An opportunity for the health workforce: the lived experience of emergency nurse-paramedics working for Australian jurisdictional ambulance services

Abstract

The Australian health system has been failing to keep pace with the increasing demand for services. Innovative ideas in relation to service delivery and workforce utilisation have been employed to meet the changing needs and expectations of the community as well as ease the burden on the overwhelmed health system wherever possible. A possible underutilised workforce group available to supplement ambulance services is the dual-qualified nurse-paramedic, but little has been documented regarding these individuals in the relevant literature. At the time of this study, however, Australian jurisdictional ambulance organisations had not been recognising the nursing registration of a dual-registered nurse-paramedic employee, which included their associated scope of practice and professional expectations. Consequently, nurse-paramedics have not been permitted to use a range of clinical skills that they are competent with when practising as a paramedic. This research study's aim was to explore the lived experience of dual-qualified emergency nurse-paramedics working for Australian jurisdictional ambulance services. A descriptive phenomenological approach was adopted for the study, where individual interviews were conducted with emergency nurse-paramedics who met set criteria (N = 13). The findings from this study indicated that emergency nurse-paramedics with combined workforce experience were an untapped resource in the health system. The participants reported that their emergency-nursing knowledge and skills could be used for the benefit of patients when they were working as a paramedic, which could also reduce ambulance transports to hospital. Overwhelmingly, the emergency nurse-paramedics who participated in this study stated that they were frustrated by the organisational and regulatory restrictions that had been placed on them, which they believed were preventing them from delivering authentic person-centred quality care. Their professional identity and their career progression was consequently being impacted. This research study has made a valuable contribution to understanding these individual’s perspectives on what the combination of nursing and paramedicine qualifications can offer the individual practitioner, the paramedic profession, the health system and, most importantly, the patient. It offers a novel proposition for tackling some contemporary healthcare challenges and the themes from participants prompt a re-thinking of regulation of the health workforce. The introduction of a formal dual-qualified nurse-paramedic role in Australian jurisdictional ambulance services, which incorporated a nurse-paramedic's full cross-disciplinary scope of practice, could make a significant contribution to improving health services.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University
Supervisor	Liz Thyer (Supervisor)