Novel moving, handling and extraction simulation for students in a soft play area

• Monday, October 2, 2023

Background: Emergency medical services often have to extricate patients from their location and take them to an ambulance. High-quality training is required to ensure patient and staff safety during moving, handling and extrication manoeuvres. This study aimed to determine student satisfaction and self-confidence regarding what they had learnt after a novel moving, handling and extrication simulation exercise in a children's soft play area. Methods: A mixed-methods cross-sectional survey was...

Apps for paramedics

• Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Effects of simulation training on student confidence in de-escalation skills

• Monday, January 2, 2023

Background: There is increasing demand for access to mental health support services both for ongoing care and at time of crisis. Preparation of undergraduate students for encounters with those with ongoing mental health care and/or at a time of psychological distress/crisis remains sporadic and difficult to encompass. Simulation gives students opportunities to develop technical and non-technical skills through the recreation of an experience that is as close to reality as possible. Method: An...

Virtual reality: the future or a COVID-era plaster?

• Friday, December 2, 2022

Lateral versus over-the-head chest compression quality in student paramedic

• Wednesday, November 2, 2022

Background: Chest compressions are one of the few interventions proven to improve survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. While rescuer position has been investigated before, few studies have sought to assess how rescuer position affects the quality of chest compressions in a cohort of student paramedics. Aim: This study sought to determine if chest compressions performed from an over-the-head (OTH) position were more effective than those performed from a lateral (LAT) position in a cohort...

The effect of COVID-19 on student opportunities to acquire airway skills

• Sunday, October 2, 2022

Background: To protect healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, substantial changes were made to clinical care guidelines across the United States. Alongside these changes, emergency medical services call volume decreased nationwide. These made it difficult for paramedic students to practise and master the practical skills necessary for skill competency and graduation. The aim of this study was to explore the changes in the number of opportunities available to paramedic students...

Differential rater function over time (DRIFT) during student simulations

• Saturday, July 2, 2022

Background The field of paramedicine continues to advance in scope. Simulation training is frequently used to teach and evaluate students. Simulation examinations are often evaluated using a standardised global rating scale (GRS) that is reliable and valid. However, differential rater function over time (DRIFT) has not been evaluated when using the GRS during simulations. Aims This study aimed to assess if DRIFT arises when applying the GRS. Methods Data were collected at six simulation...

‘Giving a piece of you’: the lecturer experience of aiding student wellbeing

• Monday, May 2, 2022

Background: The mental health of ambulance clinicians is a national priority. For student paramedics, the risk and inherent vulnerability to poor mental wellbeing are significant. However, evidence exploring support in universities for paramedic students and the role of academic faculty in this within paramedic preregistration programmes is limited. Aims: To explore the experiences and perceptions of university lecturers towards supporting student paramedic wellbeing. Methods: A qualitative...

Remote-facilitated mental simulation to bridge the theory-practice divide

• Wednesday, February 2, 2022

Remote simulation in education predates the COVID-19 pandemic, and its more widespread contemporary use can help inform future teaching practices. This article outlines the development of a remote-facilitated mental simulation (RFMS) delivered to second-year paramedic science students at a UK university. This was created using Sprick et al's simulation design model: preparation, briefing, simulation activity, debriefing, reflection and evaluation. Mental simulation is a teaching modality where...