Practice education in paramedic science: theories and application

This book is immediately recognisable as another Class Professional Publishing release. For me, this sets the expectation high given the number of previous good quality releases. They are often written by experts in their field and are very paramedic-focused. I was curious if this trend would be followed given it is addressing education—a topic that often draws much of its evidence from the nursing profession, especially around mentorship. However, both authors are registered paramedics with a background in education and have gained their own relevant qualifications. This gives the reader further confidence that this book will be aimed at the learning environment specifically within the prehospital setting.

The introduction sets out a clear definition of what practice educators (PEds) are, as defined by the College of Paramedics. This is really useful as over the years, we have played with terms such as mentor, coach, educator—and it is time we settled on one term which incorporates all of these and is relevant to the paramedic. The first chapter poses the question ‘What is a Practice Educator?’ It begins with learning objectives and, throughout the chapter, we are provided with opportunities to reflect. The authors dive straight into some of the much debated topics around the role of a PEd: these revolve loosely around what makes an effective PEd; experience versus formal qualification; and what their primary role should be. Arguments are created through a variety of academic references although, ultimately, there is a sense of ‘fence sitting’ when it comes to crunch decisions such as ‘should a PEd have a teaching qualification?’ and ‘should a selection process take place to choose PEds?’