Examining Psychological Support for Paramedic Students during Training Programs

: A Qualitative Exploration of Mental Health Experiences

Abstract

Background
There is limited research on the mental health (MH) of student paramedics in the UK, but the available studies suggest that student paramedics are at risk of burnout, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Given these findings, it has been proposed that the provision of psychological support is of utmost importance during training. Despite this, existing research, being predominantly quantitative or mixed methods, had minimal scope to take a humanistic perspective by prioritising students’ subjective experiences, focusing on psychological self-care, and facilitating growth. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore the influence of paramedic training on the MH of student paramedics, by answering the following questions: What are paramedic students’ experiences of changes to or influences on their MH during their training programme? And secondly, what are paramedic students’ experiences of psychological support that is available within their training programme?
Method
Semi-structured interviews were conducted via video call with a sample of twelve final-stage undergraduate paramedic students from UK university courses. Reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) was used to analyse the data.
Results
Four themes were generated from the interviews, with two significant findings being the disparities between training programmes and the challenges paramedic students encounter in voicing their needs, particularly those related to their MH.
Conclusions
Participants shared their inconsistencies regarding the psychological support they received during their training. Participants also described the common demands they faced during the course, such as managing academic work and fear of burnout, as well as the isolating experience they had while managing their own MH. The current study’s findings can contribute to practice by indicating how therapists can adapt their services to meet the needs of paramedics, and policymakers should consider making psychological support a requirement for trainees prior to qualification.

Date of Award	19 Mar 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Roehampton
Supervisor	Savin Bapir-Tardy (Director of Studies) & Monique Proudlove (Co-Supervisor)