Review article: Paramedic education opportunities and challenges in Australia

Abstract

Paramedic education has been undergoing major development in Australia in the past 20 years, with many different educational programmes being developed across all Australian jurisdictions. This paper aims to review the current paramedic education programmes in Australia to identify the similarities and differences between the programmes, and the strengths and challenges in these programmes. A literature search was performed using six scientific databases to identify any systematic reviews, literature reviews or relevant articles on the topic. Additional searches included journal articles and text references from 1995 to 2011. The search was conducted during December 2010 and November 2011. Included in this review are a total of 28 articles, which are focused around five major issues in paramedic education: (i) principle on paramedic programmes and the involvement of industry partners; (ii) clinical placements; (iii) contemporary methods of education; (iv) needs for specific programmes within paramedic education; and (v) articles related to the accreditation process for paramedic programmes. Paramedic programmes across Australian universities vary with many different practices, especially relating to clinical placements in the field. The further advances of the paramedic education programmes should aim to respond to population change and industry development, which would enhance the paramedic profession across Australia.

Improving paramedic distance education through mobile mixed reality simulation

“…This is notably true for paramedic science in Australia (Hou, Rego, & Service, 2013). However, universities in general are lagging behind in innovative pedagogy especially when students are studying from a distance, with most prior work formed around two-dimensional (2D) words and pictures, with less attention given to complex skills learning environments using interactive visualisations, games, and simulations (Ayres, 2015).…”

“…Upon completion of their study, students in Australian university Bachelor of Paramedic Science programs are expected to have developed the real-world expertise and skills to work as health professionals in emergency medicine and retrieval (Hou et al, 2013). Graduates of these programs anticipate career options with the government ambulance service, private emergency services, or in industry, providing paramedic services to mine sites and other areas.…”

Piloting mobile mixed reality simulation in paramedic distance education

“…The work does however compound on the struggle of distance education learners especially in paramedic science [5,6] in Australia with students commenting on competing time commitments and the simulation being extra work. It also highlights the pedagogy does have a significant way to come before it does become mainstream in distance education with the simulation not significantly outperforming the no simulation group, being a struggle to setup, issues in simulation progression and problems with the overall visualization and haptic feedback.…”

“…An anonymous sample of the comments made by students in course evaluations is provided for study context: These issues highlighted by the distance learners are managed to some extent by the program coordinator and course coordinators through intensive residential schools that teach practical skills over the course of a week, as well as work integrated clinical courses in the 2nd and 3rd year of the program and the encouragement of students to volunteer for the St John's Ambulance service. However, especially for the second-year courses such as the skills development courses, more opportunities for practical skill development is required for paramedic distance education students [5,6].…”

“…This is especially true for paramedic science in Australia [5,6]. This shift in pedagogy towards self-directed distance education causes equality issues between face to face students and those studying remotely especially in regards to skills training.…”