Paramedic practice has developed substantially since its inception in 1971 and the last 55 years has seen professional registration for paramedics, as well as progression from vocational to academic entry to the profession (College of Paramedics, 2015). This has coincided with a vast enhancement in the clinical care we provide, and is largely in conjunction with a transformed health service model (Department of Health (DH), 2005), and widespread socio-cultural dependence on the ambulance service (NHS England, 2015).
Since the Journal of Paramedic Practice (JPP) was established nearly a decade ago, paramedic practice has progressed still further, with degree-level entry for paramedics to the register, and prescribing for advanced paramedics on the horizon.
The UK professional body, the College of Paramedics, has adopted the ‘Four Pillars of Practice’ from NHS Wales (National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare, 2010) into its postgraduate career framework (College of Paramedics, 2014). These pillars are designed to guide clinicians who wish to advance their careers following professional registration. Individual practitioners can combine activity within each pillar and the level of activity will be dependent on the specific elements of the Skills for Health (2010) Career Framework. Since these pillars mark the underpinning themes for professional practice, we have decided as a journal to adopt these themes as core sections within each issue.
Here we will briefly outline the key themes within each pillar, and how we hope to reflect this as a journal.
Clinical Practice
The JPP will continue to encourage submissions that have a strong clinical practice focus—as for many practitioners, this will be the area that they will continue to develop. Professional judgment, values-based practice and clinical decision-making are sure to evolve and develop as more paramedics engage with specialist-, advanced- and consultant-level practice.
Education
Empowering a learning culture within the paramedic profession is hugely important to continuing its growth and professionalism. By maintaining our commitment to publishing articles related to all aspects of paramedic education, the journal will continue to be the only paramedic-focused journal which emphasises paramedic education and learning. This section also speaks to the heart of the journal's ethos, and in defining the facilitation of learning and education as a specific section within our journal, we hope to encourage many more submissions within this theme. This section provides an opportunity to share best practice for the development of learning, teaching and assessment within paramedic practice.
Leadership and Management
The JPP will continue to encourage a culture of support and leadership. This section allows a dedicated space in which to present national initiatives, as well as local projects designed around leadership, and local deliveries to share leadership theory, projects and training. It will aim to keep readers fully up-to-date with the latest developments taking place as they affect you—the practising paramedic.
Research
Evidence-based practice is the cornerstone of healthcare development. Therefore, the JPP will continue to encourage a positive research culture within the profession. This section will focus on evidence-based reports to inform service improvement, the sharing of research activity findings and publishing high-quality research specific to the profession. It also includes pilot projects, literature reviews, the occasional research spotlight, and even some postgraduate work which has been highlighted by the JPP editorial board as being particularly worthy of highlighting. In addition, 2018 will mark the launch of the JPP's new ‘Research by Paramedics’ series—so stay tuned.
Conclusion
The professional body continues to promote and develop the paramedic profession and, with two of the four pillars focusing on ‘Education’ and ‘Research’ respectively, it is appropriate that this journal, expressly dedicated to addressing the clinical and professional issues relevant to paramedics, adopts the four pillars of professional practice. Publications will be assigned within these four headings, not only in support of the direction of the College of Paramedics but also allowing you, the reader, to continue to build a ‘best practice’ information library from those pillars most applicable to you, with each issue of our journal.