ACPIC24: Beyond emergencies: Examining paramedic practices in primary health care in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand

Australasian College of Paramedicine International Conference (ACPIC24)

ACPIC 2024 delivered a wide range of clinical and research sessions from experts and leaders in paramedicine. Hosted in Sydney (September 2024) the program was designed to inspire, educate and broaden horizons.

Conference theme: Paramedicine's evolution – Embracing the new era

Beyond emergencies: Examining paramedic practices in primary health care in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand

The landscape of paramedic practice in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand is rapidly evolving, with increasing numbers of paramedics working in primary health care roles. Despite this, paramedics are still seen as synonymous with ambulances and associated with responding to emergency calls. This presentation highlights the characteristics, patient presentations, clinical assessments, and procedural skills practiced by paramedics operating within primary care in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Biography: Alecka Miles

Alecka Miles is a Paramedic who commenced her career in emergency ambulance in Victoria in 2005 before transitioning to higher education as a paramedic lecturer (2015) and clinically into General Practice in metropolitan Perth (2020), Western Australia. She has also spent some time working as a Paramedic rurally and remotely in the Northern Territory and the Kimberley's in Western Australia. Alecka has a Masters degree in Emergency Health and is a PhD candidate at Western Sydney University where her research is looking at ‘Decentring’ the ambulance in Paramedicine: An exploration and consensus of key stakeholder expectations, enablers, and impediments to paramedic role legitimisation in primary health care contexts in Australia and New Zealand.

Moderator: Andrew Odgers, ACPIC24 Organising Committee Member