Paramedics in Turkey Report Training and Service Problems, Qualitative Study Finds

A phenomenological study published in BMC Medical Education has identified the problems that paramedics and emergency medical technician candidates encounter during their training and while working in emergency medical service units in Turkey. The research, conducted by Gülhan Gök and published open access on 26 October 2026, used a qualitative design to capture the experiences of frontline emergency personnel, aiming to generate recommendations that could improve both paramedic education and the delivery of emergency care.

The study employed a phenomenological design, a qualitative research method. Fifteen participants formed the study group, selected according to excess and saturation criteria. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted either face-to-face or by telephone. The researcher then analyzed the material using thematic-constructivist content analysis, supported by the MAXQDA software program.

The analysis produced a detailed structure of findings: 15 sub-codes, 36 codes, and 10 sub-themes emerged from the interview data. According to the study, this coding structure revealed factors that negatively affect both the training process of emergency medical technician candidates and the delivery of emergency medical services. Importantly, the findings showed that these factors vary between emergency departments and emergency medical stations, meaning that the challenges are not uniform across the different settings where paramedics train and work.

The study’s central conclusion concerns how the type of unit shapes the nature of the problems. At emergency medical service stations, the issues reported by participants were linked to the system itself. In hospital emergency departments, by contrast, the problems were associated with patients and with the attitudes and behaviors of healthcare personnel.

Across both settings, participants identified the high number of students present in these units as a significant issue. According to the research findings, this negatively affected both the educational process and service delivery, indicating that the volume of trainees placed in emergency units may strain the capacity of those units to teach effectively while maintaining service delivery.

The author states that the aim of the research is to contribute to the improvement of emergency medical services by developing recommendations related to the identified problems. Because the study is qualitative and based on interviews with 15 participants in Turkey, its findings describe the experiences of this specific group rather than measuring outcomes across a broader population; the reported variation in problem types between settings reflects the participants’ accounts as analyzed through the study’s thematic framework.

Subject of Research: Problems in paramedic training and emergency medical service delivery in Turkey

Article Title: Improving emergency medical services in the context of paramedic training: a phenomenological study

Article References: Gök, G. (2026). Improving emergency medical services in the context of paramedic training: a phenomenological study. BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-10714-9

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12909-026-10714-9

Keywords: paramedic training, emergency medical services, phenomenology, qualitative research, Turkey, BMC Medical Education, semi-structured interviews, thematic analysis, emergency departments, medical education, Improving, emergency