History Of Paramedics

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Student number: 1080838 PAR 101: Paramedic Professional Studies Essay Statement A paramedic is a health care professional operating autonomously and independently within the Australian health care system Name: Matthew Rae Student number: 1080838 Course Coordinator: Belinda Flannigan Word count: 1349 This essay will explore the statement ‘a paramedic is a health care professional operating autonomously and Independently, within the Australian health care system’. The role of the paramedic is ever changing, but never so much as it is of late. However, there has been little reflection of those changes in either the perception of the discipline as a profession or the manner in which the profession is trained, socialised and educated. Paramedics currently at best are seen as semi-professional and a great deal of discussion about whether the discipline actually wants to achieve full professional status exists. In the past twenty years from 1995 to 2015, paramedics have been the main provider of pre-hospital care, transitioning from ambulance drivers to the current practitioner role. However paramedics are not yet classified as health care professionals, even though they work alongside and in conjunction with other recognised health care services. The paramedic industry therefore works independently from other health care organisations and autonomously and exclusively within their own state organisation. This essay explores the evolution of paramedics and investigates the advancement in the skills and recognition within the ambulance service over the past twenty years, highlighting their present status as a semi profession. Investigation into the state specific capacity of a paramedic and the imminent changes enco... ... middle of paper ... ..., J & Pedler, D n.d, ‘Extending the paramedic role in rural Australia: A story of flexibility and innovation’, Rural and Remote Health, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 6-8, doi: Oxford Dictionary, 2014, viewed 15 May 2014 < http://www.oxforddictionaries.com> Williams, B, Brown, T & Onsman, A 2012, ‘From stretcher-bearer to paramedic: The Australian paramedics’ move towards professionalisation’, Australian Journal of Paramedicine, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 8, viewed 12 May 2014, < http://ro.ecu.edu.au/jephc/vol7/iss4/8/> Williams, B, Jennings, P, Fiedler, C & Ghirardello, A 2013, ‘Next generation paramedics, agents of change, or time for curricula renewal?’, Advances in Medical Education & Practice, vol.4, pp. 225, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S53085 Willis, E, Reynolds, L & Keleher, H 2012, Understanding the australian health care system, Mosby Elesvier, Chatswood, NSW.

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