Beyond 42 titles: a capability-based approach to standardising ‘community paramedic’ terminology

To date, 42 different titles have been used to label roles within the emerging specialty of non-acute paramedicine – sometimes referred to as ‘community paramedicine’. However, the use of these titles is conflicting and over the last decade, eight reviews have raised the problem of inconsistency in terminology. In this article, the authors directly address this inconsistency in terminology in four steps. Firstly, they chart the inconsistent terms that are in use and provide evidence of their contradictory definitions. Secondly, they link this confusion in terminology to six potential harms. Thirdly, they identify major historic factors that contributed to this position of overlapping and conflicting terminology within the paramedic profession. Finally, they suggest a fundamental principle for future use – that roles should be defined based on clinician capabilities rather than vocational features.