March 2011
Ambulance Victoria Vocational
and Graduate Education Manager Tina Ivanov and Deakin University-Northern
Health Senior Research Fellow Julie Considine (centre) with Inter-Professional
Graduate Program participants Nathan Greenland, Emma Bywater, Katrina Born, Sam
Jones, Lisa Smoorenberg, Carly Bearder, Melody Bearder, Anna Kioltzitzis, Emily
Hartwig and Claire Giddings.
Paramedics and nurses join forces
The Inter-Professional Graduate
Program (IPG) has begun with 10 participants.
‘This Australian-first
initiative will enable graduates who complete a double degree in paramedicine
and nursing to work as nurses and paramedics over an 18-month period,’ said
Northern Health Chief Executive Officer Greg Pullen.
‘The current graduate models (before
IPG) have not allowed for working across both disciplines – you either
had to choose a nursing graduate year, which meant you were not using your
paramedic skills for 12 months and vice versa.
‘IPG is about allowing
participants to get graduate experience in both fields concurrently so they can
make the most of skills that overlap and consolidate the skills that are
different.
‘This could be one of the
greatest changes in the way we use our health workforce.’
‘The IPG program graduates will
develop a greater understanding of the management of a patient across the
health continuum, from pre-hospital to emergency department and beyond,’ said
Ambulance Victoria CEO Greg Sassella.
‘They will see first-hand how
the interventions they apply cascade across the ongoing management of a
patient.
‘This will benefit the community
as it will promote greater empathy between the disciplines, resulting in
greater collaboration and co‑operation
to provide the best care for the patient.
‘The program has been developed
to make the most of the similarities between working as a nurse and paramedic
and also being careful to maintain the special features of each profession,’ Mr
Sassella said.
The 10 graduates were selected from 16 interested candidates at Monash University.
