The newly-appointed Professor of Paramedic Practice and Leadership at Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) School of Biomedical Sciences in Bathurst, Professor Peter O’Meara, has returned from teaching a one week course for paramedics from several states centred around the  US state of Illinois. “They have a very different system in the US to ours in Australia,” Professor O’Meara explained. “The professional practice and management issues are similar, however they have 17 000 ambulance service providers compared to eight in Australia. Services range from very small to moderately sized organisations serving a city or regional community and there are no state-wide services. Many are run by the fire brigade, others by city councils, hospitals and private companies, some for profit and others not-for-profit. In Australia we are well advanced in the education and training of paramedics and ambulance service managers. However, we can learn from experiences in the US where they face challenges over a very large and diverse country. I see potentially great opportunities for the University to extend into the US paramedic education market in partnership with professional associations and other universities involved in paramedic education. I am also pursuing opportunities for CSU paramedic students to undertake clinical placements in the US.”