PMEDPRA10 Clinical Studies A, Placement in the Ambulance Service Course description

The course PMEDPRA10 comprises supervised clinical training, mainly in the road ambulance service. The learning outcomes from all the previous courses are actualised, integrated, tested in clinical practice and form the basis for the development of clinical competence. The students must be able to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes that are necessary to solve tasks and challenges in clinical practice settings.

The learning outcomes are achieved through the completion of varied ambulance jobs. Students are expected to show progress, take responsibility and, to an increasing extent, make independent assessments of patients.

The student must have passed the first year of the programme or equivalent, except the second part of the exam in the course PMED1300, the Drug Calculations exam.

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

Knowledge

The student

• can explain how medical equipment is used for assessment, diagnostics and treatment of acutely ill and injured patients
• can describe responsible drugs administration in relation to laws, regulations and local guidelines
• can explain how fundamental evidence-based guidelines are used in examinations, treatment and diagnostics of acutely ill and injured patients
• can explain the relevance of the Patients Rights’ Act in patient-centred care
• can explain the relevance of the Health Personnel Act in patient-centred care
• can describe the Patient Records Act
• can describe the significance of the Act relating to Control of Communicable Diseases in patient-centred care
• can describe the practice placements locations general routines and guidelines

Skills

The student

• can carry out routine daily and weekly tasks at the practice placement location in accordance with local guidelines
• masters relevant diagnostic medical equipment, including the transfer of electrocardiography (ECG) to the relevant receiving authority
• can apply risk assessment principles and implement measures to maintain their own, patients’ and other people’s health and safety
• masters basic use of infection control equipment
• can use communication tools in accordance with applicable national guidelines and procedures and explain the use of them and other relevant IT tools in operational work
• can carry out patient conversations based on basic communication principles
• can assess and implement necessary interventions based on the primary survey of the acutely ill or injured patients in a professional and caring manner
• can facilitate the patient’s consent to health assistance independent of age, physical condition, maturity and experience
• can collect, critically assess and process patient data in accordance with relevant regulations of confidentiality
• can interact with patients, next of kin, colleagues, partners and others, independent of gender, age and ethnic background
• masters basic lifting and handling techniques
• can, in cooperation with the supervisor, hand out and administer pharmaceuticals to patients
• can monitor drug intake and observe possible immediate reactions to the administered drug
• masters the dilution of drugs
• can, in cooperation with the supervisor, assess and treat acutely ill or injured patients on the basis of signs and symptoms identified in the secondary survey in a professionally responsible and caring manner
• can cooperate with the supervisor in choosing the level of care and destination
• can document relevant and necessary information about the patient in the patient care report form
• can cooperate with the supervisor on patient handover

General competence

The student

• can handle hygiene and infection principles to provide responsible health care
• can show respect and care in a safe and efficient manner that fosters good relations with patients, next of kin, colleagues and partners
• can identify and reflect on laws that are relevant for professional practice
• can identify and reflect on ethical issues in dealings with patients, next of kin, colleagues and partners
• can reflect on their own learning strategies
• can handle feedback and guidance
• can reflect on interdisciplinary cooperation

The work and teaching methods comprise supervised clinical training, seminars, simulation and skills training and work on reflection notes. Some of the students will receive training in driving emergency vehicles during the course, while other students will receive such training later on in the programme.

The course consists of a week of preparation and 15 weeks of supervised clinical training in the ambulance service. The content of the placement periods varies with the activities at the practice placement location at any time, and will therefore include a range of different arenas for clinical training in terms of problems, diagnoses and complexity.

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:

a. Research ethics seminar 1 and 2 must be fully attended.

b. Approved thesis outline.

c. A signed contract with the appointed supervisor.

Assessment

Thesis. Submission of master’s thesis according to program specifications, consisting of 1 scientific article. Technical standards according to the current APA manual. Submitting dates each year: June 15th and November 15th.

Thesis format

The 30 ECTS Master’s thesis for BSCA consists of one article written in accordance with the author guidelines specified in the current APA Publication Manual. The length should be appropriate for the work that is reported, but should commonly not exceed 40 pages, including the title page, references, tables, and figures, but excluding appendices.

Ethics and data protection

An account of ethical considerations is required if the thesis includes empirical data on humans or nonhuman animals. A risk -and vulnerability analysis (ROS-vurdering) should normally be conducted, and a case number should be included in the title page of the thesis article. If data on humans are included in the thesis, an account of data protection issues is typically required. The description of ethical and data protection considerations can be included in the main body of the thesis. If the decision is made that such an account is not appropriate in the main body of the thesis, a reflection note on this topic should be attached to the thesis. A reflection note is a short description of ethical and data protection considerations, maximum 6000 characters, including spaces. For theses that do not include empirical data, research ethics relevant to the thesis should be discussed, either in the main body of the text or a reflection note

Some Master projects may require consideration or approval from external bodies, such as Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD), the Regional Committee for Medicine and Health Sciences Research Ethics (REK), National Committee for Research Ethics in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (NESH), and/or internal or external data protection officials. It is ultimately the responsibility of the main supervisor to ensure that the relevant bodies are consulted. If external bodies are consulted, a case number should be included in the title page of the thesis article. If a decision is made that there is no need to consult external bodies regarding ethics or data protection, a description of the deliberations preceding this decision is required, either in the main body of the thesis or in the reflection note. If the thesis is an empirical work, the main supervisor must state in writing that the research is conducted in accordance with current laws and regulations before the thesis can be submitted.

All

Grade scale A-F

One internal and one external examiner will assess all exams.

20 credits overlap with the course PARAPRA1 Clinical Studies Part 1