Rhetorical Work in Emergency Medical Services

Elizabeth L. Angeli is an assistant professor in Marquette University’s English Department, where she specializes in technical communication and the rhetoric of health and medicine. Her research has been published in journals such as Written Communication, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, and Communication Design Quarterly. She received her PhD in rhetoric and composition from Purdue University and has held a National Registry Emergency Medical Technician-Basic certification.

• List of FiguresList of TablesForewordAcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsChapter 1: The Scene Size-upChapter 2: Managing the Unpredictable Workplace through Rhetorical Work Chapter 3: A Rhetorical History of a Developing FieldChapter 4: Studying the Unpredictable WorkplaceChapter 5: Using Multisensory Invention in the Unpredictable WorkplaceChapter 6: Integrating Distributed Cognition, Memory, and Writing into the Unpredictable WorkplaceChapter 7: Preparing Communicators for Unpredictable WorkplacesReferencesBibliography of Secondary ResearchIndex

"In this engaging, personal story, Elizabeth Angeli tells how she was inducted into and studied the communications of the unpredictable world of emergency medical services. Readers get to 'ride along' as Angeli develops, modifies and implements her research design for an unusual activity with shifting constraints."-Clay Spinuzzi, Professor, Rhetoric and Writing, University of Texas at Austin"I didn’t learn how to write good reports. I learned how to save lives." The majority of EMS training focuses on patient care skills. Yet, they spend a great deal of their working life doing paperwork. So, how do they learn the underlying rhetorical skills to succeed as workplace writers? Dr. Angeli provides an answer by offering important insights for those of us who want to understand better rhetoric’s power to persuade in unpredictable environments as well as practical guidance for EMS providers who must not only save lives but also document their care."-Roger Munger, Professor, English, Boise State University"The book is an engaging and methodologically innovative study that give serious consideration to the pervasive and often invisible work of communication in professional settings. Angeli's work will undoubtedly be useful to anyone studying the transmedia properties of professional communication in unpredictable workplaces."-Jason Swarts, Professor, English, North Carolina State University"This book examines the complicated workplace communication and rhetorical work taking place in unpredictable contexts such as emergency medical services. It provides not only thick description and in-depth analysis of training and daily work in EMS but also detailed, pragmatic pedagogical applications to prepare future communicators for challenging rhetorical in unpredictable workplaces. Highly recommended for rhetoricians of medical rhetoric, professional and technical communicators, writing instructors, and EMS educators and practitioners."-Huiling Ding, North Carolina State University, USA