In September 2020 we introduced a new curriculum. The following information will help Practice Educators (PEds) and Practice Supervisors to understand the knowledge and skills that they can expect their ARU Paramedic Science student to have when they are on placement.
Our Paramedic Science course is designed to teach students the knowledge and skills they need so they can meet the competencies of the HCPC Standards of Proficiency for Paramedics at the end of the third year of their course (level 6 study). It structures teaching so that students learn about common patient presentations, their underlying medical conditions, and how to assess and manage those conditions from early on in their course. As the course progresses, the students will go through different patient presentations, moving from common to rarer.
The students are also prepared for their practice development and clinical decision-making by teaching them about the dual processing model of clinical reasoning: Type 1 and Type 2 reasoning. They will also understand the diagnostic errors that originate in these two processes and to what extent cognitive biases and knowledge deficits contribute to errors. They may incorporate this model for reflection of their clinical practice to develop their performance and professional awareness.
This overview of the course structure, together with the module titles, should assist PEds to understand what knowledge and skills a student is likely to have when they come out on placement. In general, the modules are named after patient presentations that we teach the knowledge and skills a paramedic would have to assess, diagnose, treat and refer patients presenting with those symptoms.
By coming to placement, the students gain the clinical exposure necessary to consolidate, contextualise and practice their knowledge and skills with real patients in a live environment.
View the Paramedic Science module structure as a flowchart (PDF)
| Knowledge/skill | Module |
| Primary survey on an adult or child | PCP |
| ‘A to E’ assessment of a patient | FPACDM |
| History taking structure (Calgary Cambridge consultation, Socrates, medical model of history taking (PC, HxPC, PMH, DHx etc.) in both adults and children | FPACDM |
| Baseline observations | FPACDM |
| Cardiovascular system examination | CP&SOB |
| Respiratory system examination | CP&SOB |
| ECG placement and interpretation | CP&SOB |
| Basic airway maneuvers and airway adjuncts (OP and NP airway and suction) | PCP |
| Basic life support (including use of a BVM and AED) | PCP |
| Use an oxygen cylinder and mask selection | PCP |
| Medical conditions presenting with chest pain and associated pharmacology | CP&SOB |
| Medical conditions presenting with shortness of breath and associated pharmacology | CP&SOB |
| Safe manual handling techniques (including standing and transferring patients, small handling aids, carry chairs, scoops, trolleys). Note students will not have been familiarized on ambulance service specific equipment. This should take place in the placement environment. | PCP |
| Infection prevention control | PCP |
| First aid (dressings and slings) | PCP |
Please bear in mind that though the students will have been taught the above knowledge and skills prior to this placement, they will not have had the opportunity to contextualise them within the live placement setting. One of the main aims of placement is to allow our students to contextualise, practice and consolidate the knowledge and skills they have learnt in our classrooms and skills labs in a more efficient and effective way than if they did not have a placement opportunity.
| Knowledge/skills | Module |
| Neurological system examination | IC&MH |
| History taking in mental health patients | IC&MH |
| Medical conditions presenting with altered consciousness | IC&MH |
| Mental health conditions | IC&NH |
| Advanced life support including manual defibrillation, knowledge of cardiac arrest drugs, breaking bad news | RS |
| Advanced airway skills: supraglottic airway devices. (Intubation is taught but competency is not required). Needle cricothyroidotomy in children. | RS |
| Intravenous access and Intraosseous access | RS |
| Knowledge/skills | Module |
| Abdominal system examination | APMF |
| Lymphatic system examination | APMF |
| History taking and examination in pregnancy | APMF |
| Child delivery: normal and difficult deliveries | APMF |
| Complication of pregnancy: haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia | APMF |
| Medical conditions presenting with abdominal pain | APMF |
| Medical conditions presenting with fever | APMF |
| Modifications to the primary survey and A to E assessment in trauma | TS |
| Trauma dressings | TS |
| Immobilisation in trauma: collars, splints | TS |
| Extrication using longboards and scoops | TS |
| Needle thoracocentesis | TS |
Download our student progress through the BSc programme presentation (PDF) for more details about each of the modules.