Research

End of life care in the community: the role of ambulance clinicians

Patients at the end of their life may have a variety of symptoms or urgent care needs. Pain, nausea/vomiting, agitation, breathlessness and terminal respiratory secretions are commonly experienced...

A study into pre-alerts to North East hospitals for sepsis

The authors explored a number of options for collecting data on the incidence of pre-hospital sepsis within their area. In the Electronic Patient Report Form (EPRF) used in NEAS there is no category...

Management of patients following cold water immersion

Golden and Hervey's four stage theory (Golden and Hervey, 1981) begins during immediate contact with the water. On initial immersion, an autonomic reflex is triggered involving uncontrollable...

Sexually transmitted infections: impact in the remote and overseas environment

Risky sexual practices whilst working away can be linked to the rise in STIs detected and treated in the communities exposed to the workers. In one study, the inclusion of a large number of oil...

Students' views of teachers using the Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Inventory

Specific items of the CTEI have been observed to have scored more positively than others by the cohort of undergraduates. Scoring highly was item 1, ‘Establishes a good learning environment (e.g....

Exploring paramedic patient assessment

Records of battlefield first aid can be evidenced on Grecian pottery from as early as 500 BC, demonstrating early records of ambulances in alignment with military activities (Pearn, 1994). With global...

Investigating gout: taking a new approach to an old disease

While gout is becoming an increasingly prevalent condition, it has its background many thousands of years ago. The Egyptians first identified gout in 2 640 BC, and in the fifth century, Hippocrates...

Assessing the accuracy of Internet-based patient information for whiplash

An initial search was made by the authors to ascertain possible synonyms for whiplash that the general public may use to find more information about the condition. Four search engines were used:...

The prevalence of non-urgent 999 calls: service users’ perspectives

Spotlight on Research is edited by Julia Williams, principal lecturer, paramedic science, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire UK. To find out how you can contribute to future issues,...

International student paramedic exchange: the student perspective

The students who took part in the exchange are aware of the barriers and obstacles in place, which make the transfer of paramedic qualifications and experience overseas exceptionally difficult. This...