Spring is officially here, although that might be hard to believe depending on the part of the province you were in this past week. I hope the warmer weather will soon be here to stay and that we can really start to get outside and enjoy it. This season of fresh starts couldn’t have come at a better time; our survey to gather interest in the proposed Bachelor of Paramedicine has just closed and now the next steps to reshape provincial paramedicine curriculum can begin.
This survey drew more member engagement than any before, and for good reason. These changes will shape the future of paramedicine in Alberta, and we are so glad to see that a whopping 2,085 of you contributed your voices. Of those respondents, over 80% agreed that the introduction of a Bachelor of Paramedicine degree is important to the paramedic profession, and 82% expressed a level of interest in obtaining a paramedicine degree. This data, along with lots of great written feedback, proved that paramedic education reform is a topic that generates a tremendous amount of interest. Shortly, an article of The Pulse will be published answering the most frequently asked questions, but, for now, I’d like to address some of the most sweeping questions myself to put some of your minds to ease.
Many of you wanted to know what exactly the curriculum entailed. This is still under review with educators. I can confidently say that we designed this program as a pathway to achieving a professional degree, with every course carefully developed to align with national competency frameworks and produce healthier, well-rounded practitioners. Specific courses and content continue to be refined, but you can expect the new curriculum to teach hard skills specific to patient care as well as strengthen clinical knowledge and critical thinking.
Concerns were raised about a degree program raising the barrier to entry for an in-demand profession. To clarify, the proposed structure will allow for a student to “step away” from the program at specific points and become registered as an EMR, PCP or ACP. The full 4-year program will not be a requirement to enter the profession. Further, members already in the field will not be required to update their education to continue practicing. The new framework is an opportunity for new and current practitioners alike to advance their education and depth of knowledge and potentially choose to obtain a degree in paramedicine while doing so.
You also asked how current practitioners will bridge into the program; rest assured, we are developing pathways to recognize existing training and education. You will not need to start from scratch.
The EMR program will receive some updates, but the real changes will be to the PCP and ACP programs. The new framework will extend the PCP program to provide a more robust foundational knowledge base and better prepare practitioners for a longer, healthier career. As such, the ACP portion of the program has been respectively shortened. The focus will be on key skills and knowledge specific to ACPs, and we expect that this change will make the step from PCP to ACP a less onerous one. Keep an eye out on The Pulse for more information on this important topic.
In other news, the College is aware of the ministry’s announcement to move public ground ambulance services under the responsibility of the newly created Acute Care Alberta. We recognize this represents a significant shift in how EMS is managed in the province, and we have been advised that this will lead to greater efficiencies within our provincial system. While this change is not part of the College’s jurisdiction, we appreciate that a large number of our members will be affected in some way, and we trust that the role of the day-to-day practitioner will not be significantly negatively impacted.
I will wrap up this message by reminding you all that we are adding a second course to our Learning Management System (LMS) in the coming days. Just like our existing course on Regulatory Knowledge, this new course on will be online, free and eligible for CE credits as a part of our commitment to making CC learning more accessible. Watch out for the announcement on course details and, if you haven’t already, please check out the site. We welcome any thoughts you have as we venture into this new endeavour, so don’t hesitate to direct questions or feedback to LMS@ABparamedics.com.
Thank you again to all who contributed to our recent survey. I look forward to the chance to share more information at our Annual Members’ Meeting (AMM) on May 21 and encourage you all to join us there.
Take care and stay safe,
Tim A. Ford
Registrar