Exploratory study into the views of paramedics on paramedic prescribing.

The purpose of this paper is to establish the views of a group of Paramedics on Paramedic prescribing. Although at the time of writing the proposal to the Commission on Human Medicines they rejected prescribing for Paramedics, work is still ongoing with various bodies to move forward with the application. A focus group of a small number of Paramedics was held, and the researcher performed a review of relevant literature. The development of the role of paramedic from an ambulance driver to a highly skilled and knowledgeable healthcare professional was discussed. It was established that the profession's close links with higher education institutions would be pivotal if paramedics are to be given prescribing rights. The study concluded that paramedics believe they should be able to become independent prescribers, as it would help further their career, giving the profession added credibility. As paramedics already give a rounded healthcare approach to their patients, this would only be enhanced by prescribing rights, as a ‘complete’ health care attitude could be established.

Emotional labour in paramedic practice: student awareness of professional demands

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to explore student paramedics' awareness of the emotional demands of their future role, particularly regarding the delivery of compassionate care.Problem:There is a dominance of nursing literature in the discourse around compassionate care and emotional labour, and a paucity of research in the paramedic literature.Methods:A survey was issued to a small convenience sample of paramedic students. Excel was used to organise data collected, which was then presented graphically as tables and charts.Results:Key findings were drawn out and it was found that there were some correlations between the literature reviewed and results generated.Conclusion:Student paramedics had identified factors affecting their emotions in placement very early on in their studies. There was evidence of students covering up their emotions whilst in placement. The research reinforced the need for further larger scale and longitudinal studies.

Which resuscitated patients benefit from PPCI after out of hospital cardiac arrest?

Background:Survival of prehospital cardiac arrest remains low and variable. Angiography in cardiac arrest survivors shows a high incidence of ischaemic heart disease and myocardial infarction (MI) which are treated at regional centres in the UK.Methods:A literature search was performed using the healthcare databases Medline and CINAHL in order the answer the question: “Which resuscitated patients benefit from PPCI after out of hospital cardiac arrest?”. There was a screening process to ensure precise relevance to the research question.Findings:163 articles were found using Medline and CINAHL. After screening, 11 articles were reviewed in text. The evidence favours the intervention and demonstrates increased survival rates when PPCI is available for patients with cardiac arrest following an MI. The ECG is useful to predict coronary occlusion, but cannot rule it out. Increased journey time to reach a regional PPCI centre appears unlikely to impact negatively upon prognosis.Conclusions:There are currently no randomised controlled trials answering this question and the evidence that is available is frequently influenced by selection bias. There is a need to identify patients who will not benefit from the intervention so that a clinical decision rule can be developed to guide practice.

Live tweeting by ambulance services: a growing concern

Despite advances in technology being a driver of paramedic professional development, particularly over the past decade, the introduction of new forms of technology appears to have presented paramedics with some professional challenges. Paramedics, pre-hospital clinicians, and ambulance service providers in both the United Kingdom and Australia, have begun using social media technology to communicate what they do to the general public. Unfortunately some of the material that has been communicated appears to breach professional standards of practice, and therefore has the potential to cause harm to the patient, the individual paramedic, and the paramedic profession more broadly. This article will present the rationale behind why this behaviour is unprofessional, ethically and legally unsound, and why it must cease. We offer a tool that will assist paramedics, and other healthcare professionals, to practise safe and professional social media use in their workplace.

Continuing Professional Development: July 2017 Importance of 6Cs and evaluation in paramedicine

OverviewThis article explores how the Compassion in Practice vision and actions can be embedded into the world of clinical research. While it is accepted that not all clinical research is undertaken within the NHS, this article focuses on those research patients within the public service, but with recognition that the principles discussed have the potential to be translated with ease into other areas. Another important area of paramedic practice is evaluation. Overall, the purpose at all levels is to evaluate the effectiveness of training and to use the results to evidence change and improvement which compliments EG.

A pattern of praise without reward

The third consecutive month of terror, disasters and political caprice in England ends. In the wake of the Grenfell Tower catastrophe, stories of emergency personnel's heroism continue to trickle in, as does the government's praise for their courage and competence. With every calamity, speeches and articles rush to thank the emergency services. With each saved life, their value is accepted; their expertise declared indispensable. And yet, this is where the praise is capped. It does not guarantee job security after Brexit, nor does it translate to a pay rise.

Pre-hospital management of pain associated with an acute sickle cell crisis

Sickle Cell Disease and its acute manifestation as a sickle cell crisis has a severely deleterious effect on predicted mortality and quality of life of its sufferers. Serious sequelae can occur, resulting in severe neurological and cardiovascular impairment. In the majority of cases these patients will present to pre-hospital clinicians with acute intractable pain unmanaged by the patient's own analgesia. Unfortunately, some evidence reports that pain is commonly under-treated with assumptions made about drug-seeking behaviour. The evidence presented in this paper will indicate that Entonox should no longer be routinely used for the management of sickle cell pain. Instead, emphasis should turn to the use of potent intravenous opiates (where intravenous access can be reliably and aseptically gained). The use of diamorphine and ketamine for extreme pain should be investigated by pre-hospital services, as should the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.