Rhetorical Work in Emergency Medical Services ― Communicating in the Unpredictable Workplace

Rhetorical Work in Emergency Medical Services: Communicating in the Unpredictable Workplace details how communicators harness the power of rhetoric to make decisions and communicate in unpredictable contexts. Grounded in a 16-month study in the emergency medical services (EMS) workplace, this text contributes to our theoretical, methodological, and practical understandings of the situation-specific processes that communicators and researchers engage in to respond to the urgencies and constraints of high-stakes workplaces. This book presents these intricate processes and skills—learned and innate—that workplace communicators use to accomplish goal-directed activity, collaborate with other communicators, and complete and teach workplace writing.

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.