Irish Journal of Paramedicine
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Non-technical attributes in paramedicine: Is situational judgement testing the solution?
Full text linkNon-technical attributes have been identified as important and desirable qualities for all paramedics. Despite this, there is currently little research exploring the assessment of non-technical attributes in paramedicine. Situational judgement tests (SJT) have been identified as a valid and reliable assessment of non-technical attributes in medical education, however, it appears there is no research exploring the use of SJTs in the field of paramedicine. This paper outlines the background information on SJTs, what they are and their successful implementation in medicine. Additionally, this paper identifies potential uses for SJTs in paramedicine including admission and mental health screening based of previous research in medical education. This paper concludes that SJTs could be utilised in the field of paramedicine to measure non-technical attributes
Paramedic transition into an academic role in universities: A qualitative survey of paramedic academics in Australia and New Zealand.
Full text linkAbstractHealthcare professionals who transition into academic roles in universities are confronted with many challenges. Universities offering paramedicine degree programs struggle to find qualified paramedics to assume academic roles, while at the same time little is known about the issues that confront paramedics transitioning into academic roles in universities. A maximal variation sampling method was used to interview 16 paramedic academics in Australia and New Zealand and a thematic analysis was conducted that generated a thematic network that encompassed five areas: the community of practice of paramedicine, the community of practice of academia, entry into a new community of practice, professional identity, and expectations and challenges. The resulting analysis revealed that new paramedic academics transitioning to academic roles in universities are often under-qualified and underprepared for academic positions. The induction and mentoring processes are often ad hoc and ineffective leaving the new academics feeling isolated and disillusioned. They struggle with establishing or maintaining a professional identity and meeting university expectations related to teaching, research, acquiring a PhD, and publication. Both these communities of practice need to engage in the development and preparation of these new academics so that paramedics will be attracted to these new roles and their transition to academia is a positive process
Wellbeing Series: Compassion Fatigue.
Full text linkIn this wellbeing series we present practical advice for prehospital care providers, responders, and other shift workers. These articles are produced by experts in their field. Many of these topics were presented at the Irish College of Paramedics Wellbeing Symposium in University College Cork in May 2019
Wellbeing Series: Meditation for paramedics
Full text linkIn this wellbeing series we present practical advice for prehospital care providers, responders, and other shift workers. These articles are produced by experts in their field. Many of these topics were presented at the Irish College of Paramedics Wellbeing Symposium in University College Cork in May 2019
Indicators of paramedic service use by community dwelling older adults
Full text linkIntroduction: Home care clients represent a patient group that may be served through community paramedicine (CP) programs. The Detection of Indicators and Vulnerabilities for Emergency Room Trips (DIVERT) scale was recently validated to identify levels of risk for use of emergency care among this population. This study investigates whether frail home care clients that were identified as being at higher risk based on their DIVERT scores were more likely to use paramedic services to access the emergency department within 90 days of assessment when compared to clients that had lower DIVERT scores.Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using regularly collected administrative data. Home care assessment data were supplemented with data on emergency department (ED) visits. Arrival by ambulance was modelled to control for DIVERT scores as well as several social and demographic variables.Results: Within the cohort, approximately 40% of individuals visited an ED within 90 days of a home care assessment and almost half of all individuals visited an ED more than once within a year. About two-thirds of clients that visited an ED in the 90 days following assessment used an ambulance for transportation. DIVERT scores were predictive of this use with highest scores indicating 4.15 times higher odds of paramedic service use (95% CI 3.60-4.78Conclusion: DIVERT was not developed to consider means of transportation to the ED. The results indicate that it can be used to identify frail community dwelling older adults that are likely to use paramedic services to take them to the ED. Further investigation of aspects of social isolation, carer resiliency, time of use, and characteristics associated with ED discharge are warranted. Frequent ambulance use among this population suggests that collaboration between care providers may provide opportunities to prevent unnecessary ED visits by these individuals
Drowsy and dangerous? Fatigue in paramedics: an overview
Full text linkBackgroundFatigue is a complex phenomenon that has effects on physical characteristics, cognition, behaviours, and physical and mental health. Paramedicine crosses the boundaries of many high-risk industries, namely medicine, transport and aviation. The effects of fatigue on paramedics thus need to be explored and considered in order to begin to identify appropriate interventions and management strategies.AimThe aim of this article was to provide an overview of fatigue in paramedics and its potential effects on various areas of paramedic practice and paramedic health, and to outline potential solutions to assess and manage the risk of fatigue in paramedics as suggested by the literature.MethodsWe conducted unstructured, non-systematic searches of the literature in order to inform an overview of the literature. An overview is a summary of the literature that attempts to survey the literature and describe its characteristics. We thematically structured the review under the following headings: defining occupational activity and health status; clinical performance and patient safety; shift length and time at work; effects on paramedic health; effects on driving abilities; fatigue risk management; and, fatigue proofing.DiscussionFatigue should be considered in the context of overall paramedic health status and paramedic occupational activity. The nature of paramedic shift work, and the associated occupational activity place paramedics at increased risk from fatigue. Shift work may also contribute to sleep disorders among paramedics. Fatigue is associated with increased errors and adverse events, increased chronic disease and injury rates, depression and anxiety, and impaired driving ability.ConclusionThe issue of fatigue in paramedicine is complex and has serious consequences for patients and paramedics. Paramedic services and paramedics need to work collaboratively to identify and action appropriate measures to reduce the effects of fatigue on the wellbeing of the workforce and mitigate its effects on clinical performance and safety
Wellbeing Series: Sleep practices for shift workers
Full text linkIn this wellbeing series we present practical advice for prehospital care providers, responders, and all shift workers. These articles are produced by experts in their field. Many of these topics were presented at the Irish College of Paramedics Wellbeing Symposium in University College Cork in May 2019
Wellbeing Series: Building Mental Health Resilience for Emergency Personnel
Full text linkIn this wellbeing series we present practical advice for prehospital care providers, responders, and other shift workers. These articles are produced by experts in their field. Many of these topics were presented at the Irish College of Paramedics Wellbeing Symposium in University College Cork in May 201
Wellbeing Series: Empathy and paramedic wellbeing
Full text linkIn this wellbeing series we present practical advice for prehospital care providers, responders, and other shift workers. These articles are produced by experts in their field. Many of these topics were presented at the Irish College of Paramedics Wellbeing Symposium in University College Cork in May 2019.
Wellbeing Series: Shifting the Focus to Nutrition
Full text linkIn this wellbeing series we present practical advice for prehospital care providers, responders, and other shift workers. These articles are produced by experts in their field. Many of these topics were presented at the Irish College of Paramedics Wellbeing Symposium in University College Cork in May 2019