Paramedic capstone education model: Building work ready graduates

In Australia, the past decade has witnessed considerable changes to both the scope of paramedic practice and the education of these practitioners. Notably, within education there has been a national trend to move from on-the-job training towards a preemployment, undergraduate university qualification. Despite increases in depth, breadth and consistency to the curriculum and delivery by subject experts with training in education, criticism remains targeted at the preparation of the graduate for readiness to undertake the paramedic role. Australian undergraduate courses are currently experiencing unprecedented enrolment numbers, with complex student learning expectations and requirements. Producing work-ready graduates within traditional curriculum frameworks is a challenge. Capstone subjects target the final preparation of the graduating student, with a strong emphasis on articulating them successfully with their chosen industrial settings. While widely accepted in other disciplines such as engineering, capstone is a new concept to the discipline of paramedicine. This paper discusses how a capstone topic was created and implemented at Flinders University, South Australia, within the Bachelor of Paramedic Science degree. It describes the differentiated student learning methodology employed and the strategies used to respond to specific student and industry concerns regarding university teaching.