Introduction
In this summary of articles it is the intention to explore through citation to five articles the wider context of professional development within health care services. The choice of articles reflect training and development for health workers, and in so doing, I have chosen four articles that consider the development of ambulance personnel.
My fifth and final article concerns accountability for professionals in health care, in that, as in the first articles we are made aware of professionalization through training, it is also just as important to be ‘accountable’ when things do not go well, and services fail to meet optimum levels of care.
In considering the articles through their dialogue and impact, it is anticipated that one will learn that, each has its own particular ‘voice’ towards its reader, but, in hindsight a collection of articles can also, provide sound clarity towards understanding a wider subject, in our case: professionalization through training, development and ultimately, accountability.
Setting the scene for the paramedic in primary care
Describe
This article explores the implications for the development of the paramedic workforce in the United Kingdom. In so doing, the author intends to explore and guide the reader through the plethora of complex and workforce development issues that will be required in a 21st century service. Moreover, the necessity to engage paramedics in managing, engaging and ensuring that they are proactive in team work, management systems, the wider complexity of moving towards holistic levels of care that engage a multifaceted health care team.
Evaluate
The methodology for the research data in the article was captured from a qualitative method, in that exploration of literature captured within a short timeframe was used to affect the wider exploration of development of the paramedical services in the UK. This information was totally literature based: reports, academic papers, educational and service led.
However, the author was also careful to ensure that his raw data was a reflection of practices ongoing in the service, by a complementary secondary data gathering system of holding a series of meetings with key professionals at the frontline of this service, as also, those who manage the service from direct control; but, interestingly he also engaged some of the professional educators who were responsible for ensuring that training and development to ensure professionalization was a current ongoing process.
The process engaged a wide ‘snap shot’ of professionals, from the frontline to the management teams in a typical service arrangement in the UK. Ethically, the research provided no obstacles as actual service users were not engaged, but, the fairness of the ‘grassroots’ picture supported the wide and complex literature review; thus allowing for a sound and interesting series of findings.
Suggest
The article offered me as a future professional in this sector of health, a very wide and interesting ‘snapshot’ of how the service has evolved and developed over a short time span, from being a simple, first aid orientated ambulatory transport service, to a highly skilled and professionally orientated workforce.
This in itself, also gave serious interest to my professional development, in that, it helped me realise that this service is currently a high skill environment, which now not only complements the health service profession in his/her work, but, in its own right, takes ‘actual’ frontline decisions, management in emergency care to a greater level, which is certainly an evolving and proactive ‘hands on’ profession, at the forefront of health care.
Record
From a purely personal professional point of view, the article gave me a real overview of the service, allowed me to think through the complexity of my future role and how, provided I can train to an optimum standard, I could also be at the cutting edge of this developing and constantly evolving professional workforce. I would hope that my personal development would evolve to be able to be a good strong and consistent team player within the service.
Educating the ambulance technician, paramedic, and clinical supervisor
Describe
This article provides an insight into the very huge transition the training of ambulance service personnel in the UK has taken over the last four decades, in that moving from a simple focused service of ‘basic’ first aid and transportation in its early days, to one of a highly skilled and professionalised service, that has a range of professional roles, each with their skills, training needs and qualification framework.
Moreover, in the current period of time the complexity to develop and provide training across a hugely diverse service is currently in-vogue. The article highlights the wider consultation across a range disciplines in the service, to ensure that each role is enabled to develop through its educational systems, qualifications and professional agencies.
Evaluate
The methodology of this article was extremely complex and in the main followed a qualitative method that engaged the ‘Delphi Technique’, ensuring a well and rounded team of professionals, psychometric testing and questionnaires, peer reviews ensured quality raw data gathering. To ensure triangulation a qualitative method engaged a very wide and varied system of research, from discussion, meetings and oral interviews.
Thereafter, the raw quantitative data could be reviewed and supported, by the wider gathering of the qualitative methods used. The whole study that presented the current article was well balanced, the use of the Delphi Technique ensured parity with other health related studies, and thereby, ensured that the work would be seen as professionally accountable.
Ethically, the study was balanced, according to the article and that because of a wide and varied use of groups of professional, sub-sectors and external agencies, the study has a strong message that can be attested by other professionals.
Suggest
I found this article more academic in that its language was presented more empirically, statistically and also, a little cumbersome, in that understanding aspects like the Delphi Technique engaged further personal research! But, the wider context although a re-reading was mandatory, provided a rounded picture of a service continual in review and development to ensure its future professionalization and recognition alongside other health service professions.
Record
The article gave me a clear and sound reaction that the service I would want to be more involved in has come through a transition from a basic health support service to one of professional integrity in its own right and that the development of its human resources is highly regarded and ongoing.
Training for Emergency Care Practitioners: BSc Degree
Describe
This article reviews to development of a degree programme that will complement the growth of the ambulance services in the UK. In so doing the course leader for the pilot degree offers his clear projection and academic foresight towards how this programme can be written, presented and developed as a ‘bolt on’ to the lower level professional qualifications already ongoing and established in the service.
Evaluate
The methodology of the article content and indeed context is purely qualitative, in that most of the material used is academic records, previous course reviews, planning and engagement for the service. However, it also provides some areas that may be seen as ‘drawbacks’ for some ambulance services/personnel, for example: educational skills/abilities gained, skills transition and transfer, ongoing development of personal skill planning which may impact on designing a future degree programme.
Nevertheless, the information gained from the Pilot group based at Coventry University, has highlighted how ‘fluid’ the programme would need to be for this unique and diverse profession.
Ethically, the article does provide a sound and easy to understand and apprise record for future training and development across the service; however, it does not and appears was not presented to provide more than a critique of current trends and potential for a professional degree programme.
Suggest
I found this article very interesting in that to understand the complexity of the wider implications of professional development in the service, the consideration is for a degree based system, that ‘bolts on’ to existing frameworks.
Record
The level of professionalization or indeed, the desire, is an ongoing reality that in part as a potential professional, it makes me aware that I have to aspire to continue to professionalise as I would not be joining a stagnating service, on the contrary, I would join on that is continuing evolving itself, which in hindsight is refreshing.
Contemporary UK paramedical training and education
Describe
The article explored how training and education are conducted and how it could be further developed in the South West of England. The article reviews current training needs, provides some answers to existing problems, eg: should it be ‘curricula based’, unitised, personalised etc. A good overview of the development of the service is given and a sound argument is provided for curriculum and programme led developments. But, what is even more clear is that the whole article reflects the voice and input of the services professionals at all levels of development and training.
Evaluate
As previously stated, the article is regionally biased, and that most if not all of the data are from that area of the UK. The data was gathered and in the main from a stratified sample of interviews, questionnaires, meetings, professional parings and also, open meetings/dialogue. This rich and varied data was also quantified to ensure that the records of the data reflected a sound projection of the results. This included skills in: clinical work, teamwork, management and other skills.
The results reflected both a, focused statistical bias that revealed a levelled need for prior service learning achievement through a credit scheme, rising to the need for a degree or graduated system that provided the best and optimum personal development goals for each worker. Moreover, it would ensure that the service would be led by those who aspired to higher academic and management potential.
Ethically this article soundly records a variant level of comment and input from across a large and varied workforce, in doing so, it ethically provides strong evidence of being realistic, variant and triangulated through stratified purposive sample.
Suggest
I found this article extremely interesting, but, much more focused than the other articles in that it revealed a service that had a real and purposeful desire to engage its workforce in development, moreover, a focus that allowed free comment and engagement of each person in the sample of brokering aspects of training and development that impact on joining and continuation of personal development, for example: credits for previous learning and career pathways for those of optimum abilities built upon the framework of both curricula and practical ‘work-based’ learning skills.
Record
From a personal viewpoint this article again focuses me on the level of professionalization that is attached to joining a service like that of the paramedical, and that sound desire for personal development is a key to ensuring success and achievement therein.
Re-evaluating re-validation and appraisal
Describe
This article is about re-evaluation, re-validation and appraisal within the context of failures in paediatric care within a UK health authority. This interesting article although in part a scathing attack on quality standards nevertheless provides again the absolute necessity for quality and professionalization in all aspects of health care.
The aspects of the article following Government agency reports, provide clarity towards ensuring accountability for health care professionals in that each should have, a professional plan for: re-evaluation, validation and appraisal of their conduct, actions, practices and ultimately their professionalism.
Evaluate
The article is empirical and therefore, qualitative in its methodology. The development of the article is within a series of statements, citations and part guidance towards clarity in best practice. The statements are main around a series of reports that impacted on the suspension of paediatric cardiac care in a Bristol UK unit following a series of unexplained infant mortalities.
Citations are rise from current guidance on best practice/outcomes by the professional colleges for health professionals in the UK, and from this premise the writer provides some further ‘in hindsight’ comments, into where the failed service could and should have focused its level of professional care.
From the ethical context the article provides a sound and salient plethora of both the argument for good practice and albeit the failure of implementing the already ‘established’ criteria and guidance.
Suggest
This article was stoically critical of professional failure and offered a complete review of practices that did not provide adequate systems of care. In so doing it provided me with a stark picture of ‘how’ it is so easy for professionals to become the ridicule of social norms, when things ‘go wrong’. It also shows that even in the best of circumstances, and in the wider context of care, when things go wrong, the desire for ‘accountability’ becomes the warning for all professionals engaged in health care.
Record
In this stark outlook, what the article provides is that if and when I become a professional in any of the health related services, my conduct will be scrutinised and reflection made on my conduct.
Conclusion
This summative assignment’s objective was to explore the wider context of professionalization in health care services, in so doing, we have reviewed four articles that provided insight in both a qualitative and quantitative reporting of data gathered to reveal the growing need for continuance of professionalization. In so doing a greater clarity and understanding was reached. However, to also reveal that there is also a significant ‘flipside’ to professionalization, the final article also explored accountability.
In conclusion, what has been achieved by the dissection of each article is that a sound and varied picture of professionalization has been found, albeit from different sources, notwithstanding this, each article, has also revealed a varied but not too dissimilar picture of a workforces’ need for continuing development, and when ‘things go wrong’ accountability is a necessity that provides the brakes.
References
Ball, L. (2005). Setting the scene for the paramedic in primary care: a review of the literature; Emergency Medical J; 22:896-900. Web.
Cooper, S. (2005) Contemporary UK paramedical training and education. How do we train? How should we educate? Emergency Medical J; 22:375-379. Web.
Gregory, P. (2006) Training for Emergency Care Practitioners: BSc Degree; Journal of Emergency Primary Health Care (JEPHC), Vol.4, Issue 1. Web.
Kilner, T. (2004) Educating the ambulance technician, paramedic, and clinical supervisor: using factor analysis to inform the curriculum’ Emergency Medical J 2004;21:379-385. Web.
Pringle, M. (2003) Re-evaluating re-validation and appraisal; British J General Practice. 53(491): 437–438. Web.