Syftet var att studera begreppet akut i avsikt att identifiera dess karaktäristika, förutsättningar och konsekvenser inom ambulanssjukvården. Intresset väcktes då begreppet används i flera olika sammanhang och är individuellt upplevt, vilket kan missuppfattas i kontakten med patient och annan vårdpersonal. Metoden utgjordes av en begreppsanalys och datamaterialet av vetenskapliga artiklar, tidskrifter, läroböcker, uppslagsverk med mera som har med begreppet att göra. I en begreppsanalys förtydligas begreppet genom att man synliggör dess karaktäristika. Genom tydliggöring av begreppets karaktäristika blir det tydligt vad begreppet innebär och vad det inte innebär. Att klargöra ord som ibland används i många sammanhang eller att det är ett vagt begrepp är vanligt inom vårdvetenskapen och kan behöva förtydligas enligt Walker och Avant (2011), för att få fram betydelsen och förhoppningsvis få fram en gemensam innebörd för begreppet. I den lexikala genomgången har lexikon och ordböcker använts. Sammantaget kan man säga att det gemensamma för svenskans och engelskans innebörd av begreppet är främst skarp. Under den litterära analysen har flera utmärkande karaktäristika av begreppet identifierats, detta genom tolkning av de utvalda vetenskapliga artiklarna. I sammanfattningen av begreppet ’akut’ framkommer att det kan beskrivas som en subjektiv upplevelse relaterat till en sjukdom eller tillstånd hos den hjälpsökande personen.

The diploma thesis deals with the identification of risks which threaten students in the fields of Radiology Assistant, General Nurse and Paramedic. The aim of the thesis is to map the knowledge of risks during providing health care in students of selected fields at the Faculty of Health and Social Studies at the University of South Bohemia. Four hypotheses were set in the thesis. Hypothesis no. 1 saying that there are statistically significant differences in risk knowledge between students of the first and last year of individual fields of health care. Hypothesis no. 2 that there are statistically significant differences in stress perception as a risk-enhancing factor between paramedics and general nurses. Hypothesis no. 3 states that there is a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of the risk of ionizing radiation between radiological assistants and general nurses and hypothesis no. 4 that paramedics will call their future occupation more risky than general nurses. To achieve the objectives and verify the hypotheses, a questionnaire was prepared, a questionnaire survey was conducted and everything was evaluated using graphic and statistical methods. The questionnaire contained 23 questions and the research sample consisted of 105 respondents from the studied fields. The results show that hypothesis no. 1 was confirmed in the fields of Radiology Assistant and Paramedic and rejected by the General Nurse. Hypothesis no. 2 was also confirmed. Hypothesis no. 3 was rejected and hypothesis no. 4 was also rejected. The contribution of the thesis is a complex picture of the knowledge of risks during providing health care in the studied fields. The results can serve the faculty to further more effective teaching.

Some innovations are termed ‘disruptive’, a designation that is normally applied to technology; examples include computers, digital cameras, and mobile phones. The term can also be applied to groups of workers, particularly if they are able to offer specific technical capabilities within a market at lower cost, but broadly equal and effective to that offered by traditional products or services. Paramedics could be described in this way and are a newly professionalised group, with distinctive capabilities in terms of responding to the needs of not just the acutely ill and injured, but increasingly those patients with undifferentiated non-life- threatening conditions, which increasingly make up the bulk of 999 call demand. The key to their transition from an artisan, skilled worker to professional status is the acquisition of certain ‘hallmarks’. Perhaps the most important of these is the completion of more prolonged education that affords the opportunity to graduate with enhanced decision-making and other clinical skills in order to meet the needs of the full spectrum of patients in the pre-hospital setting. Paramedics were surveyed to determine how they rated their ‘traditional’ preparation and to establish what their attitudes were to a more educationally based approach. Paramedics themselves proved to be realistic regarding shortcomings in established training and education systems, while also being strongly motivated to learn more within a higher education setting, particularly if this additional effort would result in being able to offer a wider range of care to their patients. During the study, major changes in the health care environment and the role of the Ambulance Service took place, leading to a requirement to undertake a second phase of research. This took the form of ‘Horizon Scanning’ in an attempt to detect ‘signals’, themes and trends in relation to newly emerging ‘competitors’ to the paramedic role. These included nursing, new practitioners and most critically, the rapidly emerging medical sub-speciality of pre-hospital care, staffed by medical personnel on a pattern found specifically in some European countries, sometimes termed the ‘Franco-German’ model/System (FGM/S). Hitherto, the model of provision in the UK had followed the ‘Anglo-American’ model/System (AAM/S), approach, with paramedics providing direct patient care in the field and medical staff largely involved in medical oversight, teaching, clinical governance and other higher level roles. As part of this research, the evidence base for change was examined and consideration given to the factors that might help clarify what the likely situation could be in 2030 in respect of ambulance services, pre-hospital care and paramedics. This future is uncertain, but factors have been identified that would militate in favour of one or other model prevailing, with close links established between educational preparation, system design, career structure and the continuance of the professionalisation process favouring paramedic progression. However, other factors, most specifically professional power, the absence of a clear evidence base and an apparent reluctance to clearly acknowledge this in some respects, lead to the conclusion that the future of pre-hospital care remains uncertain and contested, but also potentially amenable to a well-directed influencing strategy.