Working in ambulance service organisations

This chapter focuses on the preparation of paramedic practitioners for work within organisations. As beginning practitioners, paramedic practitioners are required to adapt to work within health service organisations that exist in complex and unpredictable environments. For practitioners to be effectively inducted into their work roles within this environment, an appreciation of the wider context is paramount. Additionally, with the increase in autonomy that has accompanied the move to tertiary education, paramedic practitioners are having greater input into organisational decision making and are charged with responsibilities that were once exclusively the domain of management. Understanding the nature of health service organisations is considered essential for the adaptation of beginning practitioners to the complexity of these extended roles. Following an introductory discussion that defines ambulance services within their environmental context, the nature of ambulance service organisations is then explained through the lenses of planning organising, leading and controlling.