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Trauma Junkie: Memoirs of an Emergency Flight Nurse
Trauma junkies are people who feed on danger and stress. They do their best work under pressure. Janice Hudson was an adrenaline-charged emergency room nurse in a San Francisco-area hospital when a friend told her about CALSTAR, a fledgling helicopter ambulance service with an opening for a flight nurse. Weeks later she was swooping over the Bay Area to scenes of shootings, accidents and disasters. The trauma junkie had found her element. Hudson spent ten years as a flight nurse, answering calls that were by turns horrifying, heroic and absurd. She decries her personal flights from hell that involved children and drunk drivers. In this moving story, she recalls her triumphs, like the time she performed a surgical cricothyrotomy on a patient as he hung upside down in his overturned car -- in the dark. And she shakes her head at some of the bizarre calls, like the one that took her to the scene of a suspicious mountain lion attack (there are no mountain lions in the Bay Area). But no matter what the call, CALSTAR and its dedicated crew braved danger and hardship to reach the scene of catastrophe in a race against time to bring help to those whose only hope of survival lay in the speed of the helicopter and the skill of the medical crew. A born storyteller, Janice Hudson writes with compassion, insight and wry humor. Trauma Junkie is an in-the-trenches account of emergency nursing at its most demanding.
264 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
July 26, 2017
Finished the book. It's a bit dated, but still a very good read. This is set when trauma medicine was beginning to take off and 'paramedic' signified a bit more than an ambulance driver and assistant. Something unusual or perhaps not for Americans, is the competition for cases between rival helicopter emergency medicine providers. The helicopters might even fly to a site where they were needed but they wouldn't land until payment had been authorised.
The introduction says that this is required reading for all trainee emergency flight nurses. It's an unusual mix of proper medical terminology and techniques and story of the job. The writing and pacing are excellent. Early on there was a story that had me in tears laughing and summarising it for my son. It's proper schoolboy humour with a twist, a strange twist at the end. Don't read if you are going to read the book . I'm really enjoying this book.
The introduction says that this is required reading for all trainee emergency flight nurses. It's an unusual mix of proper medical terminology and techniques and story of the job. The writing and pacing are excellent. Early on there was a story that had me in tears laughing and summarising it for my son. It's proper schoolboy humour with a twist, a strange twist at the end. Don't read if you are going to read the book . I'm really enjoying this book.
November 8, 2019
I enjoyed reading about Hudson's experience on a helicopter air ambulance in the late 80s through most of the 90s. It has all the stories you want in a first responder memoir - getting used to the job, heartbreaking scenes, miraculous saves, funny patients and coworkers. If you like medical or first responder books this would a nice addition to your shelf.
A full review in my October Wrap Up Part 2 video:
https://youtu.be/DTZnRrbINh4
A full review in my October Wrap Up Part 2 video:
https://youtu.be/DTZnRrbINh4
January 16, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. The book is presented in a way that it feels as if you're the author's coworker, and she's just telling you about the calls they ran the night before when you come to relieve her or over drinks at a bar a few days later. In other words, it's written in that intimate, EMS-bonding type of way. It's a fast-paced read, as evidenced by the fact I read it in one day. At times this book had me laughing out loud, and other times saddened over particular events that were related. While there isn't anything particularly earth-shattering about it, there are some gems sprinkled in. I would recommend this book to Air Ambulance crews and maybe to other EMS/ER personnel as well.
January 29, 2013
Totally captivating! Janice tells a few stories starting from when their beepers go off to inform them of a new case, to dropping the patient of at the hospital and following up later to learn the outcome of the case. The stories are retold with so much detail that it really feels like I was an observer on each flight.
While there are a few light-hearted stories, most of the cases have tragic outcomes. It is especially tough to read about the pediatric deaths :( Although I am totally fascinated by stories written by everyday heroes, I am going to read a few HEA fiction books next. Real life is a bit too depressing at times.
While there are a few light-hearted stories, most of the cases have tragic outcomes. It is especially tough to read about the pediatric deaths :( Although I am totally fascinated by stories written by everyday heroes, I am going to read a few HEA fiction books next. Real life is a bit too depressing at times.
January 28, 2019
On the one hand Hudson's job as a flight nurse sounds straightforward: get in, stabilise the patient(s), and get them to hospital as quickly as possible. A helicopter is faster than an ambulance, and getting a critical patient to intensive care ASAP can mean the difference between life and death.
But a job sounding straightforward and being straightforward are two different things. Her shifts were 24 hours long: some days you might sit all day in the trailer, waiting for a call that never came, and other days you might have back-to-back-to-back calls. Hudson worked this job pre-GPS and other modern technology, which meant that she and the other nurses might not know exactly where they were going, or what kind of scene awaited them, until they were in the air...or on the ground.
The writing won't knock your socks off, but Hudson's a good storyteller, and she clearly loved—and excelled at—the job. There's a lot of energy in her retellings, and for all the many medical memoirs I've read, I think this is the first one I've read about a flight nurse or doctor, which makes it unique. A different set of concerns to consider than if she'd written primarily about, say, work she did in emergency rooms. Overall it's pretty gripping. Would definitely recommend to those interested in medical reads.
But a job sounding straightforward and being straightforward are two different things. Her shifts were 24 hours long: some days you might sit all day in the trailer, waiting for a call that never came, and other days you might have back-to-back-to-back calls. Hudson worked this job pre-GPS and other modern technology, which meant that she and the other nurses might not know exactly where they were going, or what kind of scene awaited them, until they were in the air...or on the ground.
The writing won't knock your socks off, but Hudson's a good storyteller, and she clearly loved—and excelled at—the job. There's a lot of energy in her retellings, and for all the many medical memoirs I've read, I think this is the first one I've read about a flight nurse or doctor, which makes it unique. A different set of concerns to consider than if she'd written primarily about, say, work she did in emergency rooms. Overall it's pretty gripping. Would definitely recommend to those interested in medical reads.
June 6, 2015
This is a good book to pick up for anyone interested in flight nursing, or any other part of healthcare: ER nurses and providers who take care of the patients flown in; therapists, religious leaders, or mental health professionals who take care of patients recovering from illness and trauma; perhaps even loved ones of people who do these jobs and want to understand what it's like. Of course, anyone just interested in healthcare or gruesome stories might enjoy it, too. It does help a little to have an understanding of medical terminology, but a glossary is included.
Here are the things I don't like, in ascending order of importance:
--there is a part where Hudson at least implies that people who are obese, smokers, drug/alcohol addicts, or very elderly don't deserve invasive and heroic life-saving procedures. The examples provided to illustrate this point didn't do a great job, to me. I consider this a personal opinion, and it is not included in why I took two stars off my rating. Still, it was alarming to read, and in the afterword for the second edition, I'd have liked to see this addressed.
--in general, there are grammatical and stylistic mistakes throughout the book. I don't know if they exist in the physical edition. It was enough to take me out of reading and confuse understanding. There was no real demarcation between stories, so it was hard to tell when one thought ended and another began. In fact, I'm not sure the book followed any sort of real organization at all. It wasn't linear, divided by theme, divided by story type...nothing.
--even if the dialogue were quoted word-for-word, it comes across as unnatural and stilted--like a first-time author trying to write realistic dialogue and, frankly, failing. See above point: it was enough that it took me out of reading.
--maybe because I read the bulk of it in a span of two days, but the book came across as pretty repetitive. I don't know that it helps to read so many stories of infants and young kids killed by drunk-driving parents, but I feel like those were chosen for the shock and sadness values rather than for any meaningful reason. Terms and procedures were explained multiple times, which seems even worse considering there's a glossary included. The book starts off engagingly, but the repetitiveness and overall lack of clear styling mentioned above creates a feeling of a mushy, unorganized middle (much like most of the patients described!), and an abrupt ending (I won't make an inappropriate joke about patients here).
Three stars is still an indication that I enjoyed the book, and I did. The problems didn't take away my enjoyment in an overwhelming sense. After all, this wasn't written to be deep or expansive. It's a quickly-read memoir meant for people who enjoy the work, or who are "trauma junkies" themselves.
Here are the things I don't like, in ascending order of importance:
--there is a part where Hudson at least implies that people who are obese, smokers, drug/alcohol addicts, or very elderly don't deserve invasive and heroic life-saving procedures. The examples provided to illustrate this point didn't do a great job, to me. I consider this a personal opinion, and it is not included in why I took two stars off my rating. Still, it was alarming to read, and in the afterword for the second edition, I'd have liked to see this addressed.
--in general, there are grammatical and stylistic mistakes throughout the book. I don't know if they exist in the physical edition. It was enough to take me out of reading and confuse understanding. There was no real demarcation between stories, so it was hard to tell when one thought ended and another began. In fact, I'm not sure the book followed any sort of real organization at all. It wasn't linear, divided by theme, divided by story type...nothing.
--even if the dialogue were quoted word-for-word, it comes across as unnatural and stilted--like a first-time author trying to write realistic dialogue and, frankly, failing. See above point: it was enough that it took me out of reading.
--maybe because I read the bulk of it in a span of two days, but the book came across as pretty repetitive. I don't know that it helps to read so many stories of infants and young kids killed by drunk-driving parents, but I feel like those were chosen for the shock and sadness values rather than for any meaningful reason. Terms and procedures were explained multiple times, which seems even worse considering there's a glossary included. The book starts off engagingly, but the repetitiveness and overall lack of clear styling mentioned above creates a feeling of a mushy, unorganized middle (much like most of the patients described!), and an abrupt ending (I won't make an inappropriate joke about patients here).
Three stars is still an indication that I enjoyed the book, and I did. The problems didn't take away my enjoyment in an overwhelming sense. After all, this wasn't written to be deep or expansive. It's a quickly-read memoir meant for people who enjoy the work, or who are "trauma junkies" themselves.
July 24, 2012
Solid memoir about what it says on the can, thoughtful and full of interesting stories, but nothing that lifts it above what it says on the can.
July 1, 2021
Gripping and action packed. This would be my dream job.
April 9, 2010
2.5 - I don't know - this isn't as interesting as I'd been expecting. I understand that Hudson isn't an author by profession and was ready to make allowances for this but it just didn't grab me like I thought it would. I wouldn't suggest this to anyone unless they were totally into the subject, not just the subject of nursing, but flight nurses to be exact.
There were parts that were more interesting of course, the parts telling about the patients and what was done to try to save their lives impressed me. The flying around and helicopter parts - not so much.
I hate to nitpick but some of her stories are kind of scary - the one where she and fellow flight nurses went to hear a professor speak and were too hungover to listen. Um, yeah, I certainly hope one of them get to save MY life one day. NOT. I know people need to unwind, especially with a job like this, but, hey, why not on a night when we DON'T have a lecture in the morning? Maybe? Not the most professional and I lost much respect for her. I was very surprised she even admitted this to be honest.
There were parts that were more interesting of course, the parts telling about the patients and what was done to try to save their lives impressed me. The flying around and helicopter parts - not so much.
I hate to nitpick but some of her stories are kind of scary - the one where she and fellow flight nurses went to hear a professor speak and were too hungover to listen. Um, yeah, I certainly hope one of them get to save MY life one day. NOT. I know people need to unwind, especially with a job like this, but, hey, why not on a night when we DON'T have a lecture in the morning? Maybe? Not the most professional and I lost much respect for her. I was very surprised she even admitted this to be honest.
June 19, 2010
This book really showed a range of stories and emotions that kept me interested and wanting to read more. It went from sad/tragic to funny/light-hearted stories that helped keep it from getting too dark and depressing. For many people the stories might be too graphic or disturbing (I wouldn't recommend this book to just anyone). But if you have a strong stomach and are interest in these kinds of stories, I would definitely recommend it. I found the book fascinating and really enjoyed reading it. I'm sure I will read this book again in the future because this story seemed really honest and was very well-written, based on the author's own experiences.
June 7, 2016
This book was a very exciting true account of one nurse's work aboard an emergency transport helicopter. She details to many different kinds of emergencies from gang wars, to accidents, to fires .One of her success involved working on a patient hanging upside down in his car. She writes with humor and compassion.
May 5, 2025
A really cool job, although some descriptions were a bit gruesome, but it got pretty same same after awhile.
December 5, 2020
3.5 stars
This is definitely a page turner and a fun, exciting read. However, I was a bit turned off by what felt, at times, disrespectful of the patients.
We quietly referred to them as "dog lab" patients, since we could safely practice invasive procedures with them, thus preparing ourselves for future patients who might still be in the second tier. 32
Never mind that the patient is sixty pounds overweight, chain-smokes and has been slowly pickling himself with alcohol for years. Many people don't want to take responsibility for their bodies. 220 Or, perhaps, they're psychologically scarred and these are ingrained coping mechanisms?
Also, the dialogue felt constrained. For example, this piece of dialogue felt a bit contrived and too explicatory, "When I open his mouth, hold his neck still," he said. "With this kind of impact, he's for sure got some injury to his neck. We don't want to complete a c-spine fracture and make him a quad." 12 It just doesn't feel like an actual exchange, that would occur in the heat of the moment, in the field.
Other than that, it was an exciting, quick read. The Calstar nurses were impressively skilled and worked hard to provide life saving measures while their patients were en route. In more than one case, they brought patients back from asystole and kept them alive until arriving at their destinations. No small feat.
This is definitely a page turner and a fun, exciting read. However, I was a bit turned off by what felt, at times, disrespectful of the patients.
We quietly referred to them as "dog lab" patients, since we could safely practice invasive procedures with them, thus preparing ourselves for future patients who might still be in the second tier. 32
Never mind that the patient is sixty pounds overweight, chain-smokes and has been slowly pickling himself with alcohol for years. Many people don't want to take responsibility for their bodies. 220 Or, perhaps, they're psychologically scarred and these are ingrained coping mechanisms?
Also, the dialogue felt constrained. For example, this piece of dialogue felt a bit contrived and too explicatory, "When I open his mouth, hold his neck still," he said. "With this kind of impact, he's for sure got some injury to his neck. We don't want to complete a c-spine fracture and make him a quad." 12 It just doesn't feel like an actual exchange, that would occur in the heat of the moment, in the field.
Other than that, it was an exciting, quick read. The Calstar nurses were impressively skilled and worked hard to provide life saving measures while their patients were en route. In more than one case, they brought patients back from asystole and kept them alive until arriving at their destinations. No small feat.
September 13, 2023
If you want a reminder of why you became an ER nurse, if you’re interested in flight nursing, if you’re a loved one of a nurse and want a peak into their world, or if you simply love cool stories, i can’t recommend this book enough.
June 14, 2024
The writing isn’t perfect, and the author can be a bit condescending (but I think the job could do that to you). The stories were gripping, even if too much radio talk was included for my taste (as in, “this is calstar one, let me know when you have a visual” and similar lines repeated a lot. I guess it was to make you feel like you’re right there, but I didn’t need it in every story)
May 4, 2017
2017 Popsugar Ultimate Reading Challenge: A book with career advice
When I was in my last year of nursing school, my clinical group had the opportunity to check out the helipad and air hanger of the hospital we were currently working in. We had the opportunity to chat with the flight nurses and respiratory therapists and take selfies in the helicopter. I was immediately enamored. Since that day, I have dreamed of one day becoming a flight nurse at my hospital, a dream that will require many years of experience in an ICU and also as a paramedic, but a dream I am determined to accomplish. So when I saw this prompt, I knew I would have to read something in the field of nursing, and this book fit the bill perfectly.
Hudson is a natural-born storyteller, but her stories are not for the faint of heart. If you are someone who is easily squeamish, this is not the book for you. That being said, you don't need to be in the medical profession to enjoy this book. Hudson chronicles her time as a flight nurse at CALSTAR and also her time as an ER and ICU nurse. It made for a very interesting and thrilling read. Think nurses don't do anything but clean up people's shit? You'd better think again.
Bottom-Line: My only complaint is I wish it was longer! Definitely recommend.
When I was in my last year of nursing school, my clinical group had the opportunity to check out the helipad and air hanger of the hospital we were currently working in. We had the opportunity to chat with the flight nurses and respiratory therapists and take selfies in the helicopter. I was immediately enamored. Since that day, I have dreamed of one day becoming a flight nurse at my hospital, a dream that will require many years of experience in an ICU and also as a paramedic, but a dream I am determined to accomplish. So when I saw this prompt, I knew I would have to read something in the field of nursing, and this book fit the bill perfectly.
Hudson is a natural-born storyteller, but her stories are not for the faint of heart. If you are someone who is easily squeamish, this is not the book for you. That being said, you don't need to be in the medical profession to enjoy this book. Hudson chronicles her time as a flight nurse at CALSTAR and also her time as an ER and ICU nurse. It made for a very interesting and thrilling read. Think nurses don't do anything but clean up people's shit? You'd better think again.
Bottom-Line: My only complaint is I wish it was longer! Definitely recommend.
March 24, 2018
This book was given to me by a friend who thought I'd like it because of my past role as an ER nurse. I didn't expect to like it, as I find most that most of the nursing memoirs I've read are eye rolling-ly boring or attempts to educate non-medical readers. I thought this memoir was surprisingly well presented and it kept me enthralled. Although I saw some memorable and very sad sights in my ER( in a smallish rural Canadian city) my experiences were small potatoes compared to hers. I have immense respect for people that are first( or second) responders to gruesome and horrific scenes. I thought the author's recounting of her experiences were very readable and straightforward without any self back-patting. The only negative I have is that I think the title of the book is a disadvantage; I would not have bought it for that reason alone, as the word junkie has negative connotations for me. All in all, a great read for this(thankfully) retired nurse!
May 13, 2018
I purchased this book at my favorite used book store after listening to an ER doctor talk about her night, with a fascination bordering on obsession. I was enthralled by the situations people get themselves into and I wanted to hear more. So with intent I walked into the book stop and my eyes fixed on a book that seemed exactly what I was looking for. I mean a book called Trauma Junkie: memoirs of an emergency flight nurse just had to be good, and it was.
If you watch your fair share of doctor shows, and instead of looking away when there’s an accident you look toward it, this book is for you. It gives details on many cases this woman worked on from the 80’s into the 90’s. She was on duty the day their was an earthquake at the World Series and the bay bridge suffered a collapse. She watched countless accident aftermath, stood by while the jaws of life worked, and she had a lot of fun drinking with her team when they weren’t on duty.
This book is a delight, if you can find it.
If you watch your fair share of doctor shows, and instead of looking away when there’s an accident you look toward it, this book is for you. It gives details on many cases this woman worked on from the 80’s into the 90’s. She was on duty the day their was an earthquake at the World Series and the bay bridge suffered a collapse. She watched countless accident aftermath, stood by while the jaws of life worked, and she had a lot of fun drinking with her team when they weren’t on duty.
This book is a delight, if you can find it.
May 28, 2013
My mother is a nurse and all through my childhood years I have been fascinated with health science and medicine. I would ponder through all of my mothers medical books justto look at the gruesome pictures and get a sense of what that person was going through. From then on out I've been absolutely fascinated with anything EMTs do and this book really blew my mind. I give it 5 stars because of how passionate Janice told her day to day flights and all the gruesome details to go with it. I planted myself right their next to her and felt what it was like to help a dying person out of a vehicle,to check their vital signs to load them up on the helicopter. She is a good nurse and her way of explaining what she does is absolutely intriguing! I loved this book and recommend to anyone who is interested in the medical field!!
July 29, 2011
Fantastic book, I loved it. The stories were a bit gory at times, but I expect that with the types of patients she deals with.
The tales involving children were just heart breaking, and at times, you have to wonder about how many could have been avoided if alcohol had not been involved.
I also agree with this nurses comments on preserving life, when the reality is, the quuality of the life the person has, is not worth it. Like this author, I think some people in the medical proffesion need to look at what exactly are they trying to preserve, and how much better in some cases it would be, to let the person have a dignified and comfortable passing, rather than preserving life no matter what the outcome will be for them if they stay alive.
The tales involving children were just heart breaking, and at times, you have to wonder about how many could have been avoided if alcohol had not been involved.
I also agree with this nurses comments on preserving life, when the reality is, the quuality of the life the person has, is not worth it. Like this author, I think some people in the medical proffesion need to look at what exactly are they trying to preserve, and how much better in some cases it would be, to let the person have a dignified and comfortable passing, rather than preserving life no matter what the outcome will be for them if they stay alive.
March 15, 2015
"Trauma care is about understanding of [sic] how a human body reacts to outside forces, whether a bullet, a car accident, fall or burn. If we can understand the forces, we can anticipate injuries, prioritize them, starting with the ones that will kill you first."
Trauma Junkie is one damn-fine read. While an older memoir with second-edition updated reflections, Hudson has an authentic, embraceable voice and a gift for medical illustration that should make most men's testes yo-yo up into pelvic cavities at times (ladies, I don't know what he equivalent psycho-physical response is). These people guard the threshold between the land of the living and the realm of the dead. Huge accolades.
Trauma Junkie is one damn-fine read. While an older memoir with second-edition updated reflections, Hudson has an authentic, embraceable voice and a gift for medical illustration that should make most men's testes yo-yo up into pelvic cavities at times (ladies, I don't know what he equivalent psycho-physical response is). These people guard the threshold between the land of the living and the realm of the dead. Huge accolades.
July 12, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. Janice Hudson has a gift for writing and some of her adventures as an emergency flight nurse on a helicopter with CALSTAR are the stuff of TV dramas. Cases vary from heart attacks to gunshot victims to families terribly injured in car crashes to young babies barely holding on while the CALSTAR helicopter tries to whisk them from a rural area to a big city pediatric hospital before they get worse and die. In between stories of patients and flights, Ms. Hudson weaves other issues into the book, discussing "no code" directives, how to deal with grieving families, and frank descriptions of the tension building on flights through harrowing weather.
June 12, 2015
I enjoy reading medical field memoirs (yet have zero interest in working in the field) and this one was a stand out because I never really thought about who is on board those medical helicopters and what they have to face from shift to shift, basically very, very sick or injured people. This was a quick read and you felt like the author was relaying some work stories just to you. The medical knowledge needed to understand this book was very minimal as she explained what you needed to know. Very interesting!
November 13, 2018
This book offered a fascinating, behind the scenes look at what the job of an emergency flight nurse entails. The only thing that could have made it better would be a greater attention to detail. It's more a diary of the author than it is memoirs detailing the job itself, which means a lot of information gets left out. I was hoping for more insight into the day to day, as opposed to a selection of cases that held an emotional meaning. That being said, in spite of this, it's a fascinating (short) read.
June 14, 2012
Really interesting and easy to read. I picked it up one evening (it was loaned to my husband) and could not put it down. She also tells stories about being an E R nurse. She gets opinionated about having an advanced directive and that there is a time to not intervene with heroic medical lifesaving measures which I don't necessarily disagree with but it didn't really fit in with the rest of the book. Still. Really great informative read.
March 23, 2014
I was not as taken in by this book as I am most medically based non-fiction. While interesting, at least at first, by the nature of her work on a rescue team that choppered into sites to care for an injured person, there was just a transitional time spent the patient(s) - she and her team cared for the patient on site, stabilized them to travel and delivered them to a medical facility. Interesting in that it was not the usual practice or facility based story.
March 18, 2017
A really interesting look at the early days of flight medicine. In the first two stories, I must have exclaimed, "You can't do that!" three times -- emergency services have come a long way since the mid-eighties! But author Janice Hudson was running codes when I was in middle school, and this book was really educational about how the practices we currently use were developed and then refined through practice.
November 7, 2009
WOW what a powerful book! Being a med surg nurse I found this book to be very thrilling, interesting and touched on every emotion. I'm thankful that Janice decided to write this book. This has many stories to show how intense the day in the life of a flight nurse is. Some happy and some sad but rewarding cases. Now I'm in search of more like this.
October 1, 2009
I read this book in less than a day. I couldn't put it down and I should have been studying for my psych nursing exam! This book is written clearly and quickly. My adrenaline was on high through the entire read, but a couple of times I had to stop reading to cry. This is an excellent behind the scenes look at emergency nursing. Honest. Heartbreaking.
February 11, 2012
Loved it! I didn't think I would enjoy it due to the subject matter but I found it interesting and exciting. The stories of the children hurt due drinking and driving was sad and heartbreaking. This book helped me understand the importance of those in the medical field especially the nurses and the first responders. I have a new respect for those who do this job.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews