STUCON 2021 is an in-depth student conference that focuses on clinical best practice, education and research.

Aimed at undergraduate paramedic students, the conference offered an insight into current and emerging knowledge from across the globe. Speakers included a mix of students, researchers, educators and industry practitioners for a truly enlightening experience. STUCON 2021 was an online conference, hosted in July 2021.

Panel Discussion – Thinking beyond ambulance services: Where your paramedicine education can take you

Hosted by: Buck Reed

Panel: Whitney Hughes, David McLeod and Ben Cant

Biographies:

Buck Reed - Buck Reed is a Lecturer in Paramedicine at the Western Sydney University and a Registered Paramedic practicing in New South Wales. Buck is Chair of the NSW/ACT Committee of the Australasian College of Paramedicine. Buck has a strong interest in paramedic resilience, professionalism and education. He holds a Master of International Health Management and is completing a PhD focusing on paramedic registration and its impact on paramedic identity. Buck was the first rurally-based paramedic to receive a Churchill Fellowship and the first paramedic accepted to the NSW Health Rural Research Capacity Building Program.

Whitney Hughes - Whitney is an experienced aviation medicine and prehospital care paramedic who has over 25 years in working in the aviation industry. She has a Bachelor of Paramedicine and qualifications in Aviation Medicine. She currently serves on the NSW Paramedicine Council Impaired Registrants Panel for AHPRA and previously has been on the board of the Australian Resuscitation Council (NSW Branch). Whitney has worked for three Australian airlines and is well regarded within the airline industry for her extensive experience in the management of both passenger and crew health issues including drug and alcohol management programs. Whitney currently works for Qantas Airways as the Manager for Aviation Health programs and leads a team managing the daily operational and strategic issues faced by an airline medical department. During COVID-19, Whitney has been one of the clinical leads for the Qantas Group and is responsible for the repatriation of thousands of Australians from across the globe. She has worked with the Australian Medical Assistance team (ASUMAT) in Howard Springs and led the first two charters to Wuhan in February 2020. Connect with Whitney on LinkedIn

David McLeod - David is a seasoned clinician and health leader with over 19 years of experience in emergency and community services, both within the paid and the voluntary sectors, notably NSW Ambulance. David is passionate in striving to continuously improve patient health outcomes by improving the patients experience in accessing the right health care at the right time. David is currently the Medical Planning and Response Manager at Crown Sydney where he continues his proven track record of investigating, developing and implementing best practice service delivery policies and guidelines to improve patient outcomes. Recently David paved the way for the introduction of community paramedics within the primary health and community settings to elevate pressure on other healthcare practitioners while improving patients healthcare experience.

Ben Cant - Ben is a highly motivated, professional senior executive with over 8 years’ experience in overseeing the daily operations and high-level management of State Medical Assistance Pty Ltd (SMA), reporting to the Board of Directors. Ben was and still is a registered Paramedic in both Australia and the United Kingdom and works clinically on a regular basis to ensure that his patients and people are at the forefront of his attention. Ben is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and the Ambulance Health Services Working Group on behalf of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and is currently studying a Master of Business Administration at Swinburne University. Ben is committed to his community, having worked as a Fire Fighter and First Responder with NSW RFS and Fire and Rescue since he was a teenager and continues to work with Fire and Rescue NSW as a retained fire-fighter.