I am a Senior Lecturer in Paramedicine at Australian Catholic University and a dual-qualified nurse-paramedic. My career has spanned emergency nursing, ambulance services, education, and research. This diverse experience has provided me with a comprehensive understanding of patient care and health system delivery across multiple settings.
I am driven by a strong belief that dual-qualified nurse-paramedics are an untapped resource within Australian ambulance services and the broader health system. This belief led to my PhD research, which explored the experiences of dual-qualified nurse-paramedics working within Australian ambulance services. My research identified opportunities to better recognise and utilise the unique combination of nursing and paramedic knowledge, skills, and expertise these clinicians bring. It also highlighted their potential to improve patient outcomes, strengthen ambulance service delivery, and serve as an innovative workforce model for the Australian health system.
As an alum of the Pathways to Politics for Women program, I am passionate about translating research into policy and practice to strengthen health systems and workforce capability.
Through this fellowship, I will travel to Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands to learn how these countries optimise the capabilities of their ambulance workforce, including how nurses contribute to out-of-hospital care. I will explore workforce models, education and training pathways, and the regulatory and professional frameworks that enable clinicians to work to the full scope of their capabilities.
By learning from international approaches, I hope to identify practical insights that can inform future workforce development in Australia and strengthen the role of dual-qualified nurse-paramedics within ambulance services and the broader health system.
My vision is to contribute to a more integrated and sustainable health system that fully harnesses the capabilities of its workforce to deliver better outcomes for patients and communities.
Project
The Sir William Kilpatrick Churchill Fellowship to learn how nurses contribute to and enhance ambulance services internationally
Caitlin Fitzgibbon
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