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Workforce & wellbeing
Nurse-paramedics caught between two professions
The professional identity of dual-qualified nurse-paramedics: A descriptive phenomenological study
Paramedicine · 2026-09-25 · Added 26 September 2026
A phenomenological study of 13 Australian dual-qualified nurse-paramedics found they experienced a confused, fragmented professional identity — a constant 'tug of war' — driven by siloed governance structures and interprofessional rivalry.
- Study type
- Qualitative
- Design
- Qualitative descriptive phenomenological study
- Participants
- 13 dual-qualified nurse-paramedics across Australia
- Main finding
- Participants reported identity confusion, pressure to conform to one profession, and feeling invisible, disheartened and exhausted under governance structures that enforce strict professional boundaries
- Caveat
- Small qualitative sample, self-selected participants, no outcome measures
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (High relevance). An Australian study of paramedics in jurisdictional services, speaking directly to workforce design, registration arrangements and staff wellbeing across the country.
Learning goal
Understand how dual professional identity affects my wellbeing and practice within Australia's regulated paramedic workforce.
More
- Topic: Workforce & wellbeing
- Daily scan: 26 September 2026
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