Well done to the members who responded to the recent newsletter and survey on the subject of P1T mentoring from the trainee and preceptor’s point of view.

The results mostly paint a negative picture for both groups. For example, only 27% of qualified paramedic respondents feel they have received adequate training as a P1T mentor. 90% of the same group report that either they or someone they know is suffering from mentor fatigue.

Only 23% said they are consulted prior to being rostered as a mentor, and 76% said they rarely if ever are supported by a CTO. It should be noted that NSWA has never employed enough CTOs to adequately support the old Certificate to Practice model, let alone P1Ts and their mentors.

37.5% of current P1T respondents reported having little or no consistency with mentors. 50% of P1T respondents said they are only a little or not at all being prepared for inservice 1.

A huge 97% of P1Ts do not have regular visits from a CTO, and only 24% feel confident enough to work alone.

It’s not all bad. Promisingly, especially when considering how many qualified paramedics feel they need more training to be a mentor, 55% of P1Ts said their mentors are usually, or always good trainers. And 81% said safety is usually or always a high priority.

There are hundreds of amazing constructive and informative comments – you can see some of them here. (Highly recommend ADHSU members in leadership positions read them).

However, this one, from a current P1T, is particularly poignant:

‘I feel that my p1 mentors are doing their best but I have recieved no support, training or assistance by the service itself during my p1t. To my knowledge, I will be recieving a trainee as soon as I finish my inservice and I know I won't be trained in how to train - only my positive experiences with mentors will help me. I feel for my peers who have not had positive mentor experiences because they will not only be disadvantaged themselves but their future p1ts will be too.’

ADHSU delegates met late last week to discuss the results and next steps. Many solutions were discussed including requiring NSWA to have a fully-fledged CTO posted to every DOM area in the state. This won’t fix the whole problem, but it will make a good start.

Delegates will take the results of the survey, including all comments made, to a meeting with the Service in the next few days or week maximum. We will report back on the outcomes.