How student paramedics navigate a changing UK healthcare landscape. (2nd September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lees, Carolyn; Hutchison, Trudy; White, Alison; Lotto, Robyn
• Is Part Of: International paramedic practice. Volume 10:Number 3(2020)
• Page Start: 57
• Page End: 62
• Publication Date: 2020-09-02
• Subjects: Student paramedics -- Emergency care -- Clinical decision-making -- Collaboration -- NHS landscape; Emergency medicine -- Periodicals; Allied health personnel -- Periodicals; Emergency medical technicians -- Periodicals; 616.025
• DOI: 10.12968/ippr.2020.10.3.57
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2052-4889

Abstract

Abstract : Background: Paramedics have witnessed a huge shift in their role as providers of prehospital emergency care, although little is known about how student paramedics manage the competing demands they face in practice. Aim: To explore how student paramedics experience the changing healthcare landscape. Method: Semi-structured, focus groups and thematic content analysis was adopted. A purposive sample of student paramedics at different stages of their diploma preparatory training were invited to participate in focus group interviews. Findings: Participants considered that other services and the public perceived the purpose of emergency paramedics as largely a traditional one, as a service to transport patients to hospital. This appears to influence how they manage complex clinical situations. Student paramedics' clinical decision-making is frequently influenced by the emotional environments in which they work, combined with difficult communication with patients and a lack of support from the various professional groups involved in patient care. Conclusion: This study has highlighted the complexity of situations that student paramedics find themselves in while making decisions, which has important implications for paramedic educators and those supporting them in practice.