Matt Rose1,2
1Ambulance Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, 2The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Biography:
Matt started in ambulance in 2007 before becoming a paramedic then a lecturer.
He led AV’s multi-agency model for HPCPR whilst in the role of Resuscitation Officer, a project that was awarded the CAA award for Clinical Excellence (2019). Matt has recently completed a MEd at The University of Melbourne.
Abstract:
Australia is a multi-cultural and ethnically diverse society. Are paramedic students exposed to an appropriate representation of patient and clinician diversity during their undergraduate education?
Systemic racism and inherent bias can contribute to poorer health outcomes for racially diverse groups of Australians.
This Master of Education (University of Melbourne) minor thesis asks “To what extent is racial diversity represented within the textbooks utilised in undergraduate paramedicine education in Australia?”
This research examines the most common textbooks utilised in Australia’s paramedicine education programs and will share findings of quantitative an qualitative data, written with a critical lens and framed by critical race theory.
This research aims to examine the representation of racial diversity within the textbooks utilised in paramedicine education. Related literature examining texts in other medical and surgical fields demonstrate a lack of patient diversity within the images shown and this lack of visible diversity may contribute to paramedic implicit bias which can negatively impact patient care.