New placement broadens paramedicine students’ understanding of patient care
CQUniversity Bachelor of Paramedicine students are gaining a broader understanding of the healthcare system through a new compulsory placement that takes them beyond the traditional ambulance environment.
After 18 months of preparation, CQUniversity delivered its first non-ambulance placement this term, giving students the opportunity to gain practical experience in a range of health and community care settings.
The new placement is an accreditation requirement for the Bachelor of Paramedicine and will see all students undertake a placement in a non-ambulance health service during their degree.
Depending on their placement, students may gain experience in settings including aged care facilities, disability services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services, general practices and urgent care clinics.
CQUniversity Discipline Lead – Work Integrated Learning for undergraduate Paramedicine Allison Temple said the placement would help students understand the varied circumstances and healthcare environments in which their future patients lived and received care.
“Paramedics are often meeting people at a point of crisis, but that patient is part of a much bigger healthcare journey,” Ms Temple said.
“This placement gives our students an opportunity to step outside the ambulance environment and understand the contexts and complexities of their patients, as well insight into the roles and contexts of health professionals they will work alongside.
Bachelor of Paramedicine student Trinity Lowe was the first CQUniversity student to participate in the new placement program, which she completed at a GP clinic in Rockhampton.
Trinity said the experience had provided valuable skills she could take into her future career.
“Something interesting I observed during my placement was skin cancer removal procedures,” Trinity said.
“Observing clinicians manage dermatological conditions by progressing from routine skin checks to minor surgery helped me understand escalation of patients through an acute healthcare system,” she explained.
“The active coordination between doctors and nurses ensured sterile techniques were maintained, bleeding was controlled and the patient was managed correctly throughout the procedure.”
Trinity said the placement had provided her with an opportunity to build confidence when communicating with patients and learn how important it is to build rapport and make people feel comfortable.
“It has also helped me understand the bigger picture of healthcare and how different services and health professionals work together to support patients."
Trinity said that operationally, she gained an appreciation for the effective collaboration and communication required to run a medical practice efficiently.
“Written referral letters served as a crucial communication tool between healthcare clinicians and external specialists to guarantee continuity of care. Understanding these referral pathways and interprofessional communication dynamics highlighted how primary care connects to broader healthcare systems. As a student paramedic, this knowledge enhanced my ability to deliver comprehensive handovers, appropriate referrals and make informed safety-netting for patients who do not require emergency transport,” she said.
“I think that understanding will be really valuable when I become a paramedic, because we’re not working in isolation. We’re one part of a much bigger healthcare team.”
For CQUniversity’s paramedicine students, the new placement experience is providing an important opportunity to see healthcare from a different perspective - and to better understand the people they will ultimately serve.
