Department of Paramedicine, Monash University, VIC, Australia.
Department of Paramedicine, Monash University, VIC, Australia.
Nurse Educ Today. 2022 Jan;108:105181. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2021.105181. Epub 2021 Oct 22.
Paramedics provide care in medical emergencies to patients with varying ages and from a range of settings, cultures, backgrounds and experiences. As such, the paramedic needs a very diverse skill set which is difficult to obtain at university. For this reason, undergraduate paramedic students often engage in clinical placements to apply their knowledge to real world experiences. Most of these placements, however, are in hospitals or ambulance settings, but part of the diverse community that paramedics treat are children with special needs, including children with disabilities. This study measured the attitudes of paramedic students to people with disabilities and explored the effectiveness of paramedic student clinical placements in special needs schools. 109 paramedic students enrolled in their first year of the Bachelor of Paramedicine at Monash University undertook placements in special needs schools across Victoria, Australia. These students completed the Interactions with Disabled Persons Scale. Of these students, 5 participated in two focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of their placement experience. The results showed that paramedic students enjoyed their placements and gained a more positive attitude towards special needs students, but also felt challenged and overwhelmed. Also found were four main characteristics that students believed paramedics needed to be effective; empathy, being genuine, the ability to listen to someone even though they are not speaking to you verbally, and the ability to gain the trust of someone quickly where gaining trust is difficult. This study was the first time an entire cohort of paramedic students have undertaken placements at special needs schools. The findings provide a baseline and incentive for further exploration of the benefits of the placement of paramedic students (and student from a variety of healthcare professions) in special needs schools, as well as other marginalised communities.
护理人员在医疗紧急情况下为不同年龄和来自不同环境、文化、背景和经验的患者提供护理。因此，护理人员需要非常多样化的技能，而这些技能很难在大学获得。出于这个原因，本科护理学生通常会参加临床实习，将他们的知识应用于现实世界的经验。然而，这些实习大多是在医院或救护环境中，但护理人员治疗的多样化社区之一是有特殊需要的儿童，包括残疾儿童。本研究衡量了护理学生对残疾人士的态度，并探讨了护理学生在特殊需要学校的临床实习的效果。109 名在莫纳什大学攻读护理学士第一年的护理学生在澳大利亚维多利亚州的特殊需要学校进行实习。这些学生完成了《与残疾人互动量表》。其中 5 名学生参加了两个焦点小组，以更深入地了解他们的实习经历。结果表明，护理学生喜欢他们的实习，并对特殊需要学生的态度更加积极，但也感到挑战和不知所措。学生们还认为，护理人员需要具备四个主要特征才能有效工作；同理心、真诚、即使对方没有口头与你交流也能倾听他人的能力，以及快速获得他人信任的能力，因为在获得信任方面存在困难。本研究是第一次有整个护理学生队列在特殊需要学校进行实习。研究结果为进一步探索在特殊需要学校（以及来自各种医疗保健专业的学生）安置护理学生的好处提供了基线和激励，以及其他边缘化社区。
