Paramedic: On the Front Lines of Medicine

This is a great book describing the responses of a Paramedic on the streets of Hartford , Connecticut and some local Volunteer Ambulance Co.'s. Peter Canning was a speechwriter for a Politician in Conn. and spent his days looking out the window at responding ambulances and wondering what it was like and if it had more meaning and satisfaction than his present sedentary responsibilities. He decides to become an EMT and then a Paramedic and write short stories on his most interesting , challenging and frustrating calls. It should be no surprise that this collection of stories is well written as this man is a speechwriter. If you are a first responder and familiar with medical responses in particular, you will enjoy and quite possibly learn something in the authors descriptions. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in EMS especially for a prospective EMT or Paramedic. Exciting and worthwhile.

I find it extremely educational and it teaches you a lot and I'm looking forward to become a paramedic I have always wanted to be a paramedic since I was a child it will be a rewarding feeling when I save lives

I'm trying to decide whether I could make it as an EMT, so I've been reading all kinds of books on the subject. I bought this book based on all the good reviews, but I was disappointed.There are paramedic stories, but many are cut short. They're used to illustrate some point, and the reader is left hanging. What happened? There are some stories that the author follows through to the end. I enjoyed those. Canning does have a readable writing style, and he is good at describing the challenges and the situations faced by real world paramedics.That being said, what I didn't like was all the politics and hand wringing in the book. I knew when I bought the book that Canning had been a political speechwriter. No problem...that just means that he can write. What I didn't expect, however, was full chapters dedicated to the problems inherent in the EMS system and the politics behind those problems. There are also full chapters about the desperation and poverty in the inner city and how unfair it all is to the children...and the political issues which contribute to those situations. And there are also full sections about the author's own angst about whether or not he is good enough. Some introspection is good. Too much turns into self pity.Overall, I probably wouldn't buy this book again. For good paramedic stories, I'd recommend anything by Steven "Kelly" Grayson.

I'm a U.S. Army Combat Medic so I have my EMT Basic certification and bought this book to help me decide if I want to further my EMS education when I get out of the military. I still haven't finished it but I wasn't even halfway through the book when I decided I need to do this for a living. It's the good, bad, and ugly of being a Paramedic. I would give it 5 stars but there's a noticeable amount of typos in the book. For example, twice on the same page the word "die" was replaced with "the". Not a big deal because the context of the sentence makes the word that's supposed to be there obvious but it's kinda annoying. Buy this book if you think you might want to pursue a career in emergency medicine because by the time you're done you'll have made your decision. That's all I got

I really love this book. It was awesome. It was a very interesting book and I learned a few things from it. I learned 2 new heart rhythms: Sinus arrhythmia and a rare rhythm called torsades de pointed: abnormal beat of the ventricles that produces a rhythm at first looks like ventricular tachycardia, but isn't. The treatment for it is magnesium and ventricular pacing. If you give the person lidocaine while they're in this rhythm, it will kill them. I also learned that there are 24 drugs that medics use to help bring patients back to life. I thought it was half that number. I'm familiar to most of them from my nursing math course I took. I really loved this book. I'll definitely recommend it all of my friends in the field.

This book inspired me to enroll into EMT school and it prepared for my clinicals (I knew that not every 911 call was going to be a true emergency). Many lay people see the ambulance rushing through traffic, and say to themselves, "Man, those guys must have nothing but action-packed days!). Not so! If you're an EMT student, EMS provider or someone with education in the EMS field, you'll pick up the terminology in the book and you'll have fun reading the book. General public will have a hard time understanding the vital signs/terminology, but still very interesting to read. This is an excellent book for those who are interested in getting into the field. Highly recommend this to EMT students, it will greatly inspire you and will make you a bit more street wise when your clinicals come up.

The book is fun to read and has given me insight into my brother's career as a paramedic. The author tries to give you an idea of what it's like to be a paramedic by relating his anecdotes, stories, and his thoughts over the span of his career. I definitely enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning about what paramedics do. The only thing that irritated me about the book is that it jumps around a lot. There is no real story line and some of the anecdotes seem a little overly dramatic sometimes. Still, the good far outweighs the bad.

Saw this recommended on an EMT website, which said it was a realistic view of what it is like to be an EMT--not just the exciting hero parts, but the boring parts too. So I bought it for my 13-yr-old niece who for years has wanted to be an EMT on her way to being a doctor. Unfortunately, the language is very explicit. Flipping through the first few pages, there is a guy who isn't very fond of cops who tells them in explicit street language just what he thinks of them. No way would her mom let her read that.It may be a very good book--I'm only letting you know that if this were an album, it would be E for explicit.

my only comment is on the quality of the paper which is a horrible cheap looking quality. the font size is small and crammed so tight that if you are reading it under a lamp, some of the sentences look as if they are all one word. I gave it 5 stars for the story content.

The book does do a good job of giving you an idea of how it is to be a paramedic, but the attitude of the author sets you back a bit. He mainly cares about getting calls for critical injuries or dangerous situations for his own excitement and as a chance to be seen as a hero, not really what being a paramedic should be about. There is also a lack of sympathy for their less desirable patients.

Fantastic book, ended up buying more from Peter Canning. Don't let the cliche cover fool you, the guy is informative and down to earth. Great for an EMT interested in going paramedic, students, etc.

I use this with my paramedic students.It is an easy and interesting read and gives the students a taste of what awaits them out there in the real world.Highly recommended!

I've worked in the medical fields and enjoy reading the other sides.. Easy reading for everyone that enjoys this work.