‘JUMPED OUT OF THE WINDOW’: Textual trajectories in emergency medical dispatch

Abstract

This paper provides a first study into the complex setting of Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD), through a textual trajectory lens. We draw on ongoing research on risk negotiation in emergency decision making and we unpack the process by which texts are produced and co-produced in the daily practice of multiprofessional teams making time sensitive, high-stakes decisions. We introduce an Interactional Sociolinguistic (IS) model, P.A.T.H.S. (standing for: Participants, Artefacts, Transition Stages, Historicity, Setting) to contribute to the study of how complex text trajectories work in professional settings, and the ensuing implications for research methodology and design, using EMD as a case in point. The paper discusses textual trajectories and illustrates the EMD textual ecosystem through P.A.T.H.S. before turning to a case to illustrate the patterns in our data. We close the paper with implications and directions for future research.