PARA104 - Foundations of Paramedic Practice

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Teaching organisation

Unit rationale, description and aim

As paramedicine is a discrete discipline, graduates entering this profession require a thorough understanding of the activities they will be required to perform and the scope under which they will practice. The Foundations of Paramedic Practice unit is required by students to achieve course learning outcomes related to contemporary professional paramedic practice, and the foundational skills needed by paramedics to perform their duties.

Therefore this unit introduces students to the foundations of paramedic practice. Important principles of biomechanics and manual handling will enable students to develop safe work practices within the pre-hospital environment. Students will acquire skills related to scene and client assessment. An introduction to the principles and practices of current Australian Resuscitation Guidelines will be applied.

The aim of this unit is to introduce students to contemporary professional paramedic concepts, including ethical and legal responsibilities in the role, principles of scene management and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Demonstrate a safe approach to scene assessment, a structured approach to patient assessment and the principles of safe and effective biomechanics and manual handling in the pre-hospital setting; (GA 5)

LO2 - Identify ethical and legal responsibilities in relation to paramedic practice; (GA 3)

LO3 - Demonstrate competency in a range of basic level life support skills including cardiopulmonary resuscitation; (GA 5)

LO4 - Demonstrate effective written and oral communication techniques in the context of paramedic practice; (GA1, GA10)

LO5 - Discuss scope of practice in relation to paramedic interventions; (GA 5)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 

GA3 - apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA5 - demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA10 - utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

COUNCIL OF AMBULANCE AUTHORITIES PARAMEDIC PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCY STANDARDS

CAA Competency Standards:

Content

Topics will include:

• Biomechanics, kinetics and manual handling 
• Biomechanical principles for the lifting and manual handling of patients and equipment 
• Recognition of risks in the uncontrolled environment
• Strategies to minimise manual handling injuries in the workplace
• Occupational/Workplace Health and Safety
• Principles of infection control

• Scene assessment and management

• Patient assessment
• Primary survey
• Secondary survey
• Vital signs survey

• Communication
• Client 
• Collegial
• Interprofessional
• Modes

• Documentation
• Client care reports
• Verification of death

• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• Australian Resuscitation Council Guidelines (Adult)
• Airway obstruction (partial and complete)
• Introduction to external defibrillation
• Semi-automatic External Defibrillation (SAED)
• Automatic External Defibrillation (AED)
• Manual External Defibrillation

• Legal and ethical considerations in paramedicine 
• Confidentiality
• Consent
• Duty of care
• Professionalism – including pre-clinical placement requirements
• Refusal of treatment and transport
• Rapid and general discontinuation of care
• Not for resuscitation 
• Pre-hospital context - death / dying / dignity
• Dealing with death, dying and bereavement 

• Governance 
• Relevant State and Federal legislation
• Emergency medical systems
• Scope of practice 

SPECIFIC SKILLS:

• Manual handling
• Equipment 
• Client
• Personal protective equipment

• Scene assessment

• Patient assessment
• Primary survey
• Secondary survey
• Vital signs survey

• Communications
• Radio use
• Handovers

• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

• ECG basics

• Introduction to airway management
• Double / triple airway manoeuvre
• Suction
• Manual clearance
• Laryngoscope
• Magill’s forceps
• Oropharyngeal / nasopharyngeal airway
• Supplemental oxygen

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit requires students to undertake 150 hours of focused learning to achieve the unit learning outcomes. It has two delivery patterns: attendance delivery pattern which is scheduled nationally in semester 1 (Melbourne, Nth Sydney and Brisbane Campuses) in the Bachelor of Paramedicine (BP); and a multi-mode delivery pattern which is scheduled nationally in semester 2 (Ballarat, Canberra and Brisbane Campuses) for the Bachelor of Nursing/Bachelor of Paramedicine (BNBP). 

Attendance Mode (BP)

In the BP, PARA104 is delivered in a 12-week semester attendance mode. Modes of delivery in this unit include lectures, laboratories, simulations, online activities and self-directed study. Practical laboratory hours will total 24 hours over a 12-week attendance period.

Consistent with adult learning principles, the teaching and learning strategies used within these modes of delivery will provide students with foundational knowledge and skills relevant to professional paramedic practice. These strategies will also support students in meeting the aim, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit and the broader course learning outcomes. Learning and teaching strategies will reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively with peers. 

Students entering university need significant support to transition into a learning and teaching environment where they are required to drive their own learning. To guide students in their learning feedback is required to identify what is being done well, what requires additional work and to identify progress toward required learning outcomes. Practicum assists students to link theory with its application. Located in the first year of the programme, this unit includes significant face-to-face teaching hours to assist students in linking theory with practice. Lectures are utilised to convey content and its central principles while laboratories and simulation deliver interactive learning sessions which assist students in applying their theory to clinical practice while also providing an opportunity to establish learning community skills. 

Multi-mode (BN/BP)

In the BN/BP, PARA104 is multi-mode delivery, comprising 10 weeks of attendance mode and 2 weeks of online mode. Modes of delivery in this unit include lectures, laboratories, simulations, online activities and self-directed study. Practical laboratory hours will total 24 hours over a 10-week attendance period. In the BN/BP 2 weeks of lecture and tutorial material will be delivered online to allow for more flexible scheduling of students’ clinical placement in their nursing unit. In addition to the attendance-mode classes from week 1 to 10, student learning will be supported by the provision of extensive online material through LEO, inclusive of formative feedback quizzes; links to external material and other learning activities. The online mode of delivery provides the opportunity to student to approach and review the material in a variety of ways. 

Consistent with adult learning principles, the teaching and learning strategies used within these modes of delivery will provide students with foundational knowledge and skills relevant to professional paramedic practice.  These strategies will also support students in meeting the aim, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit and the broader course learning outcomes. Learning and teaching strategies will reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively with peers.

Students entering university need significant support to transition into a learning and teaching environment where they are required to drive their own learning. To guide students in their learning feedback is required to identify what is being done well, what requires additional work and to identify progress toward required learning outcomes. Practicum assists students to link theory with its application. Located in the first year of the programme, this unit includes significant face-to-face teaching hours to assist students in linking theory with practice. Lectures are utilised to convey content and its central principles while laboratories and simulation deliver interactive learning sessions which assist students in applying their theory to clinical practice while also providing an opportunity to establish learning community skills.

Assessment strategy and rationale

A range of assessment items consistent with University assessment requirements and policy will be used to ensure students achieve the unit learning outcomes and attain the graduate attributes.

The first written assignment provides early formative feedback on academic writing and referencing for students at the commencement of their  university studies.  The written examination assesses knowledge, comprehension and students’ abilitiy to apply ethical and informed decision making appropriate to paramedic practice. There is one hurdle task in this unit which students must pass– an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). These assessments are required to build student knowledge and skills which, by the conclusion of this programme, will enable the student to graduate as a safe and effective paramedic.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Australian Resuscitation Council (2010). Australian resuscitation guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.resus.org.au/guidelines/

Ambulance Victoria (2016). Ambulance Victoria clinical practice guidelines for ambulance and MICA paramedics. Doncaster: Ambulance Victoria.

Ambulance Victoria (2015). Clinical work instructions. Doncaster, Victoria: Ambulance Victoria.

Eburn, M. (2013).  Emergency law: Rights, liabilities and duties of emergency workers and volunteers (4th ed.). Leichhardt, N.S.W.:: Federation Press.

Marieb, E.N., & Hoehn, K. (2016). Human anatomy and physiology (10th Global ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. 

Queensland Ambulance Service (2017). Clinical practice guidelines (CPG) and clinical practice procedures (CPP). Brisbane: Queensland Ambulance Service.

Queensland Ambulance Service (2017). Drug therapy protocols (DTP). Brisbane: Queensland Ambulance Service.

Sanders, M. J. (2012). Mosby’s paramedic textbook (4th ed.). St Louis, MO: Mosby.