The College of Paramedics Education Advisory Group have updated our Scope of Practice document (September 2021) to provide members with clear and definitive information to outline the fundamental principles, standards and guidelines underpinning scope of practice. It replaces all previous versions. Scope of practice is defined as the limit of knowledge, skills and experience which individuals possess in relation to their professional role, and the enactment of these lawfully, safely and effectively (HCPC, 2020).
Paramedics will be able to identify and reflect upon their level of competence and understand the limits of their practice. Based on a self-evaluation of their abilities against the accepted professional scope of practice, the Paramedic is then able to identify and prioritise their own learning needs and where they should aim to improve their skills and competency. This guidance does not define a list of clinical procedures a paramedic may perform. Instead, it outlines the boundaries within Paramedic practice that maintains the profession’s continuity over time, whilst still accommodating developments that occur in practice. A range of theoretical and practical orientations inform the scope necessary to practise as a paramedic in a particular setting (such as a set of employer-specified clinical procedural skills), this scope of practice is intended to be generic and applicable to Paramedics working across all settings, and all domains of practice.