Table 1 The interview schedule
Section one (opening questions) | Â |
• Please tell me what made you choose paramedicine as a speciality? | |
• Do you know if anyone has noticed that your mental health (e.g., moods, behaviour) has changed since becoming a paramedic student? | |
Section two | Â |
How have you found going on the clinical placements? – Explore initial impressions. – Explore learning experiences. – Overall, illustrate anything positive. – Explore any possibly problematic elements. – Explore the support/encouragement received during the training. _Explore barriers encountered/how these were overcome? | |
= What do you think of the structure of your training? – Explore the university’s approach to training. – Number of sessions – were there too many? too few? – Length and time of the shift – were they long enough to cover the requirements – too long to be achievable – Explore the grading methods of the training. | |
Which part of the training is challenging from your experience as a paramedic student? – Explore any stressful challenges. – Explore a personal experience. – Explore the causes of the challenge. – Explore means to overcome challenges. | |
To what extent can the training environment be challenging? – Explore any part of the environment that is challenging. – Explore the cause of the challenge. – Explore the role of colleagues. – Explore recourses and guidance sources. | |
Section three | Â |
What factors from your experiences affect paramedic students’ wellbeing the most? – Explore an incident that presents a factor where the well-being was impacted. – Explore university factors – Explore paramedic course and training factors – Explore personal relations and family factors | |
How have you found your paramedic program? – Explore the relevance of teaching. – Explore the level of interest in teaching. – Explore the impact of exams and assessments. | |
From your experience, how do you think training in the field would be a factor to affect the paramedic student wellbeing? – Explore an impactful case(s) – Explore the impact of the environment – Explore the impact of knowledge and preparation – Explore the impact of pre/post emergency call routine – Explore management approaches in cases of misconduct. | |
To what extent does your future career worry you? – Explore job availability – Explore threats and challenges | |
From your experiences, what factors do you think cause psychological problems in the EMS field? – Explore impactful case(s) – Explore thoughts and feelings. | |
Does the term ‘psychological issues’ relate at all to the EMS environment? – Is it discussed among students? – Can you explore the nature of the discussions? – Is it discussed in positive/negative/stigmatising forms? – Who has these discussions? Among students? Between students and faculty? | |
Recommendations | What are your recommendations for future paramedic students regarding mental health challenges and factors impacting their well-being? |
Do you want to add anything that relates to the interview? |