Objectives, taxonomies and competencies of community oriented and community based education applied to community paramedicine

Abstract

William Joseph Leggio

The role of a paramedic has primarily been to provide emergency care. This role is being rethought of with discussions of developing a community paramedic. The reach of this development and expanded scope of practice remained unknown. This article reviewed scholarly literature on the topic of community paramedics to present a critical analysis and triangulation of community oriented and community based education (CBE) to current paramedic education guidelines to identify shared objectives. The focus of paramedic education was identified to be on emergency assessment and intervention. Whereas, CBE was focused on assessing community needs to develop, implement and evaluate community intervention. A limited number of shared objectives were identified. The time spent on these shared objectives was unclear. Additional education will be required to cover the unshared objectives, and the profession must consider educational standards, requirements and how to increase inter professional collaboration within health systems, academic settings and within communities, which are core objectives of community-based providers. It must also be considered if the needs for community paramedics represent the pinnacle of current emergency medical services and time to evolve organizations, the profession and standards.