Minimum font 11dpi for assessment one.

You are required to complete both Task One AND Task Two to complete this assessment.

TASK ONE - You are about to graduate from the Bachelor of Paramedic Science. It is now time for you to decide where to apply for a graduate position – is it Queensland, interstate or overseas? The only way to make an informed decision is to research different ambulance services.

Pick one ambulance service either from a State in Australia or an international service and compare it to the Queensland Ambulance Service, using the information provided below. You are required to submit a one to two page document summarising and comparing the differences between the services in the areas listed below. This needs to be presented in a table format, and must include information on each ambulance service AND a comparison between the two services.

You must include the following information:

• Clinical structure of each service, including all clinical levels from volunteer first responder through to the highest level clinician within each service. Please note that some international services may have emergency specialist doctors responding as well as paramedics.
• Mandatory requirements to apply for graduate employment, for example manual drivers licence.
• Any assessments required by the service during the employment application process, for example psychometric assessment.
• Any induction training and graduate internships that will be undertaken upon employment in the ambulance service.
• Any national registration requirements of each service.

Please make sure your information is current.

The information is to be submitted in your own words – cut and paste from organisational websites is not acceptable. This must be a comparison between the services’ requirements and not just a list of what is required by each service.

TASK TWO – Being a paramedic can take its toll on your health and wellbeing if you do not acknowledge and address the risks. Fortunately you can help yourself by planning ahead and understanding how best to manage some of the issues you may face. Now that you have compared the QAS with your other service of choice it is time to plan how you will manage your life as an out-of-hospital provider.

You need to discuss all of the following topics found below. Each topic must be 150 words (10% either way accepted) and each topic MUST include at least 1 piece of research to solidify your discussion. Wikipedia is not accepted as evidence. Referencing must be APA style.

Here are the topics:

• How will you maintain physical fitness?
• How will you manage sleep as a shift worker?
• How will you take care of your eating habits and diet?
• How will you ensure you have a work-life balance?
• How will you manage your stress levels?

You are required to include in your submission a reference list formatted in the APA style. It is recommended that you do your reference list manually using the APA guide from CQU Library and do not use Endnote or similar programs as these lead to frequent errors for inexperienced users.

Students are reminded to attain a passing grade in this unit you are required to attain a mark of at least 50% for each assessment item.

Word limit: 1500 Words. APA referencing required for this assessment. PDF or word document accepted.

Assessment Statement

The role of a paramedic is multi-faceted and highly regulated. At times you will be called to very complex cases that require a solid knowledge of procedural as well as clinical policies and guidelines. This assessment covers a number of areas that require you to research appropriate policy and procedure to ensure accuracy of your submission. For the purpose of this assessment you will use Queensland legislation and policy.

Assessment Scenario Outline

You work in a rural community with your Officer-In-Charge (OIC). At 2000 hours on a rainy night you are dispatched Code 1 to a vehicle accident approx. 50 kms away from station, nearby a close-knit Aboriginal community. Your OIC is a long-serving officer who has little respect for the rules and regulations that the “brass in Brisbane” has imposed on paramedics.

En-route to the scene your partner drives at 140km/hr and above on a dirt road, saying there is no need to worry about speed limits in the bush – “There is no traffic out here” – and besides the ambulance service is exempt from the road rules. You notice that there is significant water on the road and the rain is getting heavier as you proceed to scene. The speed limit in this area is 100km/hr.

As you arrive on scene your partner parks on the road near the damaged vehicle, leaving the headlights on but dimmed. He also leaves all the emergency lights illuminated. Your partner tells you he knows these people really well and there is no need for any gloves or anything as these people don’t have any health problems.

As you approach the scene you find a vehicle (pictured) that has rolled leaving the vehicle with major damage. You see the car on the shoulder of the opposite side of the road, with 2 wheels on the road and 2 wheels on the dirt. You are waved down by a male person who directs you to a 15 year old indigenous female trapped in the badly damaged vehicle. She has obvious fractures to her legs and multiple abrasions. She is very upset and is hesitant to speak to you. The male person states that he was driving the vehicle when he lost control, and that it rolled multiple times, trapping the female in the vehicle. The male person is acting aggressively and smells strongly of alcoholic drinks.

As you are assessing the scene the patients’ Grandmother and Aunty arrive on scene. They are very anxious to speak with the female patient, and are upset that you are speaking with the patient on her own. The family members are questioning you whilst you attempt to treat the patient, and demand to be involved in the treatment of the patient and decisions to be made.

Assessment Requirements

This task has four components that must be completed.

• What cultural considerations should you to be aware of in this case when assessing the Indigenous patient and interacting with her family?

• The male person on-scene is complaining of abdominal pain but refuses any treatment or transport against your advice. He has obvious bruising to his abdomen consistent with a seatbelt injury. Using Queensland Ambulance Service protocols as a guide, discuss what steps you would need to take to ensure that you have met your duty of care and that the patient is giving a valid refusal. What information should you document in your patient care records?

• Referring to the image above, please identify at least 8 workplace health and safety issues present on this scene.

• Regarding the violence risk of the aggressive male patient, discuss how you might eliminate or reduce the risk and what impact that may have on your patient treatment. Your plan should include new equipment/training that is NOT currently available to QAS paramedics. You must provide evidence of at least 3 current sources of research that support your idea.

• What legislations and policies has the OIC breached and what are the possible risks and consequences of these breaches?

Students are reminded to attain a passing grade in this course you are required to attain a mark of at least 50% for each assessment item.

Task 1:

• Identifies relevant government legislation and ambulance service policy.
• Demonstrates knowledge of how policy affects frontline paramedic activities.

Task 2a:

• Identifies workplace health and safety (WH&S) issues relevant to paramedic practice.

Task 2b:

• Logical and practical solutions to WH&S issues.
• Research findings appropriately included in discussion and solution.

Task 3:

• Identifies and applies relevant policies & procedures.
• Uses logical rationale and appropriate procedures in determining validity of refusal of care.
• Correctly applies documentation requirements regarding consent and refusal of care.

Task 4:

• Identifies relevant cultural considerations and applies to the prehospital context.
• Demonstrates logical rationale and justification of decisions relating to culturally sensitive prehospital care.

Referencing:

• Correctly referenced using the APA system.