Paramedic capstone education model: Building work ready graduates

SUMMARY In Australia, the last decade has witnessed considerable changes to both the scope of paramedic practice and the education of these practitioners. Notably within education, there has been a national trend to move from on-the-job training, towards a pre-employment, undergraduate university qualification. Despite increases in depth, breath and consistency to the curriculum and delivery by subject experts with training in education, criticism remains targeted at the preparation of the graduate for readiness to undertake the paramedic role. Australian undergraduate courses are currently experiencing unprecedented enrolment numbers, with complex student learning expectations and requirements.  Producing work ready graduates within traditional curriculum frameworks is a challenge.  Capstone courses target the final preparation of the graduating student, with a strong emphasis on articulating them successfully with their chosen industrial settings. While widely accepted in other disciplines, such as engineering, capstone is a new concept to paramedicine. This paper discusses how a capstone topic was created and implemented at Flinders University within the Bachelor of Paramedic Science degree. It describes the differentiated student learning methodology employed and the strategies used to respond to specific student and industry concerns regarding university teaching.