Looking back and ahead

Writing this column for nearly the past 3 years has allowed me to work on my personal reflection on my time as a student. I now find myself at the end of my tenure as a columnist with the Journal of Paramedic Practice and I figured it would make sense to use my final article as a newly qualified paramedic (NQP) to reflect upon my experience of qualifying.

When I first began studying at Oxford Brookes University, I did not realise that the history-taking and assessment of patients would be one of the easier aspects of becoming a paramedic. I had never heard of an alternative care pathway and did not know about the wide variety of reasons for ambulance call outs. Now that I have become an NQP, I have to consider the physical, psychological and social needs of every patient as part of a decision-making process in order to provide them with the best care. The ambulance service provides a holistic approach to all patients and can also arrange much more complex healthcare than I think a lot of people realise. Paramedics have progressed exceptionally far over the past decade or so, and I am sure that the profession will continue to do so in the near future.