Outgrowing a role never looked so good

If you think that the month of September flew past, the last 10 years have certainly been a blur for me. We are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the first edition of the Journal of Paramedic Practice. Times have changed and so too have the role and function of the paramedic. The role today resembles little of the role paramedics were practising some 10 years back: from a transport service, scoop and run, to a skilled, proficient pre-hospital care provider and, beyond that, staffed by confident and competent employees who are indeed much more than knowledgeable doers.

This editorial is not about dwelling on the past. Rather, it pays homage to the foundation laid and the movers and shakers that have informed and formed the profession as it stands today. Most importantly, it welcomes and embraces the future and what endless possibilities that future will bring for the paramedic, the profession and, central to all of this, the patients for whom we are privileged to provide care.