Paramedic education

AUDIENCE AND TYPE OF CURRICULUM: Audience and type of curriculum: This hybrid, asynchronous curriculum is designed for prehospital clinician colleagues, including but not limited to emergency medical technicians (EMT), advanced EMTs (AEMT), EMT-paramedics (EMT-P), critical care EMT-Ps (CCEMTP), critical care transport nurses (CCTN), and certified flight registered nurses (CFRN) to learn and practice ultrasound fundamentals in the setting of a standardized extended focused assessment with sonography in trauma (E-FAST) exam...

BACKGROUND: In simulation-based education, debriefing is necessary to promote knowledge acquisition and skill application. Rapid Cycle Deliberate Practice (RCDP) and Traditional Reflective Debriefing (TRD) are based in learning theories of deliberate practice and reflective learning, respectively. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of TRD versus RCDP on acquisition of conceptual knowledge and teamwork skills among interdisciplinary learners in the pediatric emergency department...

BACKGROUND: The geo-strategic position of Pakistan on the world map is incredibly important and idyllic as the country is considered the gateway to central Asia. Pakistan has faced political instability for the last three decades, causing a brain drain and adversely affecting socioeconomic growth. This study aims to investigate the impact of an unstable environment on the brain drain of highly skilled professionals, healthcare workers, researchers, and research productivity in Pakistan from January 2000 to December 2022...

This study investigates the effectiveness of the Script Concordance Test (SCT) in enhancing clinical reasoning skills within paramedic education. Focusing on the Medical University of Lublin, we evaluated the SCT's application across two cohorts of paramedic students, aiming to understand its potential to improve decision-making skills in emergency scenarios. Our approach, informed by Van der Vleuten's assessment framework, revealed that while the SCT's correlation with traditional methods like multiple-choice questions (MCQs) was limited, its formative nature significantly contributed to improved performance in summative assessments...

AIMS: To understand the benefits and challenges of shift work, and the coping strategies used by nurses, midwives and paramedics to manage the impact of shift work on sleep and fatigue from shift work. DESIGN: A single case study with embedded units. METHODS: Twenty-seven participants were interviewed exploring their shift work experiences, coping strategies used to improve sleep, and what their recommendations are for improving shift work management...

AIM: To examine the association between the integrated care competencies and cross-cultural competence of registered nurses prior to the integration of social and healthcare services in Finland. DESIGN: A descriptive correlational cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted. METHODS: A simple random sample of 10,000 registered nurses was drawn from the Finnish Central Register of Valvira (National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health); 7000 of them were sent the online questionnaire, and a total of 1232 registered nurses participated in the study...

INTRODUCTION: The work environment of paramedics is rapidly becoming more technology-oriented, and new innovations are constantly being introduced. The aim of this study was to determine the roles Finnish advanced level paramedics identify for themselves within technological development processes in their experience and what kinds of technological development in pre-hospital emergency care are needed. METHODS: This qualitative study utilised essay material written by experienced advanced level paramedics (n = 20), which was analysed using inductive content analysis...

Ambulance services around the world are increasingly attending to calls for non-emergency conditions. These lower-acuity conditions do not always require patients to be transported to the emergency department. Consequently, over the past two decades, ambulance services have implemented strategies to support paramedics in diverting non-urgent patients to alternative care pathways. However, assessing and managing low-acuity conditions can be challenging for paramedics, especially when education and training has traditionally focussed on emergency care...

OBJECTIVES: Fatigue can be the result of overexertion and overload. It occurs when the burdened body does not have enough time for regeneration and biological renewal. The aim of this study was analysis of fatigue based on the subjective feeling in physiotherapists, nurses, and paramedics. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research covered 193 women and 107 men aged 30-60 years, including 100 physiotherapists, 100 nurses and 100 paramedics with higher education, employed in clinics and hospitals in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Poland...

BACKGROUND: The care organization of persons with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) varies by country according to the health care system. This study used a large sample of French individuals with severe PIMD/polyhandicap to assess: 1) the adequacy of care setting over a 5-year period and 2) health care consumption. METHODS: The longitudinal study used data from the French EVALuation PoLyHandicap (EVAL-PLH) cohort of persons with severe PIMD/polyhandicap who were receiving managed in specialized care centres and residential facilities...

BACKGROUND: To adequately prepare graduates for the dynamic demands of paramedic practice, adopting a contemporary educational approach is essential. This involves collaborating to identify crucial competencies through input from industry stakeholders, experienced practitioners, and discipline-specific experts. Accreditation assumes a central role within this framework, serving as a cornerstone to ensure that paramedicine curricula align with paramedics' diverse and evolving professional roles...

OBJECTIVE: Simulations are an integral part of paramedic education. Technological advancements have introduced three-dimensional virtual reality patient simulations (3DVRS), offering a low-cost, accessible alternative. This study compares the impact of 3DVRS and traditional simulation on paramedic students. METHODS: Students selected from a convenience sample of 11 cohorts in 10 accredited programs distributed across the United States were allocated to 2 groups using a stratified random sampling...

Planned out-of-hospital births, facilitated by highly skilled and experienced midwives, offer expectant parents a distinct opportunity to partake in a personalized, intimate, and empowering birth experience. Many parents opt for the care provided by midwives who specialize in supporting home births. This retrospective study is based on 41,335 EMS emergency calls to women in advanced pregnancy, of which 209 concerned home birth situations documenting obstetrical emergencies over four years (January 2018 to December 2022), of which 60 involved the assistance of a midwife...

A survey on antibiotic literacy in terms of the use and abuse of antibiotics to track and understand antibiotic consumption is crucial to optimize the use of antibiotics and minimizing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Purposive random sampling, using the snow-ball questionnaire technique, was adopted to ensure that the respondents distributed across India, coming from rural and urban settings, were adolescents as well as adults and had completed at least the higher secondary school level of education. Respondents were divided into five subcategories...

OBJECTIVES: To identify Barbie brand dolls that had medicine and science themed professions in comparison with other career dolls and to determine their accuracy in meeting clinical and laboratory safety standards. DESIGN: Descriptive quantitative study. SETTING: Visual and data analysis of web searches. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: To identify the kinds of medical and scientific subspecialties that the Barbie dolls (and a comparison doll group) worked in; and to determine whether these medical professional and scientist dolls met laboratory and clinical safety standards...

BACKGROUND: Simulation in healthcare attempts to create relevant representations of patient encounters. It provides experiential learning, bridging typical classroom activities and clinical practice. This study aims to investigate whether the principle of Peer-Assisted Learning can be used in simulation by letting simulation-experienced paramedic students prepare, deliver, and debrief their own simulations, with minimal faculty assistance. This could be a way to support student learning by being involved in teaching, and it might at the same time optimise the cost-effectiveness of simulation-based training...

BACKGROUND: In Ireland, there are currently three educational institutions (recognised institutions- RIs) providing paramedic programmes, accredited by the regulator, the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC). Each RI assesses their students in-house, and in order to acquire a licence to practice, students must also pass summative assessments provided by PHECC. These assessments comprise multiple choice questions, short answer questions and skills assessments. The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of paramedic educators of assessments used within their institution and by the regulator to provide insights that could inform the future design of paramedic assessments...

BACKGROUND: Prior work has shown that a greater proportion of First Nations patients than non-First Nations patients arrive by ambulance to emergency departments in Alberta. The objective of this study was to understand First Nations perspectives on transitions in care involving paramedics, and paramedic perspectives on serving First Nations communities. METHODS: Participants for this participatory qualitative study were selected by means of purposive sampling through author networks, established relationships and knowledge of the Alberta paramedicine system...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Paramedics attend an unprecedented number of drug poisoning events daily in British Columbia (BC), Canada, due to the ongoing public health crisis related to an increasingly toxic and unregulated street supply of illicit drugs. Paramedics have the potential to support alternative models of care to reduce harm, but their perspectives toward harm reduction initiatives are polarized. Understanding the drug-related substance use content in paramedic curriculum documents is important for deploying effective harm-mitigating programs...

BACKGROUND: Repeated triage training is necessary to maintain and improve the accuracy of simple triage and rapid treatment (START), a popular triage method. Virtual reality (VR) may be more effective than conventional training methods. This study aimed to verify the educational usefulness of START using VR originally developed for students. METHODS: A VR was initially developed with a function that allowed students to select the triage procedure and its evaluation...