Creating virtual communities of practice for ambulance paramedics: a qualitative evaluation of the use of Project ECHO in end-of-life care

INTRODUCTION: Ambulance services play a key role in the recognition and care of patients nearing their end of life, yet are expected to recognise and manage these complex presentations often with limited education. Paramedics operate across large geographical areas, meaning education delivery is challenging. Yorkshire Ambulance Service implemented Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO), which is the creation of virtual communities of practice to address this problem and increase access to specialist supervision, education and sharing of practice. We undertook a service evaluation of the programme and interviewed paramedics about their experiences with ECHO. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight ambulance clinicians who took part in the end-of-life care (EoLC) ECHO programme. Thematic analysis and coding was undertaken to identify and develop the emerging themes. RESULTS: This study identified three key themes: programme structure, factors influencing engagement and professional impact. The provision of a virtual community of practice through Project ECHO was a unique and highly valued experience, which was accessible and allowed for networking, peer support and sharing of practice. The concept of a ripple effect was reported in disseminating learning across the wider team. CONCLUSION: The development of virtual communities of practice as a novel educational intervention has the potential to transform clinical supervision and ongoing education for ambulance clinicians who are often isolated by the nature of ambulance services that cover large regions.