As Burnout Tops EMS Workforce Concerns, Leadership Communication Training Gets a Renewed Focus
Cover of the 2025 What Paramedics Want survey by EMS1/Lexipol, with their permission.
Featured image from an article written by Corinne Flammer in the 2025 What Paramedics Want workforce report, with permission of EMS1/Lexipol.
Lisa Giruzzi and Robbie MacCue, of the EMS Leadership Academy
People expect an ambulance to be available when they call 911, but EMS is often not funded as an essential service. Communities need to understand that readiness requires an investment.”
ALBANY, NY, UNITED STATES, February 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Burnout has officially emerged as the most pressing issue facing EMS professionals nationwide, surpassing staffing, funding, and recruitment challenges, according to the EMS1 What Paramedics Want in 2025 workforce survey.— Robbie MacCue, paramedic & co-founder of the Academy
The survey found that 76% of respondents identified burnout as a critical issue, with 25% ranking it as their No. 1 concern. Contributors included inadequate staffing, limited leadership support, and poor communication—factors that respondents repeatedly linked to disengagement and intent to leave the profession.
“Burnout doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” the EMS1 report notes. “Chronic understaffing, weak feedback loops, and a lack of leadership engagement are draining the EMS workforce.”
In response to these findings, the EMS Leadership Academy has released a free self-assessment tool for EMS professionals at all levels to help them improve their leadership self-awareness and reintroduced its long-running communications training under a new name: The Essential Communication Course. The rebrand reflects a growing recognition that communication skills are not a soft skill, but an essential workforce strategy.
More than 50% of EMS personnel surveyed reported that their supervisor rarely or never provides recognition, praise, or constructive feedback, underscoring the connection between communication and morale.
“The data is telling us very clearly that burnout isn’t just about long hours or tough calls—it’s about whether people feel heard, supported, and valued. Communication is one of the few things leaders can improve immediately, even in under-resourced EMS systems” says Robbie MacCue, paramedic and co-founder of the EMS Leadership Academy.
Building on the Essential course, the Academy is also announcing the launch of its Advanced Communication Course: The Language of Leadership, designed for supervisors, managers, and executives navigating high-stakes conversations in increasingly strained systems.
The Advanced course focuses on how leadership language shapes trust, accountability, and culture, helping leaders recognize communication blind spots, regulate their response under pressure, and lead difficult conversations without escalating stress or disengagement. The program is paired with the Academy’s free self-assessment tool, which helps leaders identify how their communication style is experienced by their teams.
As agencies face annual turnover rates of 20–30%, according to the 2025 American Ambulance Association workforce study, leadership development is increasingly viewed as a stabilizing force in a strained system.
The timing is significant. In addition to workforce challenges, a preliminary CMS analysis of Medicare Ground Ambulance Cost Collection data, presented to MedPAC after five years of reporting by services, confirms that ambulance reimbursement remains well below the cost of delivering care, a finding summarized bluntly by EMS1: “The data is in. The debate is over. The check is still short.”
“EMS leaders must communicate with their teams, elected officials, and the public,” MacCue said. “People expect an ambulance to be ready when they call 911, but EMS is often not funded as an essential service. Communities need to understand that readiness requires investment to sustain the EMS workforce.”
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About the EMS Leadership Academy:
The EMS Leadership Academy is a national organization focused on developing strong, self-aware leaders in emergency medical services. Through practical, EMS-specific training grounded in emotional intelligence and communication science, the Academy helps organizations improve retention, strengthen leadership at all levels, and build systems that support long-term success.
Robbie MacCue
EMS Leadership Academy
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