Paramedic students came to Coventry in early 2008 to discuss new research ideas.
The workshop at the TechnoCentre was a unique opportunity for students from the paramedic programmes at Hertfordshire and Coventry Universities, who have joined forces on a collaborative venture, to share ideas around best practice.
The free workshop was lead by Professors and teachers with Paramedic and Emergency Research expertise from both universities.
Malcolm Woollard, Professor in Pre-hospital and Emergency Care at Coventry University said:
"This aim of this first joint workshop with Hertfordshire University is to support students from both institutions to work together on various research proposals and develop research questions from interesting issues in clinical practice."
Coventry University runs a Foundation Degree in Paramedic Science which prepares students to become professional paramedics. The majority of the teaching staff are state registered paramedics or nurses with a special interest in emergency care. Real world knowledge is also provided by practitioners from diverse fields.
Find out more about the foundation degree course in paramedic science.
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Two members of the Pre-hospital, Emergency and Cardiovascular Care Applied Research Group have returned from a flying visit to Australia to conduct research into airway management devices.
Pete Gregory and Professor Malcolm Woollard were attending the Australian College of Ambulance Professionals Conference on the Gold Coast in Queensland. The duo were presenting the findings of research conducted at the same conference last year in collaboration with colleagues from the Charles Sturt University, New South Wales.
This study had been such a successful initiative - resulting in numerous conference presentations and two peer-reviewed publications - that they decided to run a new trial on the same basis at this years' conference.
Working closely with David Lighton, Graham Munro, Leanne Hamilton, and Peter O’Meara from Charles Sturt University, a project was designed, funded, approved, and conducted in less than two months to meet the tight deadlines imposed by the conference.
The research aimed to determine which of four airway management devices (three varieties of 'bougie' and one stylet) is most effective in assisting paramedics to place breathing tubes in a manikin model designed to make the process as difficult as possible.
Professor Woollard said:
"We are delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate so effectively with colleagues from the Charles Sturt University – our success is due in no small part to their positive 'can do' attitude.
"This is the second time we have worked together to facilitate joint research, and we look forward to building on our already strong links to develop further collaborative research and teaching opportunities in the future, to the benefit of students and staff from both institutions and of ambulance staff and patients in both countries."
The team managed to recruit over 50 subjects during the three-day conference to test out the devices.
The data is currently being analysed and it is hoped that the results will help to improve the management of patients with life-threatening emergencies – for example, those in cardiac arrest – in both the Southern and Northern hemispheres.
This project was jointly funded by Coventry University and the Australian College of Ambulance Professionals (New South Wales) and equipment was generously provided by Portex and Laerdal.
Professor Tom Quinn and Professor Malcolm Woollard from the Pre-hospital, Emergency & Cardiovascular Care Applied Research Group have been awarded prizes for their work at the Joint Royal Colleges Ambulance Liaison Committee/999 EMS Research Forum conference.
Professor Tom Quinn was a co-author of a poster and presentation which won the prize for 'highest quality research'.
Professor Malcolm Woollard was co-author of a poster and presentation which won the prize for 'research most likely to affect practice'.
