The recent announcement by Health Minister Theresa Oswald that the provincial government was partnering with Red River College to develop a Primary Care Paramedic education program was both welcome news and a pleasant “surprise”. I say welcome news because it moved paramedic education up to the “next level” here in Manitoba by way of it’s new relationship with a respected health sciences faculty in a post secondary educational facility. I call it a pleasant surprise because quite honestly I began to question whether or not this government was prepared to make what I think was a very difficult political decision to move in that direction.
This isn’t the first time that Red River College has considered offering an expanded education program for emergency medical services students. If my memory serves me correctly (and unfortunately that’s becoming somewhat of an issue of late), it was just 7 years ago that Manitoba Health attempted to sign an agreement with, at that time, Red River Community College, to deliver EMT and EMR education for ambulance services in Manitoba. Quite literally within moments of that agreement being signed word came down from senior government officials to abandon that direction and work toward a partnership with the Emergency Services College in Brandon. Despite country-wide trends to move toward a more professionally educated paramedic practitioner and similar recommendations from sources throughout the EMS and emergency, I was suspect that politics might drive us once again down that road.
The fact that Red River College has been awarded this opportunity should not be viewed in simple terms as criticism toward any past or existing EMS educational bodies in Manitoba. It is quite frankly so very much more than that, and in fact may well be one of the most significant moves toward improving not only our ambulance services but also the profession of paramedicine that this province has ever taken.
Don’t get me wrong…there have been other operational improvements made to Manitoba’s EMS system over the past few years. Job opportunities have expanded, vehicles and communications have been enhanced and a provincial dispatch center has been established. These have all, in some way, helped improve the service we provide. And without doubt there are details within this new partnership that have drawn concern…the limited student enrollment numbers and the September 2008 program start date among them.
But despite the aforementioned system improvements and agreement downfalls, I’m suggesting that moving paramedic education into the forum shared by all other allied health professions offers the most significant opportunity for development of both the system and the practitioner that we’ve seen to date here in Manitoba. Paramedics must be considered members of the health care delivery team. To validate that role and ensure credibility for graduates as they interact with other allied health professionals, Manitoba needs an education model for paramedics with strong affiliations to other health sciences programs. Education and credentialing similar to other health professions is absolutely necessary to achieve legitimacy of paramedics within the spectrum of health service providers. And paramedics now have an opportunity to be educated in an environment that promotes portability of credentials to or from other health care roles.
Despite any criticisms that may be directed at this most recent decision or concern that it may not meet the needs of those already working within our current system, it is very welcome news in my opinion.
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