Setting the standards for specialist practice

Over the last decade programmes have been established throughout the country that have prepared paramedics for specialist practice in primary care. As the need for safe and appropriate out-of-hospital treatment and/or referral for low-acuity cases increases, it is inevitable that the paramedic profession will take responsibility for recommending the curriculum and standards. In this article Stuart Rutland describes the approach taken in the South East Coast Ambulance Service which aims to provide an appropriate and defensible examination for paramedic practitioners.

As the profession advances ever forward it is essential that paramedics are seen to be a professionals in their own right. What is it though, that infers the status of profession upon a role? This question is often debated by the professions themselves as they seek to define their identity and therefore develop curriculums that refect relevance, excellence and ability (Professionalism Project Medical Professionalism, 2002; Van Mook et al, 2009; O'sullivan et al, 2012). Professionalism is undoubtedly inherent within such definitions however it is a rather subjective trait that is often hard to define although recognised when seen and generally refecting attitudes and appropriateness of behaviour. Beyond this the consensus among sociologists (Flexner, 1917; Durkheim, 1984; Hanlon, 1999) is that a profession can be identified through the possession of certain abstract traits such as value, autonomy, altruism, duty and responsibility linked with more concrete traits, namely specialist knowledge. These are said to be the core requisites for the status of the professional and although the debate will undoubtedly continue have been widely accepted as such.