Book Review: People Care 2nd Edition

People Care: Perspectives and Practices for Professional Caregivers, 2^nd Edition is an updated and expanded edition of People Care by Thom Dick. It is a compelling collection of stories, insights, and real world experiences from the author and many other EMTs and paramedics on how to provide outstanding response, assessment, care and transport, as well as compassion, to the people of our communities. Longtime readers of Dick, a paramedic, teacher and quality improvement specialist, will find the themes and recommendations familiar but worth re-reading, as their skills and the needs of their communities have changed.

As a fan of Dick’s regular columns in EMS World Magazine, I have always appreciated his common sense solutions because they are backed up with careful discussion, research and experience. They almost always lead the paramedic to a place where they are able to do what is best for their patient, and take pride in what has been accomplished.

Dick has a keen ability to transition from a lesson learned to a lesson applied. The book’s “Chapter 12: Violent People,” acknowledges the growing challenge of transporting patients that are or have the potential to become violent. The chapter describes a process, and includes photos, for a patient “tie down” after law enforcement has completed the “take down.” The “tie down” process is sensible and replicable. Indeed, the hardest part is likely building a trusting and respectful relationship with law enforcement partners well before a violent patient encounter.

Some caregivers might be able to read People Care: 2^nd Edition in a single sitting. For me it was best consumed one chapter each day or one chapter every few days. For the experienced field provider, it might be best tucked into a shift bag to read a chapter every now and then for a different perspective on a situation just encountered. A new EMT or paramedic graduate should read it during their job search, as they prepare to select an organization that will “hold sacred: their spouse, their sense of personal significance, their safety, their schedule, their sleep and their salary.”

Dick believes that being a caregiver is a gift with which some of us are born. If you have that gift you should be proud of it and do all you can to maximize it, much like a gifted athlete trains diligently to express their gift during competition. I believe, that like leaders, we cannot rely on just the born or natural caregivers. Caring can be learned, practiced, improved, nurtured, and rewarded. Caring for yourself, co-workers, patients and families can be at the heart of any organization’s culture. When it is, the naturally gifted caregivers will soar and at the same time the less gifted will rise to heights once thought unattainable. 

Much of People Care: 2^nd Edition is an invitation to walk in the shoes of someone less fortunate. More attention is paid in its pages to the elderly, recently widowed, mentally ill, and homeless than the pages of a paramedic textbook. Use the guidance to thrive as a caregiver.

• If you are an educator, take a moment to read a few pages to your class each day, much like my Scout troop leader read to us at each troop meeting from the journal of Baden Powell.
• If you are a supervisor, leave a copy sitting casually on your desk. When a visitor to your office, usually an EMT or paramedic, glances at the book cover during a conversation or rant, invite them to borrow your copy. As soon as they leave put another copy on your desk (you might need to have 3 to 5 copies on standby).
• If you are a preceptor, keep a copy nearby to share with students or newly hired employees. After a series of calls for all of the non-medical/non-trauma patients that weren’t covered in class or the textbook, ask the students to read a few of your favorite pages from People Care: 2^nd Edition. Then discuss.

People Care: 2^nd Edition is available for purchase from EMSWorld.com/store.

Greg Friese, MS, NREMT-P, is the director of education for CentreLearn Solutions, LLC. He specializes in the development, production and distribution of online education for emergency responders. Greg is a leading advocate for the use of social media by EMS agencies and training organizations. Greg is a regular conference presenter, the co-host of the EMSEduCast, the founder of the EverydayEMSTips.com blog, marathon runner, and participant in many online EMS communities.