School of Biomedical Sciences

Background

After school I completed a BSc degree at UNSW majoring in both Anatomy and Psychology.

In 1987 I joined the Ambulance Service of NSW (ASNSW) where I was employed for 16 years including 7 years as an ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT OFFICER and 5 years as an INTENSIVE CARE PARAMEDIC. In addition to my clinical role, I held the position of ASNSW Peer Support Officer for 6 years.

I have been involved with the Pre-Hospital Care course at Charles Sturt University in the capacity of Subject Writer and Lecturer since 1999. Since the start of 2004 I have been employed full time as LECTURER B teaching in the CSU Pre-Hospital Care course at both the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

Professional Affiliations

• 2007 Member – Expanded Clinical Decision Making in Clinical Practice   Problem Focused Research Group, CSU.
  
• 2006-current Affiliate member - Australian Psychological Society
  Member – Western Region Australian Psychological Society (WRAPS)
  
• 2006 Member – Prehospital and Emergency Medicine In Rural Australia (PEMIRA) Community of Scholars, CSU.
  
• 2005-2008 NSW Branch President, National Executive Committee Member             Australian Critical Incident Stress Association (ACISA)
  
• 2004 -  2006 Member – Research in Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE), CSU.     
  
• 1999 Member – Critical Incident Stress Management Foundation  Australia      (CISMFA)
  Member – International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF)
• 1992-current    Member - Australian College of Ambulance Professionals (ACAP)    (formerly The Institute of Ambulance Officers, Australia).

 

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Teaching

Current subjects taught

• Professional Studies 1 (PHC100) 
• Foundations of Paramedical Science 4 (FPS202)
• Paediatrics for Prehospital Care (PHC401)

Teaching awards

• 2007 CSU Science Faculty Team Teaching Excellence Award

 

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Research

• 2002–current - Doctor of Philosophy (Health Science) – CSU (in progress)
  Thesis draft title: ‘The Lived Experience of Stress in Ambulance Paramedics’.

Research Areas of Interest

• Critical incident stress and burnout in paramedics (focus of PhD research)
• Health Communication
• Prehospital Care work environment and culture
• Prehospital Care education (reflective teaching practices, curriculum and course development)
• The ‘care’ side of Prehospital Care
• Paramedic expanded scope of practice

Grants/ Grant Applications

• 2007    CSU Competitive Grant ($12000) – Chief Investigator
  Expanded decision making in paramedicine: Experience, impact and implications.
• 2007       CSU Faculty of Health Publications Assistance Grant
• 2005     Australian College of Ambulance Professionals (ACAP) NSW Branch Research Grant.

Other

• 2005      Inaugural recipient of the Australian College of Ambulance Professionals (ACAP) NSW Branch $4000 Research Grant.
• Invited guest speaker at the Australasian Critical Incident Stress Association (ACISA) 2005 Conference ‘Trauma-The smaller picture, the impact of the individual and the family’, Sydney.  Conference paper titled ‘Stress – A Paramedic’s Perspective’.

 

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Publications

• Hamilton, L. (2009). Managing emotion work and stress, in C. Grbich& P. O’Meara (Eds.), Paramedics in Australia: Contemporary challenges of practice, Sydney: Pearson.
• Hamilton, L. (2008). Embedding information literacy into the prehospital care curriculum. Journal of Emergency Primary Health Care, 6(1) April 2008.
• Hamilton, L. (2008). Book review: Pediatric education for prehospital professionals – 2nd edition. Journal of Emergency Primary Health Care, 6(1) April 2008.
• Woollard, M., Lighton, D., Mannion, W., Watt, J., McCrea, C., Johns, I., Hamilton, L., O’Meara, P., Cotton, C. &  Smyth, M. (2007). Airtraq versus standard laryngoscopy by student paramedics and experienced pre-hospital laryngoscopists managing a model of difficult intubation: randomized cross-over trials. Anaesthesia, 63(1): 26-31 January 2008.

 

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