It’s been a while since my last post, but for a good reason. All the clinical team at the Devon Air Ambulance, me included, have had their heads in the text books and laptops, as we embark on an exciting period of clinical development. Each Aircrew Paramedic is being provided the opportunity by Devon Air Ambulance of beginning a period of academic study with Plymouth University that will allow us to become Specialist Paramedics in Critical Care. So what does that mean for the people of Devon and beyond, who need our help?
It means when we turn up to the most critically ill or injured people we will be educated and equipped to deliver even more effective care. We will eventually be able to select from a wider range of drug treatments and skills, to diagnose and address a greater range of those life-threatening conditions that we encounter on the Air Ambulance. So how do we get there?
Years ago I read an excellent paper on clinical education which contained a phrase that has stuck with me to this day “If you practice a skill, without the deep underpinning knowledge of that skill, then you are dangerous; if you have deep underpinning clinical knowledge, but are unable to physically perform the necessary skills, then you are incompetent. Therefore one should be able to perform the required physical skills, with deep underpinning knowledge, and with the correct attitude to be considered a competent professional.” (Hand, 2005)(note the academic referencing! Something else the team is getting used to!)
So, as our range of abilities and responsibilities increases, so must our underpinning theoretical knowledge. Back to school we go then! Lots of work has been going on behind the scenes between DAAT and Plymouth University, to design a bespoke Master’s Degree programme, that will perfectly deliver the knowledge and skills we need for this next phase of development. What has been great during the early stages of this enterprise is the knowledge sharing within our group. Our first assignment required us to choose a clinical topic and critically appraise the research that exists on it. At the end of this exercise each person had some great information to pass on to the group, increasing all our learning through the hive mind!
As stated in Hand’s excellent phrase, theoretical knowledge is not enough on its own, which leads me to the next exciting development that will greatly enhance our paramedic’s ability. DAAT will be recruiting a team of senior Doctors with extensive pre-hospital experience who will be on hand on board the air ambulance to mentor and supervise our clinical practice in the areas we are developing. Needless to say this alone will be a fantastic learning opportunity that the team will make great use of.
This post is just the beginning of a long journey. That journey should end with a service that can deliver the most advanced state of the art care to the people that need it most, all with the speed and range that an Air Ambulance offers. (If only the ambulance service had a phrase to capture that, something like right care, right place, right time?)
Hopefully post again soon, provided my homework is finished!
The air ambulance paramedic 