Excellence in Staff Development St John WA Critical Care Paramedic Internship

St John WA

Team: Gayle Christie, Anthony Lock

Since 2021 St John WA (SJWA) Deputy Medical Director, Dr Gayle Christie (now Medical Director), has worked with the Critical Care team to develop a robust and comprehensive internship program which is contemporary in design and firmly grounded in the most current evidence base. The primary objective was to develop and expand SJWA’s Critical Care capability aboard the RAC Rescue Helicopter, with a view to expand the capability to on-road.

The internship starts with a robust recruitment process involving a physical and a clinical competency assessment, as well as a behavioural-based interview utilising a Behavioural Competency Framework developed in consultation with an organisational psychologist. This is to ensure the most appropriate and well-rounded candidates get selected for this challenging role. Successful candidates are allocated a mentor from the Critical Care Paramedic (CCP) cohort, and have regular structured mentor reports to complete in order to set and achieve individual goals. Within their individual professional portfolio they complete six-monthly self-assessed skills competency assessments, logbooks for ultrasound (USS) and anaesthetic placements, work-based assessments comprising Direct Observation of procedural Skills, mini Clinical Evaluation Exercises and Case-based Discussions. They also have annual Personal and Professional Development Reviews with the Medical Director.

The curriculum is structured to reflect the content and requirements of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Diploma of Pre-Hospital Retrieval Medicine in order to prepare the SJWA CCPs for when this is hopefully opened up to non-physicians. It is split into six-month modules and comprises didactic lectures, workshops, case-based discussions, practical SIMEX sessions, clinical exposure, bespoke Human Factors training, aviation physiology and structured hospital placements in anaesthetics, USS, intensive care (ICU), paediatrics and the emergency department. At the end of every six-month module CCP interns undergo a written and practical assessment followed by a panel review of their progress with the CCP Manager, Medical Director and their CCP mentor. As of January 2023, SJWA has started to develop an online platform that will act as a curriculum repository and will be presented in a format similar to many online Masters programs.