Professionalisation "The Next Step"
Registered practitioners will be directly involved in developing practice for the pre- hospital emergency health services (EHS) in Ireland.
The registration of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners started at the end of 2005. After just over eight months, more than 50% of all practitioners who are eligib le to join the register have done so. See graphs in th is edition of the PHECC Voice depicting the membership of the Register in Apr il and August of this year.
The time is now right for registered practitioners to press on with the professionaliation agenda. The next two milestones shaping professionalisation of EHS practitioners are;
- Membership of Register Committees (Fitness to Practice) and
- Continuing Professional Development.
These two items are essential to implementing any professional healthcare agenda and it is the registered practitioners who are the principal catalysts that drive the change agenda.
The profession will rerommend the individuals who will form the practitioner panel that will be used when selecting practitioner members for the Fitness to Practice Committee and the supporting sub-committees.
Registered practitioners will also be key in developing the Continuing Professional Developmennt (CPD) requirements for staying on the Register. It is esstential that these are achievable and reflect current practice on the road.
These initiatives are of particular significance as it is the first time that pre-hospital emergency care practitioners are being offered an opportunity to build and develop their own profession. The main article in this edition of the PHECC Voice concentrates principally on the participation by registered practitioners in the profession panel which will be used when forming the Fitness to Practice Committee and other sub committees.
