Life and Death Matters

Skills to Success

In a World Where There In No Gray

IT'S NOT ABOUT HOW QUICKLY a paramedic can insert an IV or intubate a patient or victim in trouble. It's not about being able to recognize a heart attack from a panic attack. Until it is. Medical knowledge is important in responding to life-and-death emergencies for paramedics.

But just as important are the qualities of paramedics that allow them to act decisively in the chaos of prehospital emergency medicine. And those qualities include character attributes and interpersonal skills that serve them well under pressure in a world where there is no gray.

This book reveals the inside knowledge of what it takes to be the best paramedic:

- Understand the role of essential attributes such as humility, integrity, compassion, drive, and accountability.

- Practice the crucial interpersonal skills such as teamwork, assessment, and the ability to act.

- Put it all together by using principles of decision-making such as the ability to analyze and anticipate, and take a logical approach to every call.

In this book, two veteran paramedics explain the skills for success in the field when seconds matter and judgement means everything. One section is devoted to developing the expectations and evaluation skills of the paramedic who trains others.