Welcome to the Irish Journal of Paramedicine

<p>Welcome to the first issue of the Irish Journal of Paramedicine (IJP). It gives me great pleasure to launch this journal, a first for Irish paramedics, and pre-hospital care in Ireland. I am also honoured to announce that the IJP has been adopted as the official journal of the Irish College of Paramedics, the professional body for prehospital emergency care practitioners in Ireland.</p><p> A newly emerging profession, paramedicine is now poised at a crossroads. Previously alluded to with colleagues from around the globe, the role of the paramedic is one that is rapidly evolving, and yet paramedicine as a discipline has yet to figure out where it belongs.(1) Are we public safety professionals, first responders or healthcare professionals? Williams has previously stated that the road less travelled requires the paramedic profession to pursue identity as a healthcare profession and not as emergency responders, EMS workers, or ambulance drivers, which we are so commonly identified as.(2)</p><p>Initiatives within Ireland such as the Centre for Prehospital Research national research agenda, the move to higher education for paramedics in University College Dublin and the University of Limerick, and the publication of high-quality peer-reviewed research, undertaken for paramedics, led by paramedics, and published in paramedicine journals are key components in this pursuit of professionalism. It is our hope that the Irish Journal of Paramedicine will play its part as a vehicle in this endeavour.</p><p>It is important however to point out that the Irish Journal of Paramedicine is not exclusively for paramedics. Within Ireland, and around the world, there are many other prehospital care providers, including community responders, volunteer first responders, EMT practitioners, nurses, physicians and others who deliver high quality patient care and are as committed to their personal and professional development as any paramedic. This journal is for the entire prehospital care community, within Ireland and abroad.</p><p>On behalf of the editorial board and the executive of the Irish College of Paramedics, I would like to outline our vision for this journal. We aim to deliver a high quality, freely accessible, peer-reviewed journal that will help to further the professionalisation of paramedicine and prehospital care provision both in Ireland and internationally.</p><p>Our aim is to provide you with access to research, reviews, appraisals, clinical updates, case reports and opinions that will help you to provide the best quality service – whether you are a student, clinician, educator, manager or researcher. We aim to present a wide range of topics relating to clinical practice, professional issues, role development, education and training, policy and service delivery, thereby representing all aspects of paramedicine and prehospital care.</p><p>Our editorial board consists of respected academics, researchers, clinicians and educators from Ireland and abroad who are committed to furthering the cause of paramedicine, and encouraging its future development of professional standing. I am indebted to them for the time they gave so freely in helping to establish this journal.</p><p>We strongly encourage you to submit articles, reports, letters and other contributions to the journal. It is also our vision to publish abstracts of research activity undertaken by Irish prehospital care providers and practitioners, which has been presented at various conferences and scientific meetings, such as the EMS Gathering, and Irish College of Paramedics Scientific Days to name but two.</p><p>Remember this is your journal and it will be as successful as you want it to be. This journal has been a long time in the making, and we look forward to helping it to develop into a true academic and clinical resource along with your assistance. Thank you.</p><p>Alan M. Batt</p><p>Editor</p><p> </p><p>Source of support/funding: None.</p><p>Conflict of interest: AB is Editor of the IJP.</p><p>Provenance and review: Commissioned, not peer-reviewed.</p><p>References</p><p>1. Morton J, Kloepping K, Buick J, Todd J, Batt A. The evolution of the paramedic. Can Paramed. 2015;38(5).</p><p>2. Williams B, Onsman A, Brown T. Is the Australian Paramedic Discipline a Full Profession ? J Emerg Prim Heal Care. 2010;8(1):3.</p><p>How to cite this article: Batt AM. Welcome to the Irish Journal of Paramedicine (Editorial). Irish Journal of Paramedicine, 2016; 1(1).</p><p>This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (<a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/</a>),which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work and any attributes thereof are properly cited, are distributed under the same licence, and that the work is not used for commercial purposes. Content copyright remains with the authors, who grant the IJP a licence to reuse and distribute.</p><p> </p>