Analyzing the status of pre-hospital emergency medical services graduates in Iran during the last two decades.

Background: Pre-hospital emergency medical services (PHEMS) training system is an integral part of the health system of any country. Therefore, knowing the status of graduates of this field can provide a new analysis for the policymakers of the National Health System. The purpose of this study was to analyze the status of PHEMS graduates in Iran.

Materials And Methods: The present survey research was conducted with the participation of 437 pre-hospital emergency medicine graduates of Iranian medical science universities in spring and summer of 2022. Sampling in this study was convenience. The documents of the National Organization of Educational Testing were used as well. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed by SPSS25 software using descriptive statistics and analytical statistics.

Results: Among the graduates, the largest number (41.5%) was reported to be in the associate degree. According to the emergency system structure in Iran, graduates were employed in operational, communication, and headquarters areas, respectively, of which 76.8% were working in government centers. Most of the graduates were from the medical sciences universities of Zone 2 (35.6%) in the eastern area of Iran, while most of the workers were related to the medical sciences universities of Zone 1 (27.9%) in the capital region.

Conclusion: Our findings revealed that the distribution of EMS graduates was not proportional to the distribution of the population and geographical area. Therefore, it is suggested that the policymakers of the country's health system should make changes in the recruitment of students in each medical zone.