High EMS workloads creating problems for paramedic students seeking work placements

Heavy workloads and staff shortages for EMS in Alberta are hindering efforts to train a new generation of paramedics. 

Post-secondary programs for primary care and advanced care paramedics have mandatory workplace training components known as practicums, where students work on ambulances and in hospitals while under the supervision of an experienced professional. They are considered an essential part of the coursework required to become a licensed professional. 

"It's absolutely vital that [students] have those opportunities," said Scott Mullin, coordinator of the paramedic programs at Medicine Hat College.

However, finding mentors or preceptors is becoming more difficult at the same time the Alberta government is increasing seats in paramedic programs. Workloads for paramedics have increased due to staffing shortages and higher call volumes, said Ben Rauschning, chair of the primary and advanced care paramedic programs at NAIT. 

"The workload is intense and so it's not always easy to take that added responsibility to have a student," he said. 

The difficulty securing practicums was identified in the final report of the Alberta Emergency Medical Services Provincial Advisory Committee released on Monday. 

"Call volumes and staff shortages have led to a situation where many EMS practitioners are forced to work overtime, are tired, and face stressful paces of work," the report states. " Amid these dynamics, taking on practicum students is understandably difficult."

The committee suggests in one of its 53 recommendations that the province offer employers and practitioners incentives to take on students.

The recommendation also suggests the province review how many clinical placements are required to accommodate paramedic students, and then set targets for EMS ambulance service providers to meet each year. 

Mike Parker, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, which represents 3,500 paramedics, said the recommendation identifies the root of the problem but fails to address it. 

"Our professionals are overworked. Accommodating practicum students isn't difficult under current working conditions, it's practically impossible," he said. 

Parker said the province needs to first focus on improving working conditions for current EMS staff. 

"Once we stop working them to exhaustion and beyond, they will again be able to properly mentor, and prepare for duty, the incoming professionals we desperately need."

Alberta had 1,426 students in paramedic and emergency medical responder programs at both publicly-funded post-secondary institutions and private career colleges last year.  SAIT in Calgary has the largest enrolment in Alberta, with 224 students taking its programs.