By EMS1 Staff
Whether you’re seeking inspiration, looking to sharpen your leadership skills or aiming to expand your clinical expertise, reading is a powerful tool for professional growth in EMS.
We’ve gathered book recommendations from EMS leaders and EMS1 contributors, as well as book excerpts showcasing reads that cater to EMTs, paramedics and EMS supervisors. These picks cover leadership, clinical practice, personal development and even children’s books to inspire the next generation of EMS professionals.
Let these titles motivate you to learn, grow, and lead in the ever-evolving world of emergency medical services.
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Top book picks from EMS leaders, EMS1 contributors
Advance in your career, climb the ladder and inspire the next generation of EMTs with these top EMS picks.
Books
From learning resources to comic relief, there’s something for everyone
The books were used to illustrate key concepts, support the speaker’s principles or to call on other leaders to be lifelong learners
These nine leaderships books have been voted among the best in the genre
Books
Next time you select a book for your child, consider these EMS-themed reads
Book excerpts
From reflections on harrowing calls, to communication tips, legal advise and even a children’s book, check out these excerpts before choosing your next read.
Books
“An eastbound freight train with a gigantic wooden bumper had struck a car, leaving several passengers trapped and critically injured – some of them actually under the train. The vehicle was a piece of twisted wreckage and only shreds of wood remained of the train’s bumper, but the train seemed to be untouched.”
Books
“You pull into a commercial parking lot and find a large 80s-style sedan with a couple of people standing around it. It is head-on into the concrete base of a parking lot light pole. You notice the front grill is compressed, the hood is crumpled, and an elderly gentleman is standing outside talking to two other individuals, and he appears upset.”
“People skills are the soup stock you can use to cook up answers to the full range of the human emergency spectrum, from critical situations, to medical and trauma challenges, to routine transfers. You may not be in a position to say a single word out loud, but as a member of the team arriving to help you can still “say” a great deal by such actions as wiping your shoes as you enter.”
“‘I’m not sure the best way to say it, so I’ll just say it.’ She paused and looked him in the eyes. ‘I’m worried about your drinking.’”
Books
“At some point in your EMS career, you will likely find yourself under investigation for something. Not only is it very easy – and common – anymore for people to complain about one thing or another, but now more than ever, every complaint receives some sort of follow up and that usually means an investigation.”
“The doorman greets us with a Brooks Brothers nod as we enter the structure. I kept having this peculiar feeling about this call though. Low and behold, as we walk through the foyer, the elevator opens and a man in his 50’s runs towards us covered in blood. ‘You have to help me!’ He screamed frantically.”
“Often times after my husband gets off shift, I make it a point to first ask him what he needs before I discuss any tasks I have for him. I want his wellness to come first and our to-do list second.”
“Dispatching Frederick the Paramedic. Respond to the Giggle Grove indoor playground for an allergic emergency!”
Shop the recommendations
Leadership picks
- Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
- The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
- The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact
- Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise and Other Bribes
- People Care
- Flow-based leadership
- Barn Boss Leadership: Make the Difference
- Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations
- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
- Leading the Unleadable: How to Manage Mavericks, Cynics, Divas, and Other Difficult People
- What Millennials Want from Work: How to Maximize Engagement in Today’s Workforce
- Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want
- The Founder’s Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth
- Pass it on: The 2nd Alarm
EMS memoirs
- Paramedic: On the Front Lines of Medicine
- Rescuing Providence
- I Am Not An Ambulance Driver
- ‘Paramedic chief - Extraordinary experiences from the streets of Los Angeles’
- Friday Night Lights: A Compilation of Calls for Real Life Pre-Hospital Case-Based Learning
- Streetsense: Communication, Safety, and Control
- Wreck and Return: An EMT’s journey into and out of darkness
- Sirens, Lights, and Lawyers: The Law & Other Really Important Stuff EMS Providers Never Learned in School
- First responder: A paramedic’s memoir
- The Firefighter Family Academy: A Guide to Educate and Prepare Spouses for the Career Ahead
Clinical picks
- 12-Lead ECG: The Art of Interpretation
- 12-Lead ECG for Acute and Critical Care Providers
- The 12-Lead ECG in Acute Coronary Syndromes
- Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide
- Toxicologic Emergencies
- Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary
- Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary
- The Physicians’ Desk Reference
- The Nursing Drug Handbook
Children’s books
- Frederick the Paramedic: Respond to the Allergic Reaction
- Please Don’t Dance In My Ambulance
- Frederick the Paramedic
- Ambulance in Action
- Ambulances on the Move
- Paramedics to the Rescue
- Roscoe the Volunteer EMT
- Ambulances to the Rescue Around the World
- Ambulances (Seedlings)
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EMS1 is using generative AI to create some content that is edited and fact-checked by our editors. This article, originally published in December 2024, has been updated.
