Mr Grant Gallagher1, Dr Svetlana King2, Associate Professor Sonja Maria3, Dr Raechel Damarell2
1SA Ambulance Service, Adelaide, Australia, 2Flinders University, Bedford Park, Australia, 3Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, Australia
Biography:
Grant Gallagher is an Intensive Care Paramedic with SA Ambulance Service and a PhD candidate specialising in paramedicine education. With over 15 years’ experience across industry and academia, his work spans volunteer, regional, remote, and critical care contexts, and includes international education initiatives focused on strengthening out-of-hospital clinical practice.
Abstract:
Aims:
The opportunistic learning model inherent in paramedic internships does not ensure competency across the full range of patient presentations. Limited clinical exposure constrains on-road mentoring, particularly when mentors themselves have had narrow experiential breadth. This exposure-gap may compromise patient safety and clinician psychological safety when graduates encounter unfamiliar high-stakes presentations. This study examined these risks and identified educational strategies to enhance preparedness for safe entry to practice.
Methods:
This constructivist grounded theory study, underpinned by pragmatism, generated findings relevant to real-world practice. Data were collected iteratively through in-depth semi-structured interviews (n=26) and focus groups (n=2) with paramedicine educators across diverse settings. Analysis followed the constant comparative method to refine emerging categories. Participants represented the breadth of the profession, including educators supporting volunteers, non-emergency clinicians, paramedics, and specialist paramedics.
Results:
Participants expressed concern that graduates struggle to adapt to complex and unpredictable environments, with implications for clinician wellbeing and patient safety. The core grounded theory, producing novel-ready clinicians, captured how educators conceptualise preparation for adaptive, safe, and psychologically sustainable practice.
Conclusions:
This study offers a conceptual framework to address the exposure-gap in entry-to-practice paramedicine. The theory of producing novel-ready clinicians provides a foundation for advancing educator capability to support safe, effective clinical development in complex out-of-hospital environments.