Paramedicine students’ perception of preparedness for clinical placement in Australia and New Zealand

BACKGROUND: Clinical placement is an essential element of paramedicine education and training as the profession completes the transition from vocational training to a pre-employment, university based model. The objective of this study was to survey pre-employment paramedicine students at Universities in Victoria, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand to measure their self-assessed preparedness for clinical placement. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study involving paper-based questionnaires employing a convenience sample of 682 undergraduate paramedicine students (years 1–4) who had completed at least one clinical placement. Student perceptions of preparedness for clinical placement were measured using an adaptation of the ‘Preparedness for Hospital Practice’ questionnaire. RESULTS: There are significant differences in students’ perception of preparedness for clinical placement, which reflects the differences between universities in relation to structure of their paramedicine programs, the timing of clinical education and the number of hours of clinical placement. DISCUSSION: There needs to be clinical placement agreements between the ambulance services and universities that clearly describe the standards and expected elements of a quality clinical placement. CONCLUSIONS: In order to improve the preparedness for placement for paramedicine students, a united approach is required by all stakeholders, including ambulance services, students and universities.