Abstract
Introduction
Paramedic practice has evolved significantly with a greater emphasis now being placed on paramedics to perform educator type roles to junior paramedics, patients and the wider community. Paramedic training and education should therefore include preparing students for this important role. The Pathway to Paramedicine Program used a peer assisted learning (PAL) model to expose paramedic students to the educator/mentor role. The aim of this study was to evaluate the student paramedic's perspectives of the Pathway to Paramedicine Program.
Methods
Fourteen paramedic students enrolled in either Monash University's Bachelor of Emergency Health (Paramedic) degree or the Bachelor of Nursing/Emergency Health (Paramedic) degree were the subjects of this pilot study. The paramedic students acted as mentors/educators to secondary school students, teaching them theory and practical skills common to paramedic practice during weekly tutorials. The Pathway to Paramedicine Evaluation (PPE) survey was used to determine the participant's perspectives at the completion of the program.
Results
All 12 Likert scale questions on the PPE achieve a median score of 4 or higher with four items achieving a maximum median of 5 (strongly agree). A thematic analysis of the free text questions found that the participants enjoyed teaching and this helped to reinforce their own knowledge and skills.
Conclusions
This pilot study showed that the paramedic student's had an overwhelmingly positive perspective of The Pathway to Paramedic Program and would happily recommend it to others.