Paramedic Attitudes and Perceptions About Continuing Professional Development in Australasia

This study examined the attitudes and perceptions towards continuous professional development (CPD) of Australasian paramedics working in private and state or territory ambulance services. For the purpose of the study, CPD is described as commitment to both formal and informal life-long learning (LLL) opportunities which are linked to clinical advancements, practitioner competence, professionalism, and the delivery of gold standard patient care. Constructivist grounded theory was used as the methodological framework for this study. Study participants (n = 10) completed their paramedic qualification through two main pathways, namely a postemployment in-house Vocational Education and Training (VET) diploma or a preemployment university degree and had worked as a paramedic for a minimum of 2 years. Ethical approval was obtained from the Queensland University of Technology, and the participants signed consent forms prior to participating in the study. Data were collected by semistructured interviews, which were recorded digitally for transcription and analysis purposes. The study found there was not a considerable step up for paramedics to engage in CPD and LLL, as this was already expected prior to professional registration for paramedics commencing late 2018. Some older paramedics expressed fear about keeping up to date with new technologies and a shift in the paramilitary paramedic culture was identified, where education is forming a new hierarchical stigmatisation. A framework of paramedic CPD has been created from the study’s findings and builds on the extant literature. The framework acknowledges professional, industrial, social, personal, political, organisational, and economic factors which influence or change engagement in CPD.