Is the role of the paramedic lecturer practitioner fit for purpose?

Abstract

Lecturer practitioners have been in existence in nursing since the late 1980s (Elcock, 1998, Ramage, 2004). Since then the role has been developed and refined, but the overarching concept has remained the same: that is to support students and staff in their workplace (Redwood et al, 2002). Paramedic education has moved into the higher education arena, and with it comes the responsibilities of supervising and managing students in clinical practice. The lecturer practitioner role is currently one of the ways in which this issue is tackled.

Within this literature review the role of the lecturer practitioner in the wider health care context is considered, followed by an examination of the successes and problems encountered in the role. An evaluation of future strategies to improve the role then ensues followed by a discussion section that relates the identified literature to paramedic practice. The overall conclusion is that the lecturer practitioner role is suitable for paramedic practice but some adjustments should be made to the nursing model in order to accommodate the peculiarities of paramedic practice.