Interviews of Paramedics 2010

The data consist of transcribed interviews of 17 paramedics in Finland. Three interviews were conducted at a private health care service provider and five were conducted at a public one. The paramedics were interviewed in pairs with the exception of one three-person group. The interviews were part of a wider ethnographic field study and they were conducted during the shifts of the paramedics. Themed cards were used to make continuing the interview possible afterwards if it was interrupted by an emergency call. The themes included, for example, responsibility, emotions, atmosphere at work, funtionality of the organization, occupational safety, management and cost-effectiveness. The interviews were conducted in offices at the workplaces of the paramedics. Each interview was recorded and videoed, and the recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. Length of the interviews varied from one hour to two and a half hours. Background information included the interviewee's age, work experience as a paramedic, work history and education. The dataset is only available in Finnish.