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Profiling the Australasian paramedicine tertiary academic sector and workforce A cross-sectional study395.06 kB
Published VersionCC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Profiling the Australasian paramedicine tertiary academic sector and workforce: A cross-sectional study
Paramedicine, Vol.20(6), pp.206-213
2023
Abstract
Introduction: In 1994, the first Australasian paramedicine tertiary program commenced as an off-campus offering not required as an entry-to-practice qualification A quarter of a century later, university programs have proliferated with ter-tiary qualifications becoming mandatory to acquire Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency registration. Despite this progression, concerns have been voiced regarding student enrolment volume and sustainability of the paramedicine academic workforce. To date, a census of the sector and the workforce has not been conducted, limiting capacity for data-informed strategic planning. The aim of this study was to profile the Australasian paramedicine tertiary sector and describe the academic workforce working in it. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2022 using an online survey designed specifically for this research. The participants were discipline leaders from 19 universities or polytechnics offering entry-to-practice courses in Australia and New Zealand. Participants were asked to provide data on their course structure, organisational position, student enrolment loads and academic and non-academic staffing profiles. Simple descriptive statistics were generated to describe these data. Results: Of the 19 eligible programs, 18 participated (response rate 90%). All but one course was at the undergraduate level; of the undergraduate courses, all but one were 3 years in duration. The academic workforce comprised 161 full-time or fractional and 727 casual paramedicine academics. Of the full-time academics, 131/161 were registered, with 45% of those holding 'non-practicing' status. Twenty-nine paramedicine academics (18%) had PhDs. There was 1 Professor and 10 Associate Professors, whilst 65% overall were Lecturers or Associate Lecturers. Conclusion: This analysis represents the first description of the Australasian paramedicine tertiary sector. It reveals a diverse sector with large student enrolments and diverse course structures. The seniority of the academic workforce is skewed substantially towards lower academic levels; this shortfall in senior academics creates risk for the sector and may be symptomatic of a workforce sustainability issue.
Details
- Title
- Profiling the Australasian paramedicine tertiary academic sector and workforce: A cross-sectional study
- Authors
- Paul Simpson (Corresponding Author) - Western Sydney UniversityNigel Barr (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - ParamedicineDavid Reid (Author) - Edith Cowan UniversityMalcolm J Boyle (Author) - Griffith UniversityBrett Williams (Author) - Monash University
- Publication details
- Paramedicine, Vol.20(6), pp.206-213
- Publisher
- Sage Publications Ltd.
- Date published
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.1177/27536386231185602
- ISSN
- 2753-6386
- Copyright note
- This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health - Paramedicine
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99738098002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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