1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of effective communication, assessment skills, decision making and referral in accordance with the potential physical and psychological needs of the service-user
Communication
Knowledge and Understanding

2. Analyse the initiation and application of specific clinical investigations and assessments, and appropriately interpret, analyse and document the information obtained
Application
Analysis
Learning

3. Critically evaluate treatment and management plans/pathways in accordance with appropriate evidence-based guidelines and in accordance with the potential physical and psychological needs of the service-user
Knowledge and Understanding
Application

4. Demonstrate and evaluate the appropriate application of specific clinical therapeutic equipment and techniques in accordance with the potential needs of the service-user
Communication
Problem Solving
Application

5. Demonstrate practice which is cognisant of the potential hazards and risks associated with emergency and unscheduled care, and which engenders safety for the clinician, professional colleagues, carers and service-users
Knowledge and Understanding
Application

Continuing from level 4, this module aims to develop existing knowledge by introducing advanced theory and clinical skills practices, in a range of subjects. The practitioner will develop the underpinning knowledge and clinical decision-making skills to assist and deliver care at level 5.

The content has been divided into the following categories:

• Overview – Recap and expansion from Level 4.
• Trauma – Major incident practices
• Professional & Procedural – Providing a professional context for the use of skills.
• Patient Assessment – Core skills
• Special Considerations




Overview

This will involve subjects such as conducting a dynamic risk assessment; including initial and continuing scene management and safety (covering: conflict resolution, universal precautions, infection prevention and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)). In this section we will also cover:
- A review of manual handling techniques
- Mobility assessment and equipment awareness.
- A review of infection control, aseptic techniques, sharps and waste management

Trauma - Includes theory and practice in the following:

- An introduction to minor and major trauma emergencies (including regional Major Trauma Network pathways)
- Major Incident Medical Management and CBRN
o SORT
o HART
o JESIP
o NARU
o Triage
o Communications
- Recognition of hazardous materials and decontamination
- Extrication principles
- Kinematics of Trauma
- Recognition of Trauma - Assessment and intervention
- Collaborative and multi-disciplinary working – encompasses JESIP principles

Professional & Procedural – Considers the following:

- Understanding guidelines and protocols.
- Scope of practice and referral to other clinicians
- Ensuring equipment is serviceable and ready to use
- Safety netting principles
- Service-user data systems
- ROLE, DNAR and Advanced Decisions

Patient Assessment – Here we will build upon and develop the assessment skills you have gained at Level 4. The content will include areas such as:

- The effects of therapeutic interventions
- Interpretation of clinical features across age ranges.
- Manage adverse drug reactions and report where required
- Patient assessments - Systems assessment
- Interpretation of vital signs – Level 5 interpretation, linked to treatment
- Decision making and differential diagnosis – Decision making theory

Special Considerations – Considers the following:

- Alternative Pathways
- Human factors associated with health and decision making
- Burns
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology – maternity and obstetric emergencies
- Advanced Life Support - Adult and Paediatric
- Pain management
- Drowning

Successful completion of this module will provide a strong foundation for students to develop specialist skills in advanced patient assessment and management at level 6.

Throughout the module, key theory content will be delivered through a combination of lead lectures (approx. 62 hours) and will be supplemented by online material. The majority of content will be delivered by the paramedic teaching team. However, specialist guest lecturers may be brought in to cover some key subjects and provide alternative perspectives on specific areas of clinical practice.

Theory content will be complimented by practical sessions (approx. 68 hours) utilising the paramedic skills labs, as well as off-site training opportunities. The module will expose students to clinical simulation situations including time spent in the university’s simulated house at stoke campus, scenario-based learning at ‘Safeside at Eastside’, and extrication training conducted in conjunction with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service. Students will also be given the opportunity to access the skills labs for supplementary unsupervised clinical skills training in preparation for their OSCEs.

Students are expected to participate in simulated learning either as a clinician or taking the role of a patient/relative, and this is an extremely valuable learning experience. Consent will be sought for this at the commencement of the course, and students will reserve the right to withdraw consent at any point. In the event of this happening an alternative learning experience will be provided by the teaching team. Service user and carer involvement will also be utilised in simulated learning where appropriate and available.

This module will also include elements of Interprofessional Education (IPE). Students will participate in simulated learning experiences in conjunction with students from other areas of healthcare such as Midwifery, Nursing and Operating Department Practitioners and will learn with and from one another by working together to achieve the best outcome for the simulated patient.

Tutorial support will be available for students throughout the module, and group work will also be utilised to encourage collaborative learning.

Students are expected to conduct their own independent study (approx. 170 hours) to consolidate their learning and prepare for assessment points. Supplementary learning materials will be made available on the university Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to help direct this study, and to assist with revision.

VLE
IT resources
Library resources

Enrolled onto the following award: BSc(Hons) of Science in Paramedic Science

The assessment for this module is divided into two parts. Each part will need to be passed at 40% or above to be awarded an overall pass for the module.

Part 1: Clinical Advanced Life Support OSCE.

Each individual student will be assessed in a clinical simulation environment on Advanced Life Support, Endotracheal Intubation, and Paediatric BLS.

The assessment will last approximately 60 minutes and will cover ALL Learning Outcomes.

Station 1: Pass Mark 40%

Students will be provided with a scenario involving an adult patient in cardiac arrest and will be expected to actively manage the Advance Life Support process, including hazards, until stopped by the examiner. They will be assisted by another member of the cohort who will act as their crewmate in the scenario and will assist with Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Students will be required to provide a clinical handover in a recognised format and will be asked to demonstrate further knowledge, which may include reversible causes or defibrillation safety considerations.

Station 2: Pass mark 40%

Students will be required to demonstrate the process of safe and effective Endotracheal Intubation at a separate airway management station. Should the student choose to apply a two-person technique, their crew mate will remain to support them.

Station 3: Pass Mark 40%

Students will be presented with a paediatric patient, will be expected to demonstrate appropriate Paediatric Basic Life Support technique and demonstrate knowledge of the Paediatric Advanced Life Support procedure. This section includes a clinical handover.

Students must achieve 40% in each element to pass.

Weighting:

ALS 20%
ETI 15%
PBLS 15%

This assessment is weighted at 50% of the marks for this module.


Part 2: Problem Based Learning - Advanced Patient Assessment VIVA VOCA 30 minutes.

This is a mixed oral and practical exam where you will be presented with a clinical scenario and will be expected to talk through and discuss all the relevant aspects of your assessment, come up with a diagnosis and provide a treatment plan. Students will be expected to perform key advanced physical assessments to support their demonstration of underpinning knowledge and application to practice.
This assessment will cover Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 4, and comprises a 50% weighting of the overall module grade.

Both elements must be passed for successful completion of the module.


The assessment for this module is divided into two parts. Each part will need to be passed at 40% or above to be awarded an overall pass for the module.

Part 1: Clinical Advanced Life Support OSCE.

Each individual student will be assessed in a clinical simulation environment on Advanced Life Support, Endotracheal Intubation, and Paediatric BLS.

The assessment will last approximately 60 minutes and will cover ALL Learning Outcomes.

Station 1: Pass Mark 40%

Students will be provided with a scenario involving an adult patient in cardiac arrest and will be expected to actively manage the Advance Life Support process, including hazards, until stopped by the examiner. They will be assisted by another member of the cohort who will act as their crewmate in the scenario and will assist with Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Students will be required to provide a clinical handover in a recognised format and will be asked to demonstrate further knowledge, which may include reversible causes or defibrillation safety considerations.

Station 2: Pass mark 40%

Students will be required to demonstrate the process of safe and effective Endotracheal Intubation at a separate airway management station. Should the student choose to apply a two-person technique, their crew mate will remain to support them.

Station 3: Pass Mark 40%

Students will be presented with a paediatric patient, will be expected to demonstrate appropriate Paediatric Basic Life Support technique and demonstrate knowledge of the Paediatric Advanced Life Support procedure. This section includes a clinical handover.

Students must achieve 40% in each element to pass.

Weighting:

ALS 20%
ETI 15%
PBLS 15%

This assessment is weighted at 50% of the marks for this module.


Part 2: Problem Based Learning - Advanced Patient Assessment VIVA VOCA 30 minutes.

This is a mixed oral and practical exam where you will be presented with a clinical scenario and will be expected to talk through and discuss all the relevant aspects of your assessment, come up with a diagnosis and provide a treatment plan. Students will be expected to perform key advanced physical assessments to support their demonstration of underpinning knowledge and application to practice.
This assessment will cover Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 4, and comprises a 50% weighting of the overall module grade.

Both elements must be passed for successful completion of the module.

The assessment for this module is divided into two parts. Each part will need to be passed at 40% or above to be awarded an overall pass for the module.

Part 1: Clinical Advanced Life Support OSCE.

Each individual student will be assessed in a clinical simulation environment on Advanced Life Support, Endotracheal Intubation, and Paediatric BLS.

The assessment will last approximately 60 minutes and will cover ALL Learning Outcomes.

Station 1: Pass Mark 40%

Students will be provided with a scenario involving an adult patient in cardiac arrest and will be expected to actively manage the Advance Life Support process, including hazards, until stopped by the examiner. They will be assisted by another member of the cohort who will act as their crewmate in the scenario and will assist with Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). Students will be required to provide a clinical handover in a recognised format and will be asked to demonstrate further knowledge, which may include reversible causes or defibrillation safety considerations.

Station 2: Pass mark 40%

Students will be required to demonstrate the process of safe and effective Endotracheal Intubation at a separate airway management station. Should the student choose to apply a two-person technique, their crew mate will remain to support them.

Station 3: Pass Mark 40%

Students will be presented with a paediatric patient, will be expected to demonstrate appropriate Paediatric Basic Life Support technique and demonstrate knowledge of the Paediatric Advanced Life Support procedure. This section includes a clinical handover.

Students must achieve 40% in each element to pass.

Weighting:

ALS 20%
ETI 15%
PBLS 15%

This assessment is weighted at 50% of the marks for this module.


Part 2: Problem Based Learning - Advanced Patient Assessment VIVA VOCA 30 minutes.

This is a mixed oral and practical exam where you will be presented with a clinical scenario and will be expected to talk through and discuss all the relevant aspects of your assessment, come up with a diagnosis and provide a treatment plan. Students will be expected to perform key advanced physical assessments to support their demonstration of underpinning knowledge and application to practice.
This assessment will cover Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 3 & 4, and comprises a 50% weighting of the overall module grade.

Both elements must be passed for successful completion of the module.

Blaber, A. & Harris, G. 2016, Assessment skills for paramedics, 2nd edn, Open University Press, Maidenhead. E-copy available

Bledsoe, B.E. 2014, Essentials of paramedic care update, 2nd (new international) edn, Pearson, Harlow. Available as E-copy

Gregory, P. & Mursell, I. 2010, Manual of clinical paramedic procedures, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. E-copy available
Caroline, N.L., Aehlert, B., Elling, B. & American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2018, Emergency care in the streets, 8th edn, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Burlington, MA. Not available as e-copy.

Greaves, I. 2009, Trauma care manual, 2nd edn, Hodder Arnold, London. E-copy available

Gregory, P. & Ward, I. (Eds) (2010) 'Sanders' Paramedic Textbook. UK Edition. London: Mosby Elsevier

JESIP.org.uk. (2018). JESIP - Working together, Saving Lives. [online] Available at: http://www.jesip.org.uk/home

NICE (2018). Guidance. [online] Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance

PHTLS prehospital trauma life support. (2016). Burlington: Jones & Bartlet Learning

PILBERY, R., LETHBRIDGE, K. (2016) Ambulance Care Practice. Bridgwater: Class Professional Publishing

Journal: The BMJ. [online] Available at: http://www.bmj.com/uk/education/practice

Journal of paramedic practice: the clinical monthly for emergency care professionals