title: Regulating our emergency care paramedics.
abstract: Ambulance paramedics administering emergency care to patients are delivering a health service as defined in the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act, 2003. Paramedics practice a wide range of skills without direct supervision and these can potentially put the public at risk if the paramedic is not competent. Paramedic practice is also rapidly expanding beyond the traditional ambulance role. However, this emerging profession falls outside the Act and paramedics remain unregistered. In this paper we state the case for extending regulation to these frontline healthcare professionals.
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer in Paramedicine, Auckland University of Technology, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. bronwyn.tunnage@aut.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Bronwyn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tunnage
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Swain
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Waters
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D003406:Credentialing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand