Past accreditation consultations

The main difference between the draft proposed Accreditation Standards: Paramedicine and the Council of Ambulance Authority (CAA) accreditation standards is that the draft proposed Accreditation Standards reflect an outcome-focussed approach.

The five domains reflect the structure initiated by the Australian Dental Council and adopted by nine other professions. The Accreditation Committee has structured the Accreditation Standards within these five domains to enhance consistency across the National Scheme and reduce the regulatory burden for education providers.

Assuring safe practice is central to draft proposed Accreditation Standard 1 and is paramount in the design, implementation and monitoring of paramedicine programs. The draft proposed Accreditation Standards require that formal mechanisms exist to ensure students in the program are fit to practise safely at all times (Accreditation Standard 1.2). This includes all aspects of safe practice, including, but not limited to workplace health and safety; manual handling; infection prevention and control; and mental health.

The draft proposed Accreditation Standards recognise that graduates of paramedicine programs of study need a working knowledge of factors that contribute to and influence the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. These factors include history, spirituality, relationship to land and other social determinants of health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

The draft proposed Accreditation Standards recognise that cultural safety is determined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, families and communities and that, in order to ensure culturally safe and respectful practice, health practitioners must:

1. acknowledge colonisation and systemic racism, social, cultural, behavioural and economic factors which impact individual and community health;
2. acknowledge and address individual racism, their own biases, assumptions, stereotypes and prejudices and provide care that is holistic, free of bias and racism;
3. recognise the importance of self-determined decision-making, partnership and collaboration in healthcare which is driven by the individual, family and community; and
4. foster a safe working environment through leadership to support the rights and dignity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and colleagues.

In addition, the draft proposed Accreditation Standards state:  

• The education provider actively recruits or draws on staff or other individuals with the knowledge, expertise and cultural capabilities to facilitate learning in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. (Standard 2.15).
• Cultural competence is to be integrated in the design and implementation of programs of study and should be articulated in learning objectives. The Standard states that an emphasis should be placed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and cultural safety. (Standard 3.1)
• Unit/subject learning outcomes and assessment in the program that specifically reference the relevant National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards, including in relation to collaborative practice, team-based care and culturally safe healthcare, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. (Standard 3.6)

The Accreditation Committee expects that students are given extensive and diverse work-integrated learning experiences in a range of settings with a range of patients/clients and clinical presentations.

The Accreditation Committee considers that direct patient/client encounters throughout the program will help ensure students achieve the professional capabilities needed by paramedics. Education providers are expected to explain how the entire range of work-integrated learning experiences will ensure graduates achieve the professional capabilities.

The Accreditation Committee expects the education provider to engage with practitioners acting as work integrated learning supervisors. The examples of engagement supplied by the education provider should show work-integrated learning supervisors have an opportunity to give feedback to the education provider on students’ work-integrated learning experiences.

Examples of how student learning outcomes will be measured are included throughout the draft proposed Accreditation Standards. In the Assessment domain for example, draft proposed Accreditation Standards. In the assessment domain, draft proposed Accreditation Standard 5.2 states:

Yes, feedback from students is an integral part of assessing an education provider’s performance against the Accreditation Standards. For example, interviews could be held with a random sample of students to gain insight.

The draft Accreditation Standards will be updated following consideration of your feedback and considered by the Accreditation Committee in April 2020. From there, it is anticipated that approval will be sought from the Paramedicine Board of Australia in mid-2020, for implementation in the second half of the year.