Paramedic Care

Dr. Bryan Bledsoe is an emergency physician with special interest in prehospital care. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and received his medical degree from the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center / Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his internship at Texas Tech University and residency training at Scott and White Memorial Hospital / Texas A&M College of Medicine. Dr. Bledsoe is board-certified in emergency medicine and family practice. He is presently a Ph.D. candidate at Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.

Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Bledsoe worked as an EMT, paramedic, and paramedic instructor. He completed EMT training in 1974 and paramedic training in 1976, and worked for 6 years as a field paramedic in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1979, he joined the faculty of the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center and served as coordinator of EMT and paramedic education programs at the university. Dr. Bledsoe is active in emergency medicine and serves as medical director for several EMS agencies and educational programs.

Dr. Bledsoe has authored several EMS books published by Brady including Paramedic Emergency Care, Intermediate Emergency Care, Atlas o f Paramedic Skills, Prehospital Emergency Pharmacology, and Pocket Reference for EMTs and Paramedics. He is married to Emma Bledsoe. They have two children, Bryan and Andrea, and live in Midlothian, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. He enjoys saltwater fishing and listening to Jimmy Buffett.

Robert Porter has been teaching in Emergency Medical Services for 25 years and currently serves as the Senior Advanced Life Support Educator for Madison County, New York, and as a Flight Paramedic with the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department helicopter service, AirOne. Mr. Porter is a Wisconsin native and received his Bachelor's degree in education from the University of Wisconsin. He completed his Paramedic training at Northeast Wisconsin Technical Institute in 1978 and earned a Master's Degree in Health Education at Central Michigan University in 1990.

Mr. Porter has been an EMT and EMS educator and administrator since 1973 and obtained his National Registration as an EMT Paramedic in 1978. He has taught both basic and advanced level EMS courses in the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and New York. Mr. Porter served for more than ten years as a paramedic program accreditation site evaluator for the American Medical Association and is a past chair of the National Society of EMT Instructor/Coordinators. He has published numerous articles in EMS periodicals and has authored Brady's Paramedic Emergency Care, Intermediate Emergency Care, Tactical Emergency Care, and Weapons o f Mass Destruction: Emergency Care as well as the workbooks accompanying this text, Paramedic Emergency Care, and Intermediate Emergency Care. When not writing or teaching, Mr. Porter enjoys offshore sailboat racing, historic home restoration, and listening to Dr. Bryan Bledsoe complain about the Texas heat.

Richard Cherry is Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of Paramedic Training at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY His experience includes years of classroom teaching and emergency field work. A native of Buffalo, Mr. Cherry earned his Bachelor's degree and teaching certificate at nearby St. Bonaventure University in 1972. He taught high school for the next 10 years while he earned his Master's degree in Education from Oswego State University in 1977. He holds a permanent teaching license in New York State.

Mr. Cherry entered the emergency medical services field in 1974 with the DeWitt Volunteer Fire Department where he served his community as a firefighter and EMS provider for over 15 years. He took his first EMT course in 1977 and became an ALS provider two years later. He earned his paramedic certificate in 1985 as a member of the area's first paramedic class. He still answers emergency calls for Brewerton Ambulance.

Mr. Cherry has authored several books for Brady. Most notable is EMT Teaching: A Common Sense Approach. He has made presentations at many state, national, and international EMS conferences on a variety of teaching topics. In addition to his paramedic teaching, he is course director, instructor, and instructor trainer for ACLS, PALS, and PHTLS courses conducted for physicians, residents, nurses, medical students, and other house staff. He lives in Parish, New York with his wife Sue, a paramedic with Rural-Metro Medical Services, their children, and many pets.