title: The mentoring practices of paramedics: experiences of paramedic mentors and interns in the Queensland Ambulance Service
Creators: name: Brown, Tegan
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: paramedicine
subject: mentoring
subject: curriculum
subject: workplace learning

description: Paramedicine became a recognised profession under the Australian Health Practitioners Registration Agency (AHPRA) in 2018. Since then, the paramedic profession has seen abundant growth in the areas of operational demand, clinical skills and education and training. Upon employment with the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS), a substantial volume of learning by intern paramedics occurs in practice – in the work settings under the guidance of mentors. Interns work on shifts, often with different experienced paramedics, often losing coherence in the kinds of learning they get to experience. In QAS, there is an informal mentoring arrangement for interns to gain practical experiences and capacities. The volunteer mentors do not receive any formal training. There was no identifiable published research that examined the nature and effectiveness of mentoring practices in QAS. This thesis examines the current mentoring practices for experienced and intern paramedics in the QAS. The main research question is: What are the key features of a mentoring curriculum for paramedics in the Queensland Ambulance Service? The sub-questions are: • What is the nature of the current mentorship program for intern paramedics in Queensland? • How is mentoring enacted for intern paramedics? • What are intern paramedics’ experiences of mentoring? • What changes are needed to enhance mentoring practices for intern paramedics in QAS? • What is the nature of a curriculum to train mentors within QAS? The research focused on two key areas of mentoring: current mentoring practices that are enacted by QAS paramedics; and the workplace learning strategies that mentors use to teach intern paramedics to become competent. The outcome of this research forms the basis for a model of mentoring especially when engaged in on-road care. A mixed methods ethnographical approach was applied to this research project. Ten participants were recruited from two different geographical locations in Queensland. An exploratory sequential design was followed, where the first phase of data collection was through one-on-one interviews with the participants. The analysis of data from the interviews informed the design of a survey that was completed by the participants. Both sets of data furnished insights and experiences of current mentoring practices and workplace learning strategies enacted to train intern paramedics. Findings of the study showed that the current mentoring practices in the QAS are ad hoc and inadequate. One reason is that experienced paramedics who mentor interns are not trained in mentoring practices and are not fully conversant with workplace learning pedagogies. Most seemingly use strategies that their mentors used with them, and these were not the most effective. Their own mentoring practices have recognised limitations. These findings highlight a need for change in the enacted and experienced curriculum for the QAS paramedic internship program. Accordingly, an improved mentoring model and curriculum design to train mentors is recommended.