A Proposal for an Interprofessional Curriculum for the Community Paramedic
Abstract
Amid the rising cost of healthcare, the fragmented health system of care and the inequities present in the most vulnerable populations, there lies an opportunity to use curriculum to address some, if not all these issues in a positive way. The paramedic is a multifunctional, dynamic provider which has historically been unrecognized, underutilized and overlooked as a contributing member of the healthcare team. Paramedicine is making some headway in the field of community paramedicine, or mobile integrated healthcare. This service line has the potential to shift the definitive site of care from the hospital emergency rooms to the patient’s home. At present, only a few states recognize these paramedics as licensed or certified community paramedics. The types of services being provided by these healthcare professionals push the boundaries of the pre-existing official knowledge obtained through initial education of the paramedic provider. Because the needs of the patients being seen by paramedics are complex and are sites of multi-professional intersections, an integrated or interprofessional education would supply the foundational knowledge to set community paramedics up for success. This would support meeting goals of patients receiving the right care, at the right time, in the right place and resulting in quality care that is more affordable that also acknowledges the importance of patient satisfaction with their care. This paper and discussion would be focused on exploring what an interprofessional curriculum might look like to prepare paramedics to successfully achieve those goals.
Presentation Description
Unavailable
Location
Stream A
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Newton-Riner, Jeannie, "A Proposal for an Interprofessional Curriculum for the Community Paramedic" (2021). Curriculum Studies Summer Collaborative. 51.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cssc/2021/2021/51
A Proposal for an Interprofessional Curriculum for the Community Paramedic
Stream A
Amid the rising cost of healthcare, the fragmented health system of care and the inequities present in the most vulnerable populations, there lies an opportunity to use curriculum to address some, if not all these issues in a positive way. The paramedic is a multifunctional, dynamic provider which has historically been unrecognized, underutilized and overlooked as a contributing member of the healthcare team. Paramedicine is making some headway in the field of community paramedicine, or mobile integrated healthcare. This service line has the potential to shift the definitive site of care from the hospital emergency rooms to the patient’s home. At present, only a few states recognize these paramedics as licensed or certified community paramedics. The types of services being provided by these healthcare professionals push the boundaries of the pre-existing official knowledge obtained through initial education of the paramedic provider. Because the needs of the patients being seen by paramedics are complex and are sites of multi-professional intersections, an integrated or interprofessional education would supply the foundational knowledge to set community paramedics up for success. This would support meeting goals of patients receiving the right care, at the right time, in the right place and resulting in quality care that is more affordable that also acknowledges the importance of patient satisfaction with their care. This paper and discussion would be focused on exploring what an interprofessional curriculum might look like to prepare paramedics to successfully achieve those goals.
