To determine the elements of quality clinical and field placements through the eyes of paramedic instructors. In order to improve the preparedness for placement for paramedicine students, a united approach is required by all stakeholders, including ambulance services, students and universities. There needs to be clinical placement agreements between the ambulance services and universities that clearly describe the standards and expected elements of a quality clinical placement. There are significant differences in students’ perception of preparedness for clinical placement, which reflects the differences between universities in relation to structure of their paramedicine programs, the timing of clinical education and the number of hours of clinical placement. Student perceptions of preparedness for clinical placement were measured using an adaptation of the ‘Preparedness for Hospital Practice’ questionnaire. This was a cross-sectional study involving paper-based questionnaires employing a convenience sample of 682 undergraduate paramedicine students (years 1–4) who had completed at least one clinical placement. The objective of this study was to survey pre-employment paramedicine students at Universities in Victoria, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand to measure their self-assessed preparedness for clinical placement. The flexibility of this online tool makes it adaptable to most clinical workplaces, and should be considered in any workplace that requires the use of competency-based clinical assessment and used in place of traditional paper-based portfolios.Ĭlinical placement is an essential element of paramedicine education and training as the profession completes the transition from vocational training to a pre-employment, university based model. Within the preceptor results, 63 ± 2% preferred CompTracker© over traditional paper-based methods.ĬompTracker© can be used to support students and preceptors in clinical placement. Of the 54 student responses, 92% felt the tool was useful and 67% felt it was easy to use. Multiple surveys were conducted over a 3-year period, using both Likert 5-point scales and open-ended questions, to evaluate 330 first and second year students’ and 261 preceptors’ experiences. The study aims to educate and inform other health disciplines that may have an interest in using online tools for competency tracking and education in diverse workplaces. The tool was initially piloted, and then remodeled on several attempts to improve its overall functionality and relevance for the placement learning experience. CompTracker© allows for preceptors to identify and assess clinical competencies, and for the student to reflect after each case is completed on placement. This paper discusses a trial of the use of CompTracker© – an online platform used to link the student, preceptor and academic in a time sensitive manner during student clinical placement – within a cohort of 330 first and second year paramedic students studying at an Australian university. Three stages of community conversations are described, along with the participants’ evaluation of the process, leading to the conclusion that community conversations are a valuable and effective way to bring together groups of people to discuss ideas and solutions to complex social problems. Conversations took place over three days, with participants spending around five hours discussing the key issues related to paramedicine student clinical placements. Participants included paramedics, ambulance service managers, paramedicine students and paramedicine educators, who gathered at La Trobe University in Bendigo in February 2013 to attend a conference titled ‘Paramedic Education and Leadership. This article focuses on the methodological aspects of using community conversations as a research approach. Community conversations are structured, inclusive conversations that bring together a group of people to engage in meaningful conversation, share knowledge and ideas, and discuss solutions to complex problems.
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