PARAPRA2AB Clinical Studies 2 Course description

The courses PARAPRA1 and PARAPRA2AB comprise supervised clinical training, mainly in the ambulance service. The first part of PARAPRA2AB (part A) makes up six weeks during the fifth semester. The final part (part B) makes up nine weeks during the sixth semester. The learning outcomes from all the previous courses are updated, integrated, tested in clinical training and form the basis for the development of new theoretical and practical competence.

The learning outcomes are very similar for the two clinical training courses. They are achieved by participation in a variety of ambulance call-outs to patients with different injuries and diseases. The student is expected to show progress, take responsibility and, to an increasing extent, make independent assessments in prehospital work.

Passed the first and second years of the programme.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• is capable of using theory to give grounds for his/her clinical practice
• is capable of explaining how advanced lifesaving diagnosis and treatment can affect the planning and performance of clinical ambulance activities
• is capable of explaining and reflecting on the use of all available equipment
• is capable of asking questions based on theoretical knowledge and experience gained from practical training
• is capable of explaining and reflecting on the choice of systems for patient record documentation
• is capable of explaining and reflecting on the use of tools and methods in lifesaving measures in clinical ambulance activities
• is capable of reflecting on the risk factors in prehospital pharmacological treatment
• has broad theoretical knowledge of tools and methods used in clinical ambulance activities
• has broad knowledge of research in prehospital emergency medicine
• is capable of keeping up to date with research in key areas in clinical ambulance activities

Skills

Under minimal supervision, the student can

• recognise signs and symptoms of possible serious illness or injury
• use standardised examinations and treatment guidelines
• plan, assess and carry out treatment measures adapted to the individual patient's needs
• apply and supervise others in the use of all equipment available in the ambulance
• assess the need to obtain assistance or refer the patient
• write ambulance patient records in accordance with the guidelines
• document in writing and evaluate his/her own clinical work in accordance with the practical training institution's procedures and guidelines
• apply and supervise others in the use of transfer techniques
• explore professional issues in a systematic, evidence-based and reflective manner
• drive an emergency vehicle

General competence

The student

• is capable of organising his/her own work and maintaining order and hygiene in clinical activities
• is capable of initiating patient treatment in order of priority in accordance with the applicable legislation, framework conditions and professional ethics guidelines
• demonstrates empathy, care, understanding and respect in relation to patients, next of kin and colleagues
• is capable of reflecting on interdisciplinary cooperation
• is capable of reporting relevant patient information to other cooperating health personnel and agencies within the applicable legal limits
• is capable of identifying his/her own knowledge needs, demonstrating insight in relation to his/her own learning needs and obtaining new knowledge and skills
• is capable of assessing the results of his/her own work in cooperation with others
• is capable of giving constructive feedback and supervising others

The work and teaching methods comprise supervised clinical training, group supervision approx. every four weeks organised by the contact lecturer at OsloMet, and writing a log.

Practical training

Fifteen weeks of clinical training and one day of practical training preparations. The content of the practical training periods will vary with the activities at the institution where the practical training takes place at any time, and will therefore offer varied arenas for clinical training in terms of problems, diagnoses and complexity.

This course is a continuation of and specialisation in relation to the course Emergency Medicine A (PARA2000). The focus is on certain challenging treatment issues and patient groups with special needs.

Assessment content: The learning outcomes

Form of assessment: Combined assessment:

Part 1) Assessment of clinical training. A compulsory attendance requirement applies to clinical training. Students must make up for absence exceeding 10% by agreement with the practical training supervisor and the practical training institution. If a student's absence exceeds 20%, he/she will fail the course.

Part 2) Emergency vehicle driving test, theoretical and practical test in driving emergency vehicles organised by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. The theoretical emergency vehicle driving test must be taken before the practical test, cf. the emergency vehicle regulations Section 29.

Students must pass both part 1 clinical training and part 2 emergency vehicle driving test in order to pass the course. If the student fails one part of the course, this part must be retaken.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• has broad knowledge of tentative diagnosis and intervention linked to emergency medical conditions
• has knowledge of drug treatment for children and pregnant and breastfeeding women
• has knowledge of gynaecological conditions and obstetrics
• has knowledge of diseases and injuries that affect patient groups with special needs, such as newborn babies, children, the elderly, people with chronic illnesses and people with disabilities
• has knowledge of and can recognise neglect and abuse in vulnerable patient groups
• has knowledge of children's development
• has knowledge of normal physiological parameters in children
• has knowledge of how aging affects the development and treatment of emergency medical conditions
• has knowledge of how to practise the duty of confidentiality in relation to minors/persons without legal capacity
• has knowledge of the duty to report to other agencies (the police, child welfare service) in the event of e.g. suspicion of abuse or neglect
• has knowledge of Section 29 c of the Health Personnel Act Information to be used in learning work and quality assurance

Skills

The student

• is capable of assessing the connections between signs and symptoms in emergency medical conditions in one or more organ systems
• is capable of recognising and assisting in normal and complicated births outside a hospital setting
• is capable of examining, assessing and treating ill and injured children
• is capable of examining, assessing and treating very old patients and patients suffering from dementia
• is capable of explaining the differences between hospital levels, the municipal health service's care levels and the health trusts' division/centralisation of special functions in order to choose the correct destination in different clinical situations

General competence

The student

• is capable of planning and carrying out relevant emergency medicine tasks linked to ambulance call-outs
• has an efficient and expedient prehospital approach to a broad range of patients

The work and teaching methods vary between lectures, seminars, study groups, simulation and skills training, observational practice and self-study.

Practical training

The students do around 2 days of observational practice at a children's ward. The students also complete simulation and skills training in simulator-based birth assistance, systematic patient examination and documentation, decision-making in emergency medicine, choosing treatment and transport strategies and the use of monitoring equipment.