Paramedics: the blue-collar profession with white-collar ambitions?

Undertaken by a team of sociology researchers from the University of Manchester, this ethnographic study deploys a variety of qualitative methods to elicit its findings. Conducted between 2009 and 2010, it includes field observations conducted with road crews, call-handlers and dispatchers, and semi-structured interviews with managers and control staff. The researchers blend observations with comments made by staff, drawing parallels with a similar study carried out in the US by Donald L Metz in 1981.

Behind the provocative title is a novel and welcome piece of work, astute in its assertions and at times uncomfortably revealing. It questions how quickly the paramedic profession really is advancing, something officially sanctioned paramedic literature would have you believe is undeniable. It also questions the autonomy of paramedics in light of the managerial and organisational constraints put upon them.

The paper argues that formal professionalisation—pursued by bodies such as the College of Paramedics—has thus far had little impact on the paramedic experience at street level. The authors suggest this is linked to the as-yet limited influence the College holds with ambulance service employers, who ultimately dictate job jurisdiction and work content. As a result, front-line staff maintain a traditional blue-collar status in an attempt to control their conditions of labour.