CALGARY – Alberta’s EMS foundation is giving the University of Calgary $100,000 to help two paramedics or EMTs become researchers. Ian Blanchard is currently the only full-time paramedic researcher working in the province. He says it’s important that frontline workers have the opportunity to get involved in academic work.
“Research paramedics are critical to discovering what research needs to be conducted. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of paramedics who have received formal research training,” Blanchard said.
Compared to many other areas of medicine, there is very little research and funding for research specific to EMS care, according to the foundation.
“Because a paramedic works on the frontlines, they’re very familiar in the paramedic system,” said Blanchard. “So if they’re formally training in the research world, they can bridge those two worlds together, which will result in better quality research.”
Blanchard, for example, is currently reviewing ambulance response time data from around the world in order to determine the link between response times and patient outcomes. AHS currently does not have any response time benchmarks; Blanchard hopes his research will help officials develop better policies for EMS practices across the province.
The two successful candidates will share the foundation’s $100,000 gift as a student stipend over two years. They will be mentored by Dr. Chip Doig, the department head of Critical Care Medicine at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.
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