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Workforce & wellbeing
What makes an ambulance driver competent
Conceptualisations of the roles and competencies of ambulance drivers in emergency medical services: A scoping review
Paramedicine · 2026-10-12 · Added 13 October 2026
Scoping review of 19 studies (2007–2026) mapped how ambulance-driver roles and competencies are conceptualised across EMS systems, identifying seven domains from technical driving through to work ability and fitness.
- Study type
- Systematic review
- Design
- Scoping review (JBI methodology, PRISMA-ScR)
- Participants
- 19 studies from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America
- Main finding
- Seven competency domains identified: technical driving; safety and risk management; cognitive and decision-making; communication and teamwork; stress and emotional management; professional and personal attributes; and work ability and fitness
- Caveat
- Highly heterogeneous workforce models across countries make the domains hard to map onto any single system
- Bottom line
- Context only
Why it matters in Australia (Low relevance). Australian ambulances don't use dedicated driver roles — driving is part of every paramedic's scope — so a review built around separate driver roles is background rather than practice-shaping.
Learning goal
Understand how driver competency domains shape safe and effective emergency responses in the Australian paramedic workforce.
More
- Topic: Workforce & wellbeing
- Daily scan: 13 October 2026
- Podcast: Paramedic Papers Daily, 13 October 2026
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