Emergency Medical Responder: First on Scene, 12th edition © 2024

Emergency Medical Responder provides clear, first responder-level training for fire service, emergency, law enforcement, military, civil and industrial personnel. For over 40 years, it has been an important component of thousands of training programs and has contributed to the success of hundreds of thousands of students.

The 12th edition aligns with the latest National Emergency Medical Responder (EMS) Education Standards and includes the 2023 focused updates from the American Heart Association Guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid. The new edition also incorporates more language of inclusiveness, in recognition of the diverse backgrounds and life experiences of EMR students.

Fundamental EMR skills and knowledge

• Up-to-date evidence-based medical practices are covered in each chapter, with an emphasis on the “why” of patient presentation. 
• Step-by-step skills are presented in about 90 photo scans, offering a quick reference.
• References to current medical literature make this title stand out among other EMR textbooks.

Engaging learning aids

• First on scene scenarios woven throughout chapters put students in the middle a real-life emergency, offering a perspective they won't get with any other training resource.
• First on scene run reviews pose critical-thinking questions related to the first on scene scenario. The questions challenge students to consider how they might have responded differently.

Expansion of skillsets

• Fundamental skills are introduced or expanded upon, including crew resource management (Ch. 3 & 9), proper lifting techniques (Ch. 6), effective patient communication (Ch. 7) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant patient documentation (Ch. 8). 
• Airway management techniques are updated with the latest American Heart Association guidelines for airway management (Ch. 9), proper technique for connecting a regulator to an oxygen cylinder (Ch. 10) and current recommendations for ventilation rates for patients of all ages (Ch. 11). 
•  Patient assessment skills include updated blood pressure guidelines from the American Hospital Association (Ch. 12) and expanded information on multisystem trauma, significant versus nonsignificant mechanisms of injury, and rapid trauma assessment (Ch. 13). 
• Care for medical emergencies is updated with expanded discussions of congestive heart failure (Ch. 14) and management of open chest injuries (Ch. 22), plus special considerations related to care for pregnant women (Ch. 23), infants and children (Ch. 24) and geriatric populations (Ch. 25).

More effective organization and assessment

• Cognitive objectives within each chapter have been updated and reorganized to more effectively match the flow of chapter content. 
• Quick quizzes have been revised to better assess the cognitive objectives.