This document provides an overview of chapters in a paramedic studies course, covering topics such as professionalism, human factors, communication, sociology, ethics, psychology, leadership, and safeguarding. The chapters discuss defining concepts, identifying relevant factors, and answering questions related to paramedic practice. Key points addressed include the themes of professionalism, causes of stress and fatigue, types of communication, applying sociological imagination, ethical principles, applying health psychology, distinguishing leadership and management styles, defining vulnerable persons, and signs of abuse. The document concludes with reviewing vital signs assessment.

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Paramedic Studies
Name: Safiya Charles
School: Synergy Training Institute
Course: Medical Administrative Assistance
Teacher: Ms. Gail Nanan
Email: chenellec27@gmail.com

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1-...................................................................................................................................Pg4
1. What are the three main themes that constitute professionalism?
2. What may influence the understanding of professionalism for paramedics?
3. Does behaving professionally apply to when you are on duty or when you are off duty?
4. . What are the five levels of outcome that fitness to practice panels judge individual
student or registered paramedic cases proven to have behaved unprofessionally?
Chapter 2-................................................................................................................................pg 5-6
1. What are human factors?
2. Identify five human factors which affect paramedic practice.
3. List six signs of stress.
4. Identify five causes of stress in the pre-hospital setting.
5. What causes paramedic fatigue?
6. What would you consider to be hazardous attitudes?
Chapter 3-.................................................................................................................................Pg7-8
1. What is communication?
2. Who do pre-hospital professionals communicate with?
3. What are the two main types of communication?
4. Why does poor communication occur?
5. List three consequences of poor communication.
Chapter 4……………………………………………………………………………………….Pg 9
1. Define ‘sociology’.
2. . Describe what Mills meant by ‘sociological imagination.
3. Identify social and cultural factors that can influence your health beliefs and your
experience of health and ill health.
4. Consider the case study at the beginning of the chapter and explain how social
interaction can lead to stigmatization and social rationing.
5. Describe the consequences of medicalization.
Chapter 5………………………………………………………………………………………Pg10
1. Can a paramedic treat a patient without their verbal consent?

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2. What is a duty of care?
3. What does the term ‘patient’s best interest’ mean?
4. . What are the four main ethical principles?
Chapter6-...................................................................................................................................Pg11
1. If someone were to ask you, how would you explain the concept of the psychology of
healthcare?
2. Why is health psychology relevant to the role of the paramedic?
3. How can health psychology be applied to practice
Chapter 7-.............................................................................................................................Pg12-13
1. Define the difference between leadership and management.
2. What does the word ‘leader’ originally mean?
3. What does ‘situational’ or ‘contingency’ leadership involve?
4. Identify three distinct leadership styles.
Chapter 8………………………………………………………………………………..…Pg14-15
1. What is a ‘vulnerable person’?
2. What is abuse?
3. What might the signs of abuse be?
4. What is the difference between risk management and safeguarding?
Week 5…………………………………………………………………………………….Pg16-19
1. Draw and label the pulse points
2. Draw or print the heart
3. Medical Terminology
4. Overview of the Human Body
5. Vital sign basic- Temperature basic
6. Pulse Basic
7. Respiration Basic
8. Blood Pressure Basic
Reference…………………………………………………………………………………Pg 20

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Professionalism In Paramedic Practice
Chapter 1
1. What are the three main themes that constitute professionalism?
➢ Professional parameters (e.g. legal and ethical aspects)
➢ Professional behaviors (e.g. discipline-related knowledge and skills)
➢ Professional responsibilities (e.g. responsibility to patients, oneself, employers, and the
public)
2. What may influence the understanding of professionalism for paramedics?
Professional identity, professional socialization, and professional culture will each
influence understanding of what professionalism is within particular professions.
3. Does behaving professionally apply to when you are on duty or when you are off duty?
Paramedics are to behave professionally when they are on duty and when they are off
duty.
4. . What are the five levels of outcome that fitness to practice panels judge individual
student or registered paramedic cases proven to have behaved unprofessionally?
❖ No case to answer
❖ Minor breaches of conduct
❖ Significant breaches of conduct •
❖ Serious breaches of conduct may result in a temporary suspension/withdrawal from
professional register/practice and/or program. This usually does not exceed twelve
months. The individual will need to provide evidence of developments and remediation
before being able to return to the program
❖ Major breaches of conduct may result in the individual being permanently removed from
the professional register or withdrawn from their pre-registration program.

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Human Factors OF Paramedic Practice
Chapter 2
1. What are human factors?
Summers and Willis (2010) identify human factors as being those factors within the paramedic’s
environment that affect patient care by influencing the ambulance crew, either directly or
indirectly
2. Identify five human factors which affect paramedic practice.
Human Factors
● Crew or team working
● Paramedic fatigue
● Stress
● Situational awareness
3. List six signs of stress.

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Six signs of stress include
1. Palpitations
2. Rapid breathing
3. Chest tightness
4. Sweating
5. Unnecessary shouting
6. Use of bad language that would not normally be used.
4. Identify five causes of stress in the pre-hospital setting.
★ Work overload
★ Crew conflict
★ Poor communication
★ Lack of promotional opportunities
★ Attending distressing scenes
5. What causes paramedic fatigue?
Causes of paramedic fatigue include taking insufficient rest before a shift and difficulty adapting
to the patterns of shift work, as well as the intensive job demands placed on the paramedic during
a shift. Communicate to your crewmate how you are feeling during the shift.
6. What would you consider to be hazardous attitudes?
Having an unhealthy work environment affects patient care, for example, hazardous
attitudes include, anti-authority behaviors, impulsiveness, complacency, machismo, and

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Communication Skills for the Pre-Hospital Professional
Chapter 3
1. What is communication?
2. Who do pre-hospital professionals communicate with?
Pre-hospital professionals communicate with highly inter-professional environments,
such as accident and emergency departments, where teams include a range of
professionals, including senior and junior doctors and allied health professionals, as well
as cleaners and support staff. These teams work effectively by communicating with each
other.

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3. What are the two main types of communication?
4. Why does poor communication occur?
Poor communication often occurs when there is a discrepancy between what is said and what is
heard. In other words, the person being communicated to misunderstands what you're
communicating to them. Understanding is no longer mutual.
5. List three consequences of poor communication.
● Break down in relationships
● Poor decision-making
● Harm to patients and others.

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Sociological aspects of paramedic practice
Chapter 4
1. Define ‘sociology’.
2. Describe what Mills meant by ‘sociological imagination:
Learning to develop a sociological imagination, or learning to see one’s own and
other's experiences in the context of history and social structures, can bring liberation
from personal problems.
3. Identify social and cultural factors that can influence your health beliefs and your
experience of health and ill health.
Social and cultural factors such as family, culture, religion, media, and institutions such
as World Health Organization influence your health beliefs.
4. Consider the case study at the beginning of the chapter and explain how social
interaction can lead to stigmatization and social rationing.
*fix)Social interaction can lead to stigmatization and social rationing where individuals
are perceived to have agency or responsibility for a health condition.

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6. Describe the consequences of medicalization.
Medicalisation can affect how people view personal responsibility for a condition and
how other people respond to the person with the condition
Legal and Ethical Aspects of Paramedic Practice
Chapter 5
1. Can a paramedic treat a patient without their verbal consent?
Yes, every paramedic must gain consent from their patients before they provide any treatment.
2. What is a duty of care?
5. What does the term ‘patient’s best interest’ mean?
Acting in the patient’s best interest means doing what is right for the patient. This might
mean taking them to a specialist treatment center that can deal with the patient’s
condition rather than to a routine accident and emergency department that may not
always be equipped to do so.
6. . What are the four main ethical principles?
Four main ethical principles
1. Justice,
2. Autonomy
3. Beneficence

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4. Non-maleficence
The psychology of paramedic care
Chapter 6
1. If someone were to ask you, how would you explain the concept of the psychology of
Healthcare?
The discipline of psychology investigates thinking (cognition) and how it influences behavior.
Health psychology focuses on the impact of health and ill health on an individual’s thought
processes and behavior – and vice versa.
2. Why is health psychology relevant to the role of the paramedic?
It allows paramedics to recognize social factors affecting health, treats according, and
enhance referrals.
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3. How can health psychology be applied to practice
Health psychology can be applied to look at how and where healthcare is delivered. As an
example, consider the introduction of ‘walk-in’ centers as a means of reducing the
demands on frontline healthcare provision. Evidence suggests that the primary objective
was not achieved when these were introduced and there was no reduction in demands on
traditional emergency resources as was hoped (Hsu et al., 2003).

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The role of leadership in paramedic practice
Chapter 7
1. Define the difference between leadership and management.

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2. What does the word ‘leader’ originally mean?
The word leader originally mean one who shows the way.
3. What does ‘situational’ or ‘contingency’ leadership involve?
The contingency theory of leadership states that effective leadership is contingent upon
the situation at hand. Essentially, it depends on whether an individual's leadership style
befits the situation. According to this theory, someone can be an effective leader in one
circumstance and an ineffective leader in another.
4. Identify three distinct leadership styles.
Safeguarding vulnerable people

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Chapter 8
1. What is a ‘vulnerable person?
The guidance defined a ‘vulnerable adult’ as one (over 18) ‘who is or may require community
care services because of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to
take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or
exploitation (Department of Health, 2000).
Three distinct adult groups were identified:
★ Older people
★ People with learning disabilities
★ People with mental health diagnoses
2. What is abuse?
Abuse is a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person (s). Abuse may
consist of a single act or repeated acts, it may be physical, verbal, or psychological, It may be an
act of neglect or an omission to act. Abuse can occur in any relationship and may result in
significant harm to, or exploitation of, the person subjected to it. (Department of Health, 2000:
p9)

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3. What might the signs of abuse be?
4. What is the difference between risk management and safeguarding?
Service users have the right to make choices and decisions which can and should involve taking
positive risks toward happiness and independence. However, there is a balance to be struck
between enabling people to have choice and control over their lives and ensuring that they are
free from harm, exploitation, and mistreatment. Safeguarding is a framework to guide
professionals when considering the risk of harm to a vulnerable person
Week 5
1. Draw and label the pulse points

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2. Draw or print the heart
3. Medical Terminology

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4. Overview of the Human Body
5. Vital sign basic- Temperature basic

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Temperature Basics:
1. Temperature increases with infection, exercise, crying, and pregnancy.
2. Temperature is decreased in the morning.
3. For rectal temperature, subtract 1 degree.
4. For axillary temperature, add 1 degree.
5. Note methods of temperature assessment, such as oral, rectal, axillary, or aural
6. Pulse Basic:
1. Pulse increases with physical activity, pain, anxiety, fever, pregnancy, and certain
medications.
2. Pulse is decreased in the elderly and with certain medications.
3. Note pulse rhythm and volume.
7. Respiration Basics:
1. Respiration increases with physical activity, anxiety, certain medications, and
fever.
2. Respiration is decreased in the elderly and with certain medications.
3. Note respiratory rhythm and depth.
4. Note abnormal breath sounds, if any.
5. Take respiration rate without the patient knowing.
8. Blood Pressure Basics:
1. BP increases with physical activity, anxiety, stress, smoking, and certain medications.
2. BP decreases with certain medications.
3. Make sure the cuff is the correct size for the patient.
4. Never hold bell with the thumb.
5. Position cuff so scale is easily visible.
6. Position the patient’s arm at heart level and support the arm.

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7. Wait for 1 to 2 minutes before repeating BP.
8. Note arm (L or R) and patient position (sitting or lying)
References

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● Fundamentals of paramedic practice: a systems approach / edited by Sam Willis and
Roger Dalrymple.

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