Irish Journal of Paramedicine

5

Authors: M Dixon, F Keane, A Taylor

Modern Emergency Medical services and the role of the paramedic is a new departure when compared with other healthcare professions. The evolution of such emergency care services begin as recently as the 1960’s with the development of responding systems and practitioners who performed patient intervention rather than the traditional transport only functions.

5

Authors: S Knox

In Ireland, as with most other developed countries, the provision of pre-hospital care has improved significantly, particularly over the last two decades. The establishment of regulatory bodies (1-3) to provide governance and oversight for pre-hospital providers has been an important step in improving the level of pre-hospital care.

10

Authors: G Munro, P O'Meara, A Kenny

Objectives To identify the demographic and qualification characteristics of paramedic academics holding teaching and research positions at universities in Australia and New Zealand offering entry-level undergraduate or postgraduate degree programs in paramedicine. Methods A 17 item online normative internet survey was used to obtain demographic and qualification characteristics about the target group. The survey was divided into five categories: demographic data, professional qualifications, educational qualifications, learning and teaching experience, and level of academic skills. Data were collected over a two-month period in 2013 and then collated and reported utilising the capabilities of the Survey Monkey program. Results Of the estimated 66 eligible participants, 30 responded to the survey, 70% were male, the average age when entering academia was 43 years, and the average age when initially entering paramedicine was 23 years. Two-thirds completed their paramedic training in Australia and New Zealand, with the other third training in the UK, US, or Canada. There was a wide-range of levels of training and qualification reported with three having a PhD on entering academia, while most had little to no experience in research, academic writing, and publication. Conclusions Issues of the transference of cultural and professional capital from one community of practice (CoP) into another, the variance in the levels of academic qualifications amongst paramedics when entering academia, and the resources needed to mentor and educate a large majority of these new academics pose significant challenges to new academics and the universities employing them.