurse and she jumped at the chance. This was in the late 1980's and early 1990's so this book is dated. She has several 24 hour shifts a week. The flight nurses and pilot stay together in a bunk house. She learned to it is important to eat and sleep whenever you can. Sometimes they would get no calls in a shift and other times they would be called out constantly. She dealt with car accidents, wildfires, drownings and illnesses. Sometimes they were called to transport someone from one hospital to another. Once she had to cut open a neck of a guy to insert a breathing apparatus while he was hanging upside down from his seatbelt in a truck. I could never do that job. I am not cut out to be a nurse. I have been trained to administer epi-pens and insulin injections but I absolutely hated doing it. The idea of causing pain in another person is abhorrent even though I know it is the right thing to do. I'm glad there are people like Janice Hudson out there to do the job I don't want. I liked the book.  There was one story I found disturbing. The emergency room had a repeat patient who was an alcoholic. The staff didn't like to help her because she was so belligerent and dirty. That I understand. The staff would place bets on what her blood alcohol level would be. I think taking bets on her blood alcohol level was disrespectful to her.