Abstract
Background: There is a lack of research on social image, prestige, and the position of the paramedic profession in the social structure. The main objective of the study was to determine the place of the paramedic profession in the hierarchy of prestige of professions as viewed by the public. In operationalizing the term ‘prestige’, we deemed the word ‘respect’ to best fit the sense of the subjective evaluation of prestige with regard to a profession. Material and methods: The data comes from cross-sectional survey-based research. The research was carried out on a group of 600 people over 18 years of age. The sample was of a random nature, and the selection of respondents was calculated on the basis of them being representative of the Polish population. Results: The median of respect declared for the paramedic profession, on a scale of 1 to 5, was 4.49, which placed the profession in fourth place in the ranking. The assessment of respect for paramedics among other medical professions placed them in third place, directly after doctors and midwifes. Conclusions: The profession of paramedic is characterized by high social prestige, locating it at the forefront of the medical profession and other examined professions, but its social position, expressed by objective measures (earnings, structural possibilities, social power), is significantly lower.
Highlights
Paramedics, along with doctors and nurses, form the core of the modern emergency medical system
The profession of paramedic was regulated in Poland, in 2006, by the Emergency Medical Care Act [1] and the Regulations of the Minister of Health, setting the scope of professional activities performed by paramedics employed in the emergency medical care system [2]
The median scoreThe of median the prestige declared for the paramedic on a scaleon a scale score of the prestige declared for the profession, paramedic profession, of 1 to15(very high), which placed the placed profession in fourthinplace inplace in t to 5was, was 4.49, which the profession fourth the ranking, following the profession of firefighter
Summary
Paramedics, along with doctors and nurses, form the core of the modern emergency medical system. The profession of paramedic was regulated in Poland, in 2006, by the Emergency Medical Care Act [1] and the Regulations of the Minister of Health, setting the scope of professional activities performed by paramedics employed in the emergency medical care system [2]. The profession itself is a new one, subsequent legal acts have increased the autonomy and professional independence of paramedics, for example, in the scope of drugs administered, as well as the scope of medical activities that are allowed to be undertaken. 10% of emergency calls are seen to be lifethreatening in the UK [5] The direction of these changes redefines the role of a paramedic, broadening its scope from direct lifesaving procedures towards broadly understood patient care, whether pre-hospital, in the patient’s environment, or in health promotion [5,6,7,8]
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