My ambulance education : life and death on the streets of the city / Joseph F. Clark.

Includes index.

John Doe and company -- Introducing death -- Christmas Eve -- Suicide is painful -- Lost glasses and drugs to go -- A crushing blow -- Tunnel vision -- Bob the new guy -- Sleep depraved -- Vomit on the ceiling -- Angel dust -- The streets -- Shake and bake and other ambulance regulars -- Visiting the newborns -- Drunks are part of the job -- Along for the ride -- Brothers in arms -- Alternate uses for the ambulance -- Killing time in the ER -- Spic and span -- My ambulance ride -- Holly holiday -- The big one -- Last call.

This is the brutally honest story of an emergency medical technician. At 18, the author started working as an ambulance attendant to pay his way through college. For the next seven years he worked New York City's most dangerous neighborhoods as an emergency medical technician (EMT), dealing with the medical emergencies from drug overdoses, gang fights, car crashes and worse, all while juggling schoolwork and a personal life. His stories are a graphic portrayal of the life of an ambulance EMT. From dealing with a body that is frozen solid and trapped under a front porch to climbing into the burned-out wreck of a car to treat the seriously injured driver, his stories are horrifying, poignant, touching and often filled with the dark humor that is so characteristic of the people who work under extreme stress. This book is a testament to the medical first responders who scramble to provide the on-the-spot care so vital to the survival of victims. EMTs struggle daily (and nightly) with emotional strain, sleep deprivation and, inevitably, burnout.