Starting young: the challenge of developing graduates' road readiness

Abstract

Australian universities, the majority of paramedic undergraduates tend to come straight from school and many programs are unable to offer early or lengthy on-road placements. This was cited as a cause of the immaturity and poor interpersonal skills raised repeatedly in focus group discussions in a year-long study of paramedic education in Australian universities. Focus groups struggled to label the missing factor in university educated paramedics. A deficit of soft skills was widely suggested, but the phrase was not adequate for the range of problems described. Soft skills is used interchangeably with employability, key skills, generic skills and graduate attributes (HEFCE, 2003; Cranmer, 2006; Treleaven and Voola, 2008), but for paramedics it boils down to road readiness. The suggestion that a new generation of paramedics has fewer relational skills than the last generation could be regarded as hollow, except for the fact that it was graduates who raised the problem in focus groups. Using sociological tools to analyse the cultural context of work, it is possible to suggest that deficits interpersonally may be influenced by an increasingly isolated and de personalised youth culture. This culture particularly affects young people who are moving into a uniquely interpersonal workplace, such as paramedic practice (Metz, 1982; Wright Mills, 2000 [1959]). Some social commentators describe the problem of youth culture as the ‘shrinking home habitat’ (Cunningham and Morpurgo, 2006), whereby changes in family structure, social isolation and parental protection, create a smaller social world for Western youth. At the same time, dependence on communication technologies has created ‘disembodied’ communities (Willson, 1997), lacking in real time contact with strangers. While young people may be ‘digital natives' (Bennett et al, 2008; Prensky, 2001) in their use of technologies and social networking, these skills do not translate into road readiness. Graduates also enter a workplace experiencing previously unknown levels of complexity, escalating diversity including ethnic and aging populations, the needs of marginalized people living in the post-institutional, post-welfare era, and high social sensitivity to issues of inclusion and risk. While social change has been incremental for existing professionals, graduates are immersed into the complexity of a social milieu they may not recognize, from the moment of recruitment.

Experiential education enhancing paramedic perspective and interpersonal communication with older patients: a controlled study

“…It has been suggested that younger adults lack life experience, awareness of diverse communities in which they will work, and interpersonal skills [ 6 , 7 ]. The median age of paramedics students in Victoria, Australia was 21 years in 2015 [ 8 ].…”

“…Exceptional interpersonal communication skills are essential as they allow for the development of clinician-patient rapport, which facilitates the sharing of information, compliance with treatment and overall patient satisfaction [ 12 – 14 ]. While educators endeavour to teach the value of interpersonal communication and the associated skills, the links between this and patient outcomes is poorly established upon graduation [ 6 , 7 , 15 ].…”

Psychosocial Support Issues Affecting Older Patients: A Cross-sectional Paramedic Perspective

“…There is also a suggestion that novice paramedics, who are generally in their early 20s, lack understanding, and the ability to communicate effectively with older patients. 20 Finally, providing care and compassion to patients in crisis on a daily basis can take an emotional and psychological toll on paramedics. 21 This can lead to some paramedics experiencing compassion fatigue and choosing consciously, or subconsciously, to not emotionally invest themselves into the complex psychosocial issues of patients as a self-protective mechanism.…”

Gaining a New Respect for the Other Guys: Scripted Scenarios for Inter Professional Education in Paediatric Emergencies

“…Both paramedics and GP registrars are more isolated and autonomous in their practice than nurses. The advanced life support skills that GPs find hard to acquire and maintain are also the core business of paramedic practice, yet on the other hand paramedics often have poor communication skills (13)(14)(15), while GPs excel in therapeutic conversation. Our presumption that knowledge exchange could be readily observed where two professions -GPs and paramedics -had such diverse strengths, was correct.…”