The paramedic course at Charles Sturt University (CSU) continues to grow as record student enrolments and new lecturers join the School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst.

 

Professor Brian Maguire, the newly-appointed Professor of Paramedic Practice and Leadership at the School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, said, “We welcomed 200 new students into the CSU paramedic program this year, and we now offer two new postgraduate courses. These are the Graduate Certificate in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Leadership and Management, and the Graduate Diploma of Clinical Practice (Paramedic).

 

“The paramedic program won two very significant grants in the past year. One grant is helping to build a new clinical simulation centre at the University in Bathurst, and another grant will help to develop additional clinical placement opportunities for students.

 

“We will soon welcome another new faculty member to the paramedic program, and in August about a dozen paramedic students will travel to the USA for two weeks to gain international work experience with paramedic teams in New York City.

 

“And increasing numbers of Australian defence force personnel are enrolling in our distance education paramedic courses as part of their practical professional development.”

 

Mr Joe Acker, senior lecturer in pre-hospital care at CSU in Bathurst, recently participated in the invitation-only international Paramedic G4 Strategic Planning Summit in Ottawa, Canada (Friday 29 April to Saturday 30 April), which aimed to establish an international strategic plan for paramedics.

 

“Charles Sturt University is viewed as a leader in paramedic education due to its range of innovative undergraduate, postgraduate and distance education courses, and its international links,” said Mr Acker.

 

“Interestingly, one of the strategic outcomes of the forum was to adopt an international position statement that requires that all paramedics should be university-educated paramedic graduates before gaining employment with an ambulance service. This is already the position of several states in Australia.”

 

More information about CSU paramedic courses can be found here.