PARAMEDICS, RESEARCHERS AND WORKFORCE ANALYSTS GATHER LANDMARK PARAMEDICINE WORKFORCE DATASET Inaugural report into Australasian Paramedicine Workforce Survey report to aid workforce planning
INTERVIEWS
Dr Liz Thyer, Associate Professor in Paramedicine
School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University &
Chief Investigator Australasian Paramedicine Workforce Survey Report 2023-2024
Alecka Miles, Community Paramedic, Dianella Family Medical Centre (WA)
Lecturer Edith Cowan University &
PhD Student Western Sydney University
John Bruning, Chief Executive Officer
Australasian College of Paramedicine
SEGMENT
Filmed in Campbelltown (NSW), Perth & Sydney | December 2024
In a milestone for paramedicine, the Australasian College of Paramedicine earlier this year released the first report of a landmark three-year study identifying and exploring trends that affect the Australasian paramedicine workforce.
The inaugural Australasian Paramedicine Workforce Survey report 2023-24 explores the demographic, career trajectory, work motivations and conditions for those working in clinical, management and educational capacities within the paramedicine workforce of Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
The survey findings reveal new insights into the current and future state of the paramedicine workforce across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand and provide governments and decision-makers with crucial knowledge and evidence to better inform workforce planning.
In 2022, the College commissioned Associate Professor Liz Thyer, from Western Sydney University (WSU), as Chief Investigator to lead a team of sixteen academics and researchers from WSU, Edith Cowan University (ECU) and Auckland University of Technology (AUT). Alecka Miles (ECU) and Dr Graham Howie (AUT) led the teams from their respective universities.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Associate Professor Liz Thyer, Alecka Miles and John Bruning, Chief Executive Officer for the Australasian College of Paramedicine about the survey and the inaugural report.
Assoc Prof Liz Thyer said: “Our team includes paramedics, researchers and workforce analysts enabling us to develop a survey that gets to the core of the paramedic profession. These insights can then be used to make a better, well-supported workforce for current paramedics and those studying to enter the profession.”
The data contained in this report will assist the College, and the broader paramedicine healthcare sector, in workforce planning. As health reform across Australasia looks to more broadly engage paramedics in multidisciplinary team-based models, the survey findings aim to support all employers of paramedics in better understanding the needs of their workforce, ultimately enhancing the quality of care provided to communities across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
Also captured in this segment from the College’s ACPIC conference in Sydney in September 2024 include Lucy Oatley ASM (Conference Master of Ceremonies), Intensive Care Flight Paramedic and Jemma Altmeier, Advocacy and Government Relations Manager, Australasian College of Paramedicine.
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Lived experience & human-centred design in healthcare
Recognised as one of the Top 100 Women of Influence by The Australian Financial Review, Melanie Tran is a visionary leader whose work lies at the intersection of design, technology, health, disability, and education. With a focus on human-centred design, digital strategy, and service design, she leads transformative initiatives as a Manager in Design, Digital and Data at Nous Group, a global consulting firm. Her work is driven by a deep passion for using creativity and technology to solve complex social challenges.
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Allied Health Building Leadership Experience in Tasmania
A notable program run by Hospitals South is the ABLE program, or Allied Health Building Leadership Experience. This program was created to address the challenge of allied health professionals being seen as a single entity, rather than as individual disciplines, when it comes to leadership and management opportunities. The program is delivered entirely internally, with seminars presented by senior staff and mentorship opportunities for participants to become more effective representatives of allied health in meetings and working groups.
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Understanding extracellular vesicles in cancer therapy research
Joy Wolfram is an Associate Professor at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland in Australia. Originally from Finland, she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology before transitioning to engineering with a PhD in nanotechnology completed in China. Wolfram has over a decade of experience working in hospitals in the United States before joining the University of Queensland.
Her research focuses on extracellular vesicles, which are crucial for cell communication both locally within tissues and over longer distances between organs. Her lab studies the roles of these vesicles in both health and disease, particularly in cancer. They investigate the harmful messages released by cancer cells that aid in tumour growth, specifically in breast cancer, while also exploring how to harness beneficial extracellular vesicles from healthy individuals as potential therapeutics.
