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ZENODO
Report . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: ZENODO
ZENODO
Report . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Report . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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Scope is not the problem: why governance is the real risk for advanced practice by paramedics in Canada – policy commentary

Authors: Batt, Alan; Leduc, Shannon; Bolster, Jennifer;

Scope is not the problem: why governance is the real risk for advanced practice by paramedics in Canada – policy commentary

Abstract

Across Canada, paramedicine is at the centre of conversations about advanced practice. The Career Framework for Paramedics proposes specialist and practitioner roles for paramedics across multiple contexts. These are what we refer to as advanced practice roles. Expanded clinical roles, community-based models, and integration into primary and urgent care are increasingly positioned as actual and potential solutions to healthcare access pressures, emergency department congestion, and workforce shortages. In many areas, the debate has become intensely focused on scope and skillset: how far paramedics can, or should, practice. This focus is understandable…but it is also misplaced. The most significant risk facing advanced practice in paramedicine is not the breadth of scope (e.g., expanded clinical examination and procedural skills, increased autonomy), but the absence of clear, coherent, profession-led governance to support it. When roles evolve faster than accountability, decision rights, and regulatory structures, the result is not innovation but system fragility. Advanced practice will succeed or fail not on what paramedics are ‘allowed’ to do, but on who is accountable when they do it, under what authority, and within what governance framework.

Related Organizations
Keywords

Professional Role, Professional Competence, Health regulation, Paramedicine, Professional Practice, Professional Autonomy, Paramedics, Delegation, Professional

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green