ABSTRACT
Introduction: This study is planned to determine the knowledge of personal protective equipment use of senior paramedic students before graduation during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The research is a descriptive study. The universe of the study consisted of 180 senior paramedic students studying at three universities in İzmir. When evaluating the study data, descriptive findings were expressed as percentage, mean, standard deviation and median. Results: 38.1% of the students are between 18-20 years old, 50.0% are between 21-23 years old and 11.9% are 23 years old and above. 58.3% of the students participating in the study are females and 41.7% are males. In the study, 74.4% of paramedic students stated that healthcare personnel working in ambulance or patient transport vehicles should use medical masks, gowns, gloves and eye protection while transporting suspected COVID-19- (SARS-CoV-2) patients to the health institution. 78.5% of the students answered that an N95/FFP2 mask should be used while intervening and taking samples in a patient suspected of having COVID-19. Discussion: As a result, it was found that during the COVID-19 pandemic period, the knowledge of personal protective equipment use of senior paramedic students before graduation is sufficient in some cases and not clear and sufficient in some cases. It is recommended that students should be given effective training on the use of PPE during the intervention of the patient with COVID-19 before graduation.