Paramedics are often represented by local, state or national organisations. For example, 20 055 paramedics are registered by the Health and Care Professions Council in the United Kingdom (Health and Care Professions Council, 2014), 63 882 by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (Health Professions Council of South Africa, 2014), over 17 000 by the Paramedic Association of Canada (Paramedic Association of Canada, 2014), and 270 000 by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) in the United States (NREMT, 2014). Additionally, the Federal Government reports that there are 15 220 full-time paramedics and 7 456 ambulance volunteers in Australia (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision, 2014), many of whom are members of Paramedics Australasia (Paramedics Australia, 2014). This snapshot of only five regions of the world identifies over 393 613 paramedics who did not have a voice internationally, until now.
Arguably, the health and safety of persons transcends national borders. Paramedicine as an occupation is relatively young (Campeau, 2009), but is evolving quickly around the world to meet the demands of rapidly growing call volumes, while expanding from traditional emergency medical services into primary and extended healthcare roles (Ball, 2005; Joyce et al, 2009). The challenges and opportunities facing the paramedic profession are not unique to one country; rather, they are an international phenomenon that requires a global approach to develop solutions, best practices, and international standards. In addition, the world is looking for one voice for paramedic practice, be it the World Health Organization (WHO) seeking the profession's position on road safety, the United Nations’ (UN) desire to have paramedic representation on a humanitarian committee, or a developing nation looking for assistance to build their paramedic system. Until now, who was positioned to represent the world of paramedic professionals? International Paramedic (IP) represents these interests that include: sharing of clinical, educational, and operational best practices, contributing to paramedic research, providing a voice for the international paramedic community, and promoting the development of the paramedic profession.
International Paramedic (IP)— the organisation
IP is an organisation formed in 2011 with a vision to become:
‘recognised as the international point of contact for paramedic practitioners, leaders, educators, and global partners that strive to advance paramedic care throughout the world by improving health and safety within the global community’
The organisation seeks to address the challenges and opportunities facing the paramedic profession by looking to best practice and current evidence shared by its international members who are not limited by the geo-political barriers of province, state, region or country. Answers and solutions are based upon collective knowledge, research and experience and shared from the highest peaks of the UN, WHO and other global platforms to ensure that paramedic care is provided by the most competent and prepared people in every corner of the world.
The idea for IP initially sprang from a meeting held in Ottawa, Canada in April 2011 attended by 17 individuals from five different countries. Today, IP is registered as a non-profit corporation in the United States, with a newly elected international Board of Directors. The president is Matt Womble (United States), the vice president is Michael Nolan (Canada), the treasurer is Ian Patrick (Australia) and the secretary is Mathias Duschl (Switzerland). One of the first orders of business for this new yet experienced executive is to develop a strategic plan and initiate a membership drive to welcome members from more countries around the world. In addition to the Executive Committee, chairperson positions have been appointed to provide leadership for the following committees: United Nations/World Health Organization Liaison Committee, Membership Committee, Communications Committee and the Education and Research Committee. The full committee of IP meet monthly by teleconference.
One of the primary goals of IP is to bring the voice of the paramedic profession to the halls of the UN and the WHO. IP has already been included in membership conversations with the WHO through its participation in the UN Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) (2013). Members of IP have attended meetings of the UNRSC in New York and Abu Dhabi with the hope to one day soon be officially recognised as a voice for paramedics internationally.
Membership in IP
IP is primarily a virtual organisation with members communicating and contributing in the online environment. There are monthly teleconference meetings and an annual face-to-face meeting that members have the opportunity to attend. According to the IP bylaws, a voting member is a:
‘national organisation who serve(s) the collective interest of paramedics, paramedic service leadership and paramedicine’
Associate members are active or retired individual paramedics who wish to promote and participate in this international effort. Corporate members are companies, individuals or organisations that support IP through contribution of resources. Associate and corporate members do not carry an individual vote but their participation and support are essential for the success of the efforts of IP (International Paramedic, 2011).
Summary
The establishment of position statements, best practice guides, and policies to support paramedic practice are fundamental to the development of our profession and our ability to effectively serve society. IP is an ideal organisation to facilitate the creation of policy that guides the future of paramedic service.
IP provides a forum for its members, paramedics and paramedic organisations, to come together and share research, information and solutions to common problems. This facilitates a homogenous genesis of the paramedic profession globally using shared leading practices to enhance system-wide improvements, benefitting patient care and paramedic safety. It is the vision of IP to engage the 393 613 paramedics from the UK, USA, Canada, South Africa and Australia in an international dialogue that further encourages the hundreds of thousands of other paramedics from other countries to advance our profession together with one voice.
How to be involved
If you want to be a part of the effort to advance paramedic practice globally, please consider joining International Paramedic. Join us through social media channels, @iParamedic on Twitter and our LinkedIn group, International Paramedic, volunteer to participate in a committee or lead your own initiative (www.internationalparamedic.org) and share your voice with the world.