If you think that the month of September flew past, the last 10 years have certainly been a blur for me. We are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the first edition of the Journal of Paramedic Practice. Times have changed and so too have the role and function of the paramedic. The role today resembles little of the role paramedics were practising some 10 years back: from a transport service, scoop and run, to a skilled, proficient pre-hospital care provider and, beyond that, staffed by confident and competent employees who are indeed much more than knowledgeable doers.
This editorial is not about dwelling on the past. Rather, it pays homage to the foundation laid and the movers and shakers that have informed and formed the profession as it stands today. Most importantly, it welcomes and embraces the future and what endless possibilities that future will bring for the paramedic, the profession and, central to all of this, the patients for whom we are privileged to provide care.
The role of the paramedic continues to evolve rapidly from a local, national and international perspective. There are several reasons for this evolution, including the unprecedented demands being placed on health services, cuts to budgets, increased expectations from the public and a growing older population. But least of all is the paramedics' desire to drive services forward, to develop further skills and gain a breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding as they strive to offer better, safer care to people closer to home.
The paramedic profession finds itself at a crossroads in its development. This is a good thing because when it ceases to develop, so too will the profession as a whole.
The provision of a safe, high quality, world-class paramedic service cannot be provided to the public on a shoe string. Investment is needed by government to enable paramedics to do the job they are educated to do and are capable of doing. There must be an investment in services but, also an investment in the human resources, and an investment in continuing professional development for the professionals who are running the service now and in the future.
An important sign that demonstrates that you might have outgrown your job is when you look ahead at your goals and you cannot see anything that is intellectually motivating or creatively satisfying on the agenda, as if there is nothing in your job to look forward to. This cannot be said of paramedics of the 21st century who are fit for purpose and fit to practise—watch this space: the next 10 years is just around the corner.
Paramedics today—be they critical care paramedics, paramedic educators, pre-hospital researchers or working on shift—are all doing their bit to help the next generation and we salute you. Here's to the next 10 years.