Saving lives on agenda at USC
Sat 01 December 2007
Sarah Ritchie, Journalism
The University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) has opened up a paramedic science degree to help the Australian health system cope with the increased pressure of an aging population.
The degree aims to offer local students the opportunity to participate in the degree and have them ready to enter the work force in three years.
The health system is in desperate need for new qualified staff. USC senior lecturer in paramedic science Nick Prass has over 17 years of experience in the industry, and has structured the course to cater for the increased pressure on the industry.
The Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) said Australia’s aging population has altered many aspects of Australia’s health system and increased the demand placed on paramedic staff that need to have a high level of clinical skill to cater for the increase in chronic disease.
The degree at USC will ultimately incorporate contemporary knowledge to educate students of advanced care and encourage them to be life long learners that will improve and update the growing paramedic industry.
Mr Prass said: “Feedback gained from the industry and the Queensland Ambulance Service is that the new program’s curriculum is both innovative and in line with where the future scope of the profession is heading, and this is reassuring that it is supported receiving quality feedback by the potential stakeholders (employers).”
According to the QAS, 200 paramedic graduates are required each year to cater for the growing demands of the industry and replace staff turnover. However, it is predicted that at the end of 2007 there will only be 50 paramedic graduates, which falls exceedingly short of industry demand.
Mr Prass commended the work done by paramedics.
“The Queensland Ambulance Service do it incredibly well, considering the ever-increasing demands and cost on providing service delivery to an aging population and a drastically increasing case ambulance load,” he said.
“Incredibly, the increase in ambulance case load was reported in 2006 to increase by nearly 500,000 more emergency response calls than what was recorded the previous year.
“This demonstrates the stretch being applied to ambulances services Australia wide to deliver services and recruit qualified paramedic staff.”
The paramedic science degree at USC will begin in 2008 and there has been a positive response from students. The new degree will enable students to graduate completely qualified and ready to enter the work force.
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