A Charles Sturt University (CSU) lecturer has co-edited a new textbook, Paramedics in Australia, which is the first ever written by and for Australian paramedics, or ambulance officers. Coeditor Associate Professor Peter O’Meara, who is Associate Head of the CSU School of Biomedical Sciences at Bathurst, says for the first time Australian paramedics have been given a voice through publication of a book on paramedic practice which is also a step toward paramedics forging their own professional identity.“Paramedics in Australia explores the challenges that Australian paramedics face daily within a sometimes volatile social and political context of changing technological and clinical practice options, and with ambulance authorities dealing with ever-rising expectations from the community, the health system and government. Most chapters are written by paramedic academics or practicing paramedics drawn from five States, which make it a truly national book. Chapter one is the only known national history of ambulance services in Australia.”