Investigation of validity and reliability of the scale: "Professionalism at work: Questionnaire for qualified paramedics, student paramedics and EMTs"

ABSTRACT Aim: This study was conducted to perform the Turkish cultural adaptation of the "Professionalism at Work: Questionnaire for Qualified Paramedics, Student Paramedics, and EMTs" scale, investigate its validity and reliability, and evaluate the professionalism perceptions and attitudes of paramedics, student paramedics, and emergency medical technicians using the scale model developed. Methods: The study was conducted with the participation of paramedics and emergency medical technicians working in Eskişehir province and paramedic students studying in the same city by using quantitative data collection methods and a cross-sectional and descriptive study design and applying face-to-face and online questionnaires. Of the participants, paramedics and EMTs were named the "working group" and paramedic students were named the "student group", and the research data were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Results: Our research included a total of 613 individuals, including 191 paramedics, 195 EMTs, and 227 student paramedics. According to the findings, 370 (60.4%) of the participants were female. The majority of the 386 participants in the working group had a total work experience of five years or more. In the reliability analysis of the scale, Cronbach's Alpha values were calculated as 0.760 for the working group, 0.723 for the student group, and 0.748 for the total sample, which showed the scale was quite reliable. The goodness of fit indices of the scale were CFI, 0.933; TLI, 0.922; RMSEA, 0.045; GFI, 0.915; AGFI, 0.895; χ2, 828.078 (p<0.001), and the scale model with thirty items and six sub-dimensions was evaluated to be at an excellent level. Conclusion: The validity and reliability of the Professionalism at Work: Questionnaire for Qualified Paramedics, Student Paramedics, and EMTs scale, which was culturally adapted into Turkish, were proven. The scale can be used to evaluate professionalism at work in specified groups. "Behaving in a way that brings respect to the profession" and "Being clean, tidy, and well-groomed" were evaluated as the professional attitudes most adopted by the participants in both groups. Both groups attached importance to the concept of trust in relationships with society and advocated the necessity of developing professional knowledge, skills and behavior. Keywords: Professionalism, professionalism at work scale, paramedic, ethics.