# Paramedic Book



## themooingdawg (May 20, 2010)

Does anybody know of a solid/good paramedic book i can start reading on my own that'll kinda be like an universal one that is extremely similar to most books used by paramedic programs?


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## Cawolf86 (May 20, 2010)

I am using the "Essentials of Paramedic Care 2nd Edition" by Brady - ISBN 0-13-171163-6


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## Veneficus (May 20, 2010)

Save the paramedic books for paramedic class.

Get a good physio book like Guyton or a biochemistry text that will give you the background that makes paramedic class easy.


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## Stat12Lead (May 26, 2010)

themooingdawg said:


> Does anybody know of a solid/good paramedic book i can start reading on my own that'll kinda be like an universal one that is extremely similar to most books used by paramedic programs?



Before I went to paramedic school, I took a couple of classes first. I would recommend enrolling in a basic anatomy/physiology and basic ECG class. This will help with the learning curve everyone faces starting out. Trust me... when you start paramedic school, having a good solid basic understanding of these two subjects will make your life a little easier. I also found that learning 12-Lead ecg's was a hard thing to wrap your brain around. Go to www.statmedicaleducation.com and look at the visual aids that assist in 12-lead interpretation. 

Good luck,


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## medicRob (May 27, 2010)

Cawolf86 said:


> I am using the "Essentials of Paramedic Care 2nd Edition" by Brady - ISBN 0-13-171163-6



That was our textbook as well. I loved that book.


You might not want to jump into the paramedic pool too fast without first becoming proficient in the basic workings of human anatomy & physiology.

I would recommend a nursing level anatomy book (not paramedic), you will benefit far more from it in my humble opinion. Usually anything by Tortora is gold. (We used his books in both A & P I and A & P II). If you have a good understanding of human anatomy and physiology, I recomment "Porth's Essentials of Pathophysiology".  Also, pick up a book on medical terminology. This will help you out greatly. 

Good luck in your educational endeavors.


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## thegreypilgrim (May 27, 2010)

themooingdawg said:


> Does anybody know of a solid/good paramedic book i can start reading on my own that'll kinda be like an universal one that is extremely similar to most books used by paramedic programs?


Like Veneficus said, hold off on the paramedic textbook for now. What you want to do is build a strong foundation upon which to build a paramedic education (because God knows it's a rare paramedic program that actually tries to "educate" rather than merely "train" its students).

Take standard, college anatomy and physiology (one semester each) classes, and learn the holy crap out of that stuff. You would do well to enroll in biology and chemistry classes as well. Then get yourself a good pathophysiology textbook such as this one:







And study the crap out of that too.

This was my Bible in paramedic school:






It has a lot of good information in it, but the problem is it reads as though it were written by 25 different authors who never spoke to one another, and then the editors just compiled the text out of the "key parts" of the other authors writings and pasted it all together. It's funny that that's how it reads because, mother of mercy, that's how it was actually written! It's incredibly disjointed and many important things are kind of glossed over or explained incompletely or out of context with something else that needed to be included. All of this is out of an attempt to condense intricate information from medical science to an 8th grade reading level.

So, that's why you need a strong foundation in the basic sciences (both physical and life sciences) and at least a basic understanding of pathophysiology to understand what the hell is in the paramedic textbook, because the book itself is of little help in those areas.

/soapbox


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