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<p>Welcome to the first issue of the Irish Journal of Paramedicine (IJP). Our editorial board consists of respected academics, researchers, clinicians and educators from Ireland and abroad who are committed to furthering the cause of paramedicine, and encouraging its future development of professional standing.</p><p>This article introduces the members of the editorial board, and outlines their qualifications and experience in prehospital care and paramedicine.</p><p> </p>

Editorial: Welcome to the Irish Journal of Paramedicine / Alan M. Batt -- Guest Editorial / Shane Knox -- Commentary: Introducing the Irish Journal of Paramedicine Editorial Board -- Original Research: E-learning on the road: online learning and social media for continuing professional competency. / Alan M. Batt, Niamh M. Cummins -- Decision-making processes when paramedics refer patients away from hospital: a scoping review. / Kelly Sheffield, Peter O'Meara, Glenda Verrinder -- Professional: Improving Cardiac Arrest Care in Ireland / David Hennelly -- Conference Abstracts: EMS Gathering 2016 Abstracts

<p>Welcome to the first issue of the Irish Journal of Paramedicine (IJP). It gives me great pleasure to launch this journal, a first for Irish paramedics, and pre-hospital care in Ireland. I am also honoured to announce that the IJP has been adopted as the official journal of the Irish College of Paramedics, the professional body for prehospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland.</p><p> A newly emerging profession, paramedicine is now poised at a crossroads. Previously alluded to with colleagues from around the globe, the role of the paramedic is one that is rapidly evolving, and yet paramedicine as a discipline has yet to figure out where it belongs.(1) Are we public safety professionals, first responders or healthcare professionals? Williams has previously stated that the road less travelled requires the paramedic profession to pursue identity as a healthcare profession and not as emergency responders, EMS workers, or ambulance drivers, which we are so commonly identified as.(2)</p><p>Initiatives within Ireland such as the Centre for Prehospital Research national research agenda, the move to higher education for paramedics in University College Dublin and the University of Limerick, and the publication of high-quality peer-reviewed research, undertaken for paramedics, led by paramedics, and published in paramedicine journals are key components in this pursuit of professionalism. It is our hope that the Irish Journal of Paramedicine will play its part as a vehicle in this endeavour.</p><p>It is important however to point out that the Irish Journal of Paramedicine is not exclusively for paramedics. Within Ireland, and around the world, there are many other prehospital care providers, including community responders, volunteer first responders, EMT practitioners, nurses, physicians and others who deliver high quality patient care and are as committed to their personal and professional development as any paramedic. This journal is for the entire prehospital care community, within Ireland and abroad.</p><p>On behalf of the editorial board and the executive of the Irish College of Paramedics, I would like to outline our vision for this journal. We aim to deliver a high quality, freely accessible, peer-reviewed journal that will help to further the professionalisation of paramedicine and prehospital care provision both in Ireland and internationally.</p><p>Our aim is to provide you with access to research, reviews, appraisals, clinical updates, case reports and opinions that will help you to provide the best quality service – whether you are a student, clinician, educator, manager or researcher. We aim to present a wide range of topics relating to clinical practice, professional issues, role development, education and training, policy and service delivery, thereby representing all aspects of paramedicine and prehospital care.</p><p>Our editorial board consists of respected academics, researchers, clinicians and educators from Ireland and abroad who are committed to furthering the cause of paramedicine, and encouraging its future development of professional standing. I am indebted to them for the time they gave so freely in helping to establish this journal.</p><p>We strongly encourage you to submit articles, reports, letters and other contributions to the journal. It is also our vision to publish abstracts of research activity undertaken by Irish prehospital care providers and practitioners, which has been presented at various conferences and scientific meetings, such as the EMS Gathering, and Irish College of Paramedics Scientific Days to name but two.</p><p>Remember this is your journal and it will be as successful as you want it to be. This journal has been a long time in the making, and we look forward to helping it to develop into a true academic and clinical resource along with your assistance. Thank you.</p><p>Alan M. Batt</p><p>Editor</p><p> </p><p>Source of support/funding: None.</p><p>Conflict of interest: AB is Editor of the IJP.</p><p>Provenance and review: Commissioned, not peer-reviewed.</p><p>References</p><p>1. Morton J, Kloepping K, Buick J, Todd J, Batt A. The evolution of the paramedic. Can Paramed. 2015;38(5).</p><p>2. Williams B, Onsman A, Brown T. Is the Australian Paramedic Discipline a Full Profession ? J Emerg Prim Heal Care. 2010;8(1):3.</p><p>How to cite this article: Batt AM. Welcome to the Irish Journal of Paramedicine (Editorial). Irish Journal of Paramedicine, 2016; 1(1).</p><p>This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/</a>),which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work and any attributes thereof are properly cited, are distributed under the same licence, and that the work is not used for commercial purposes. Content copyright remains with the authors, who grant the IJP a licence to reuse and distribute.</p><p> </p>

<p> It is with great anticipation and excitement that we launch the first edition of the Irish Journal of Paramedicine. The Irish College of Paramedics (ICoP) are sincerely grateful to the Editor, Mr. Alan Batt, for this initiative and for his invitation to participate in this, the first Irish journal for national and international pre-hospital practitioners.</p><p> The Irish College of Paramedics, like our regulatory body the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC), has identified research in pre-hospital care as a central and important objective. In furthering our role as a professional body ICoP believe research by pre-hospital practitioners is essential to developing the profession. Like many other healthcare professions, paramedicine needs to develop a culture of research to contribute to the improvements in guidelines, culture, ethics and practice so as to impact positively on our patients whilst promoting this evolving profession.</p><p>Research in the pre-hospital arena is sparse and there is an immediate need to contribute to this important field. This past decade has seen some improvement in the amount of reputable journals focused on pre-hospital care exclusively and these are very much welcomed. Indeed these journals, to their credit, encourage submissions from paramedics and other pre-hospital practitioners, students and related faculty.</p><p>The Australasian Journal of Paramedicine has really set the standard and paramedic profession has benefitted from their innovative approach to publishing. This model allows contributions from those practitioners interested in publishing, some for the first time. The net benefit is a varied and interesting cross section of literature from many core and peripheral fields of paramedicine.</p><p>The Irish Journal of Paramedicine will have a similar ethos and I know the entire approach has the ability to contribute positively to our profession. The fact too that this journal is ‘open access’ will also allow for minimal restriction of articles and maximum exposure to authors. I am honoured to be part of the editorial team whilst amazed at the international mix of experience in this team.</p><p>I hope the launch of the Irish Journal of Paramedicine will encourage all those members of our community interested in publishing to contribute through direct submission and that we all support this outstanding initiative.</p><p>A journal dedicated to promoting and advancing the science of pre-hospital care and all things related, has the full support of the Irish College of Paramedics. We are delighted to make the Irish Journal of Paramedicine the official journal of the Irish College of Paramedics and we wish Alan and the entire team all the very best.</p><p>Thank you Alan.</p><p>Shane Knox PhD MSc HDip AssocCIPD Cert.Mgt MCPara</p><p>President of the Irish College of Paramedics</p><p> </p>

<p>The intent of this commentary is to provide a paramedicine perspective on the new helicopter EMS service in the Southern region of Ireland, covering mainly Cork and Kerry. The recent discussions regarding the crew composition of the proposed Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) in Cork require comment from paramedicine. Whilst we respect the opinion of other professions we feel it is important to provide an Irish perspective on behalf of members of the Irish College of Paramedics - Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) Paramedics, and Advanced Paramedics (APs).</p>

Editorial: Introduction to U.S. EMS Agenda 2050 / William Leggio -- Commentary: Helicopter EMS in Cork: a paramedicine perspective / Shane Knox -- Rote learning: the ugly duckling of student paramedic education? / David Nicholas Long, Lisa Hobbs, Scott Devenish -- Letter to the Editor: Re: Helicopter EMS in Cork: a paramedicine perspective / Brian Burns -- Original Research: International Examination and Synthesis of the Primary and Secondary Surveys in Paramedicine / Marc A Colbeck, Sonja Maria, Georgette Eaton, Craig B Campbell, Alan M Batt, Matthew R Caffey -- Fit for duty: The health status of New South Wales Paramedics / Alex James MacQuarrie, Caroline Robertson, Peter Micalos, James Crane, Richard High, Eric Drinkwater, James Wickham -- Abstracts: EMS Gathering 2018 & Irish College of Paramedics Scientific Symposium 2018 Abstract Supplement

Editorial: What Australian and Irish paramedic registrants can learn from the UK: lessons in developing professionalism / Ruth Townsend -- Original Research: Out of alignment? A critical reflection on the student-teacher relationship in project-based paramedicine education / John Rae, Alexander MacQuarrie -- Case Report: Treat the patient, not the machine...always true? / Damien Gaumont -- Professional: Building research capacity among Irish prehospital practitioners / Alan M. Batt, Shane Knox -- Abstracts: University of Limerick Paramedic Studies - Bachelor of Science (Paramedic Studies) Research Proposal Abstracts 2017