Solutions to EMS staffing woes from down under

Australia EMS medics join the podcast to discuss their efforts to fill U.S. positions with their paramedic surplus

July 22, 2022 04:58 PM •

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This episode of EMS One-Stop With Rob Lawrence is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.

There are more paramedics in Australia than there are paramedic jobs!

In this edition of EMS One-Stop, Host Rob Lawrence speaks with Mick Lazell, Neil Noble, Alan Mountford and Colin Allen of Australia EMS.

They are currently in the U.S., leading a study tour of undergraduate paramedic students from various Australian universities. They discuss the over-production of graduate paramedics in Australia and how they hope that visa, and clinical certification and registration hurdles can be overcome to allow Australian paramedics to seek employment in the US.

As we head to the Pinnacle EMS leadership conference, this could provide a key discussion point as we desperately seek to increase our clinical workforce.

EMS One-Stop host Rob Lawrence speaks with Mick Lazell, Neil Noble, Alan Mountford and Colin Allen of Australia EMS.

Rob Lawrence

Rob Lawrence has been a leader in civilian and military EMS for over a quarter of a century. He is currently the director of strategic implementation for PRO EMS and its educational arm, Prodigy EMS, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and part-time executive director of the California Ambulance Association.

He previously served as the chief operating officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority (Virginia), which won both state and national EMS Agency of the Year awards during his 10-year tenure. Additionally, he served as COO for Paramedics Plus in Alameda County, California.

Prior to emigrating to the U.S. in 2008, Rob served as the COO for the East of England Ambulance Service in Suffolk County, England, and as the executive director of operations and service development for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust. Rob is a former Army officer and graduate of the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served worldwide in a 20-year military career encompassing many prehospital and evacuation leadership roles.

Rob is a board member of the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integration (AIMHI) as well as chair of the American Ambulance Association’s State Association Forum. He writes and podcasts for EMS1 and is a member of the EMS1 Editorial Advisory Board. Connect with him on Twitter.