Preparedness of Graduate Paramedics for Practice: A Comparison of Australian and United Kingdom Education Pathways

Abstract

<jats:p>IntroductionInternationally, emergency ambulance paramedic education has evolved from ‘on the job’ training by ambulance services to tertiary-level qualifications. However, across many countries and jurisdictions, clinical practicum requirements still differ substantially. For example, Australian paramedic students spend fewer hours on clinical practicum than their United Kingdom (UK) counterparts.MethodsFifteen semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with Australian and UK paramedics and managers to identify their perceptions regarding the preparedness of graduate paramedics for practice. ResultsInterviewees in Australia and the UK identified that newly graduated paramedics require an internship period before independent practice. Interviewees in both jurisdictions recognised the robust theoretical knowledge and practical skills of graduates. Organisational operations, clinical judgement and decision-making, and care-pathway selection were areas where interviewees identified that an internship period consolidated the graduate’s learning. ConclusionThis research found that increased time spent by paramedic students on ambulances did not increase a new graduate’s ability to practice independently before an internship period. The time spent on ambulance practicums, objectives and supervisory model should be reviewed.</jats:p>

Student experiences of a paramedic clinical facilitator model during ambulance clinical placements: a qualitative study

“…Undergraduate paramedic education programs in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many other jurisdictions include 'ambulance clinical placement', where students participate in an operational ambulance environment under the supervision of one or more qualified paramedics (1,2). Clinical placements are a type of work-integrated learning (3,4) and in paramedicine are sometimes called "onroad shifts".…”

Rapid sequence intubation: a survey of current practice in the South African pre-hospital setting

“…As part of continuous learning to prevent skill decay and promote safe and effective skill delivery, the literature recommends supervised practice for non-physicians and physicians, especially in terms of advanced airway management or RSI [12,13,28,35]. Recent evidence suggests that, although newly qualified paramedics were found to be competent, there was a reported lack of organisational and health systems knowledge, leadership, clinical judgement and decision-making skills [36]. We support the development and implementation of a structured internship programme for newly qualified ECPs in SA aimed at nourishing practitioner growth to deliver safe and effective RSI, as recommended by Moodley [31].…”

Experiences of learning, development and preparedness for clinical practice among undergraduate paramedicine students, graduate/intern paramedics and their preceptors: a qualitative systematic review

“…The twenty six qualitative studies were published over a thirteen-year period from 2006 to 2019. Studies used semi-structured in person interviews; 19,20,29,[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] open ended interview questions, 8,[47][48][49][50] or focus groups, 2,9,25,[51][52][53][54][55][56][57] to collect data. Sample sizes ranged from 1 to 96 for studies using verbal interviews or focus groups.…”

“…Sample sizes ranged from 1 to 96 for studies using verbal interviews or focus groups. 19,20,25,29,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58] For studies that used a written narrative approach the sample size ranged from 8 to 54. 8,[47][48][49][50] The total sample size for participants in this review was 564.…”

“…41,44,46,49,52,53 Four studies provided the perspectives of paramedic preceptors of university undergraduate paramedicine students during clinical placements on ambualnces. 45,47,57,59 Two studies focussed on the perspectives of university paramedic educators delivering training to undergraduate paramedicine students in the university setting. 38,40 Three studies gave the perspective of paramedicine undergraduate students in relation to non-traditional teaching methods in the paramedicine university setting.…”