St John WA scholarship winners bring new skills to regional communities

The Kalbarri, Goldfields, and Williams communities are set to benefit from enhanced skills and knowledge after three St John WA volunteers completed their Australian Paramedical College (APC) Diploma in Emergency Health Care.

Claire Stringer from Kalbarri, Abbey Hay from Kalgoorlie, and Phil Stewart from Williams were all awarded a scholarship two years ago by SJWA and APC to complete the online diploma, which all three recipients completed while serving their communities.

Claire said the diploma coursework sparked a passion for higher learning as she loved learning about new medicines and meeting like-minded people.

“I’m a bit of a nerd,” she said. “I wanted more clinical hours.

“I completed 160 clinical hours with the paramedics but left wanting more because I enjoyed it so much.”

Claire plans to continue to learn as many skills as she can on her way to becoming a paramedic.

“The scholarship allowed me to undertake these studies, I’m grateful to St John WA and Australian Paramedical College for the opportunity to test myself and begin my paramedicine journey,” she said.

“Pursuing this course wasn’t because I needed it for a career move, or to further my personal options, it was so I could better give back to my community and support my fellow volunteers and the paramedics who work alongside us,” Abbey said.

“The self-directed nature of it was challenging. Keeping yourself motivated to keep pushing on in terms of completing modules was quite hard.

“Lucky for me volunteering gave me quite a background in the content we were working on, so it helped me push through some of the coursework and really understand what was being asked of me.”

The course also provided new and interesting challenges, according to Abbey, who serves as an Emergency Medical Technician.

Practical workshops introduced clinical techniques such as cannulation, eye gels and certain medications, giving Abbey an insight into the additional considerations paramedics take while on the job.

“The clinical workshops were week-long experiences that not only consolidated my knowledge as a volunteer but exposed me to new techniques that will enable me to better assist paramedics on road,” she said.

These new skills have increased Abbey’s confidence on road and opened up the possibility of pursuing higher studies in the future.

After completing his diploma, Phil has now applied for an Edith Cowan University Bachelor of Science (Paramedical Science) and will be commencing studies in 2025.

“I wanted to do the course to firstly benefit my community and ensure that the care given was consistent across metro and country regions. That being said, I have now look forward to starting my paramedicine degree,” Phil said.

“The course reaffirmed a lot of what I already knew, and it was encouraging to see how much work the St John WA clinical team put into training volunteers so we are performing to a national standard when we’re serving the community.”

Phil has followed in his parents’ volunteering footsteps. Having been an Emergency Medical Technician in Williams for more than 16 years alongside his wife.

“The beauty of it is, the diploma has got me started with the studies and I have a paramedic station 30 kilometres up the road, where I’ll be able to do my university placement and volunteer,” he said.

“Helping the community in any capacity has always been a passion of mine.

“Whether you’re a volunteer or just interested in emergency or non-emergency healthcare fields it’s a great way to learn new skills, tricks, and gain confidence. It’s worth doing and pursuing.”

APC Director of Growth Stephen Booth said: “We were thrilled to award [the volunteers] the scholarship for the Diploma of Emergency Health Care, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see how they have applied their learning to benefit their community. At Australian Paramedical College, we’re proud to graduate hundreds of students each year who are equally committed to advancing their skills and improving pre-hospital care.”

SJWA Head of Clinical Education Carole Donaldson congratulated all recipients for completing the diploma.

“We are extremely impressed by our volunteer team members, who are not only striving to better their skills for their regional communities but finding the time on top of their everyday work commitments,” she said.

“Their dedication to pre-hospital care excellence helps saves lives and we are continuing to investigate ways to support them on their journey with St John WA.”