School Excursion Medical Safety

Parents and educators are poles apart in their beliefs about medical support on excursions.

Research by Guardiant is being used to identify and reduce the gaps that exist between what parents and carers, principals, educators and school nurses believe about the available medical support for students and educators when on excursions.

Guardiant is an Australian organisation dedicated to the medical care of students and educators beyond the school gate. The organisation provides a team of qualified Nurses, Paramedics, Psychologists and General Practitioners to support educators in the field, when a student or educator is injured or becomes ill on an excursion. It also provides wellbeing care for educators after they experience a potentially traumatic event.

Early results from the research reveal “approximately 67% of school excursions don’t have an accompanying nurse or medically qualified teacher”. And initial indicators suggest this varies widely with the expectations of parents.

The research also revealed “28% of school staff lack confidence managing a clinical event on their own”. This is probably a reflection of the number of responses from non-medically trained teachers who are responsible for medical care on excursions.

You can participate in the research

The research is a continuous process with new responses added daily. The more educators who contribute, the better the quality of the findings. So, all outdoor educators are invited to share your thoughts by completing the survey.

All responses are confidential – all participants receive a summary of their results compared to the national average.

If you have any questions regarding this research, please email ask@MyGuardiant.com.au