PARA9001 Principles of Extended Care Paramedic Practice

As paramedics move into a extended scopes of practice, they will be expected to adopt greater responsibilities and more advanced roles. They will find themselves working in setting such as the community extended care paramedic or a community paramedic. Common to these roles will be the issues of governance, primary health care promotion, safety, and health assessment. The topic will develop the principles, constraints and responsibilities of these themes in context with the student's own work place requirements.

This topic aims to introduce the student to the roles and responsibilities of extended care practice in the setting of their workplace. The student will explore the legislative and procedural constraints relevant to their practice. There is an emphasis on primary health promotion, safety and delivery of care in the community. The provision of health care within an interprofessional team will be analysed in relation to the students work setting.

1. Define and appraise the principles underpinning an expanded scope of practice
2. Explore and evaluate the role of the extended scope of paramedic practice in community health promotion and primary health care
3. Critically evaluate governance, professional competence and risk in relation to the practice setting
4. Develop clinical practice guidelines addressing the clinical needs of the community, within context with the legal, ethical and organisational constraints of the student’s practice setting
5. Identify the role of the extended care paramedic within the broader health care team, including the professional working relationship with the general practitioner
6. Identify and evaluate the clinical and organisation leadership role of the extended care paramedic within the paramedic profession
7. Formulate a policy describing the collaboration of extended care paramedics with the palliative health care team
8. Develop a role statement describing the responsibilities of an extended care paramedic in a disaster response