“Don’t judge a book by its movie,” is a 21st century twist on a timeless kernel of wisdom. I believe this holds true for the book Ambulance Girl: How I Saved Myself By Becoming an EMT by Jane Stern. It’s a very well-written book that later became a straight-to-DVD movie. Though the movie only appealed to a small audience, the book is a great read.
Stern takes readers through her own journey of personal lows and professional highs. She starts the story at a very low point in her life when she was gripped by clinical depression, but decided she would force herself to get out and become an EMT.
I found the first part of her story ironic. Here was a person with severe depression and access to a physician willing to write her scripts for plenty of medication. Sound like a recipe for disaster? I thought so, too. I’ve transported my share of overdoses with the same story line. Through uncommon perseverance though, she became the provider working in an ambulance instead of the patient riding in an ambulance.
Her struggle with EMT class was the first hurdle to overcome.
“I am having a problem my shrink tells me is often experienced by first-year medical students. I have every symptom of every disease Frank mentions in the classroom. I am no longer clinically depressed but instead am dying of everything simultaneously.”
Stern’s honesty and humor are endearing throughout the book. However, readers interested in the action of EMS or the clinical/social implications of our work may not be thrilled with this book. Stern becomes pretty vulnerable with her readers at times, and some may see it as whining. However, I would still recommend it for all FTO’s and EMS Managers. Stern paints a picture of someone coming into EMS to vicariously heal herself by healing others. Regardless of a manager’s view on people who enter EMS this way, the book will offer insight on employees who may be fighting these same battles just below the surface.
Jane’s a great writer and a good friend. I’m proud to say that she’s been a student in my classes many times and, even though her home service is not a tremendously busy one, her insight is a great resource for inspiring stories for fellow providers.
I agree that even if you are not the kind of person who will relate directly to her, if you are a leader in EMS you may find that reading this book will help in your understanding of some of the different personality types in our profession. I’ve found that this can help you better relate to and communicate with them.
I ordered it and a few others. Can’t wait to read it!
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I first heard Jane Stern on NPR. Her story intrigued me and I bought her book. Jane has been in the food reviewing business with her husband for awhile- radio and Gourmet magazine. She found herself sitting in front of her TV, a real couch potato, afraid to move or go anywhere. Eventually Jane realized that she needed some expertise and assistance to help her through this period of anxiety and depression. Through a great deal of work and some pharmaceutical assitance Jane has learned to live through her depression. One outlet was to become an EMT- by helping others she is helping herself- she is less drawn to angst about her own issues. As a health care provider I can understand how you can become engrossed in other people’s medical and emergency issues by helping them through this critical time, and how rewarding it is to know you were responsible for a litle piece of this person’s care. Jane has also learned that she has to leave the dark, difficult emergency situations at the office, so to speak. She cannot dwell on those she cannot save or those stories too bleak to think about. This book conveys a story of depression that will be helpful to many- a method for surviving while helping others- that’s what it is all about.