Cardiac Auscultation for Paramedics 101

Foreword.

Perhaps the greatest challenge for paramedic education in Queensland is to facilitate teaching of a discipline with a massive practical component across a largely decentralised State. Paramedics of the Queensland Ambulance Service are spread across a geographic area larger than many European countries, the tyranny of distance strongly impacting provision of in-service education and clinical support to such isolated and remote stations as my own. Similarly, distance education students of Australian universities may reside in European countries, or indeed anywhere on Earth; for example, the student cohort of the paramedic conversion degree I complete this term has comprised not only Australian paramedics, but also students from such far-flung places as the Middle East, the UK, both Australian and international armed forces, an oil rig in the North Atlantic, and a couple of well-rugged fellows in the wilds of northern Canada.

The internet and associated web 2.0 technologies now enable universities to deliver higher education programs in real time to such diverse students as these worldwide, providing reach previously unattainable by traditional and postal methods. These gains however are not without their own challenges, requiring consideration of issues not seen in a bricks and mortar classroom, such as conveying genuine teacher and student presence within the online environment, and forced reliance upon and adaptation to technological rather than traditional methods for facilitation of every aspect of the course. Whilst providing a theoretical education in the virtual classroom can be tricksy enough, online delivery of a practical, skills-based education is ten times as hard, not only for instruction but also assessment. For this reason I have chosen a practical skill for my e-learning product, and will demonstrate the use of web 2.0 technologies to deliver instruction of both theoretical knowledge and practical skills within an online learning environment.

I have constructed this learning package as a stand-alone unit for an audience comprising either third-year paramedic students or qualified paramedics, and assumes pre-existing knowledge to that level and preferably including 12-lead ECG. The online facilitation of the package addresses the issues of statewide distribution and implementation for an ambulance service, and is of course suitable for distance education university students. Instructions to students are given regarding progression through the course, for assessment and for sign-off, and whilst no direct lecturer-student interaction is necessary contact details via various means are provided should assistance be required. The course therefore allows the learner to progress at their own pace, to repeat sections and the quiz as desired, and remains open and available for refresher training at a later date or prior to examinations.

This product comprises two assessment tasks for two courses at two different universities - many thanks to my lecturers Lucinda and Julie for allowing me to combine their relevant assignments to produce this. These assessments are:

• HFB3111 essay: "Develop a teaching and learning package for the inclusion of a new assessment skill with in your service that is not already used." This work will form the learning material for the e-learning package.
• EDED20485 product design: "Develop an e-learning product utilising some of the educational technologies you have learnt about and/or discovered in this course." This work will form the e-learning environment and pedagogy.

Due to its flexibility, versatility, and simple interface, the wiki platform is ideal to host the e-learning package upon. As pages are easily edited it is a simple matter to update the course as needed, the content is protected against changes by unauthorised persons by password security, and in case of inadvertent loss the rollback function allows instant recovery of material. Navigation through the course is clearly marked on every page and upon the sidebar to the right, and even users naïve to the wiki environment or uncomfortable with technology in general should have no problems using the tool. The presentation and layout of pages has been designed to be clear and engaging yet not overwhelming, and whilst multimedia is used wherever of value to demonstrate a skill or provide example audio, I have refrained from using more than necessary. Referencing of all sources is APA style, with references included both upon each page and in a combined list at the end; if actually facilitating something such as this however I'd prefer to use numeric rather than APA referencing to keep the text cleaner for readers. 

Thank you for visiting my wiki, and I hope you enjoy the course!

Lisa Hurring.

Click here to begin the course!