Dr. Wayne Loudon is the Discipline Lead for the QUT Paramedicine Program within the School of Clinical Sciences. With over 15 years of prehospital clinical practice, including 12 years as a Critical Care Paramedic. He is passionately committed to advancing the paramedicine profession in Australia and is dedicated to supporting equity and equality in healthcare. His overarching goal is to ensure that all individuals have access to high-quality prehospital care.
Presentation Title and Overview: Paramedic Student Placements in rural First Nations Communities
Registered Paramedics who are stationed and attend in Australian First Nations communities are often the first point of contact for healthcare when medical emergencies arise. As such, it is vital that Paramedics are culturally safe in their practice and understand the importance of Community engagement in building authentic relationships – the relationships between paramedics and Indigenous communities are vital starting points for community members health and wellbeing. One method to produce culturally safe Paramedics is to commence their learning prior to registration, via University studies. In this project – a partnership between Queensland Ambulance Service and Queensland University of Technology, Paramedic students are offered the opportunity to undertake their placement at a QAS station that services a discreet First Nations Community. This presentation outlines the processes of preparing paramedic students for such a placement, including mandatory orientation sessions in culturally safe practice, the use of reflective practice to encourage continuous adaptation and learning whilst reflecting on one’s actions, values and assumptions. This project aims to enhance university student cultural safety proficiency while concurrently providing basic first aid training to the community, thereby fostering community health and well-being. Through this approach, community members will not only improve their health engagement but also gain insights into potential career trajectories within the field of paramedicine.