Paramedic PapersHome Education & training Paramedics feel weakest in neonatal and paediatric mental health
Education & training
Paramedics feel weakest in neonatal and paediatric mental health
Finnish Paramedics' Self-Assessed Competence in Paediatric and Neonatal Care: A Nationwide Survey of Education, Training and Development Needs
Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway · 2026-10-08 · Added 10 October 2026
A survey of 253 Finnish paramedic graduates found moderate self-rated paediatric competence (mean 2.92/5) but low neonatal competence (2.04), with paediatric mental health emergencies rated lowest (1.30) and limited simulation or placement opportunities reported.
- Study type
- Cross-sectional
- Design
- Cross-sectional survey
- Participants
- 253 paramedics
- Main finding
- Self-rated competence 2.92 (paediatric) and 2.04 (neonatal); paediatric behavioural and mental health emergencies lowest at 1.30; simulation and clinical placement opportunities limited, especially in neonatal care
- Caveat
- Self-assessed competence in a single country's graduates, recruited via social media
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (Medium relevance). A different education system, but the pattern — minimal paediatric and neonatal case volume, weakest in mental health presentations — will feel familiar to educators here.
Learning goal
Understand how limited paediatric and neonatal clinical exposure shapes my competence in behavioural and mental health emergencies.
More
- Topic: Education & training
- Daily scan: 10 October 2026
Related papers on Education & training
-
TeamSTEPPS training shows no measurable gain
A Norwegian TeamSTEPPS programme for ambulance staff measured teamwork and safety-culture perceptions at baseline, 4 and 12 months — and found no statistically significant change in any dimension despite the structured training.
-
Situational judgement tests in paramedic hiring
National survey of 21 Canadian paramedic services found situational judgement tests and multiple mini-interviews are rarely used in frontline paramedic hiring, mostly by smaller services despite the tools being designed for mass testing.
-
AR training keeps teen AED skills fresh
Quasi-experimental study of 193 secondary students found all three AED teaching methods produced safe, effective shocks initially, but the augmented-reality group retained a 100% effective shock rate at 3 months while the traditionally trained group declined significantly.
-
EMT pass rates vary by program size and region
A US descriptive analysis of 8,567 EMT program cohorts (2018–2022) found median first-attempt certification pass rates of 63.9%, varying by cohort size, region and year, with larger cohorts performing better.