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learning
student paramedic
simulation

A simulated wilderness exercise: the development of relational competence in paramedic students

02 April 2015
Features
02 April 2015
Volume 5 · Issue 1

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a cognitively and physically challenging simulated wilderness exercise (SWE) on the development of relational competence in senior paramedic students. New paramedic graduates reportedly bring limited relational competence to their work role. The SWE, conducted in a wilderness landscape in Central Victoria, Australia was developed to address this limitation. Our study, an interpretative qualitative design, used a convenience sample of paramedic students who attended the three-day event (n=29). Qualitative data were collected through participant field diary and focus groups. Thematic analysis of study data identified four themes associated with relational competence, with each giving voice to participants’ new understandings of themselves in the work environment, namely: ‘interpersonal relating’, ‘maturity, respect and tolerance’, ‘self-awareness in the team environment’ and ‘belonging and professional identity’. It is clear that the challenge of working in teams in an unfamiliar and physically taxing environment prompted and/or extended relational competence in study participants. The practice implication of this finding is that these graduates will perform the relational aspects of their work role with greater ease, thus strengthening transition to normal work pressures in their first professional work role.

A pre-employment model of paramedic education is now the norm in Australia, where learning occurs predominantly in class-rooms and laboratories located in the university sector, complemented by on-road clinical placements in the industry sector (Joyce et al, 2009). New paramedic graduates have been found to have lower than desired clinical competence (Willis et al, 2010), and effort is expended in both sectors to remedy that deficit. However, an equally worrying deficit in this new group of health professionals is their low level of relational competence (Willis et al, 2010), namely, their interpersonal relating, maturity, ability to contribute to a team environment (Lazarsfeld-Jensen, 2010) and manage their own and others’ emotions (Williams, 2012). In terms of this aspect of their professional role, paramedic graduates are not work-ready.

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Education
Health
Interpersonal relations
Paramedics
Patient simulation
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