Paramedics play a critical role in the ambulance service, frequently serving as the senior healthcare professional in a variety of emergency and non-emergency scenarios. They are frequently the first medical personnel on the scene to aid and support patients who are in the most critical need of care. Thinking of becoming a paramedic? Here’s everything you need to know:
When you’re a paramedic, no two days are ever the same. Your patients, locations, situations, medical procedures, equipment: they will all be different day by day. You’ll be called into a variety of emergency and non-emergency scenarios, where you’ll use your judgment and abilities to quickly assess a patient’s status and make life-saving decisions.
Moreover, you’ll learn how to use advanced procedures, equipment, and medicines to resuscitate and stabilize patients. You’ll also use high-profile equipment like spinal and traction splints, defibrillators and even provide oxygen and medications, in an emergency.
Furthermore, your job will extend far beyond your jurisdiction. Many are times when you will need to collaborate with rescue services, firefighters, and the police. But professionals are not the only ones you will interact with. You’ll need to support your patients as well as their friends, family, and even members of the public who may be agitated in emergencies.
As a paramedic, you’ll be the senior part of a two-person team with a technician or an emergency care assistant helping you. Alternatively, you could also choose to work alone on a motorcycle or bicycle or give guidance over the phone from a control room or clinical center.
Being in the medical field, the people you meet in emergencies are not the only ones you will collaborate with. From nurses to doctors, diabetes specialists, mental health teams, GPs, and occupational therapists you will need to collaborate closely with other medical personnel in the hospital emergency departments of your community.
You’ll work shifts, including evenings and weekends, and in all types of weather situations, although you will primarily be located at a local ambulance station.
To work as a paramedic, you must first complete an accredited paramedic science degree or an apprenticeship program. After that, you’ll need to apply for a job as a qualified paramedic with an ambulance service and register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Paramedic science programs typically last three to four years full time and include a combination of theory and practice training, including internships with ambulance services.
The following are standard prerequisites for an undergraduate program. Note that every university has its unique set of admissions standards, so check with them directly:
• Two or three A levels, one of which must be in science, plus five GCSEs (grades 9-4/A-C) in Science, Math, and English, or comparable qualifications
• Relevant NVQ
• A health-based access course or science
• Equivalent Irish or Scottish qualifications
• HNC, HND, or a BTEC, including science
If you’re applying to be a paramedic, you’ll be asked to demonstrate how you think the NHS Constitution’s ideals relate to your daily work. If you’re applying for a paramedic degree, the same rules apply.
The NHS Learning Support Fund will provide you with at least £5,000 per year to assist you to pay for your studies. What’s the best part? You will not be required to pay anything back.
Apprenticeship for a Paramedic Degree/Student Paramedic
Some ambulance trusts allow you to study while working, and each has its unique set of admittance requirements. Typically, they will request:
• A minimum of five GCSEs with a grade of 4/C or higher in science, maths, and English
• Alternatively, an equivalent academic certificate with a high level of health or science content
• Employers will be looking for someone who has two years of driving experience and is physically healthy
As part of the recruitment process, expect driving assignments, fitness evaluations, examinations, and interviews. Note that apprenticeships are not eligible for student grants because your employer and the government will cover any fees, but you will be given a monthly salary.
You’ll need a full, manual driving license when applying to an ambulance service trust as a student paramedic or once you’re fully qualified. If you took your driving test after 1996, you may require an additional driving license to operate larger vehicles and transport passengers. Ambulance service trusts employ vehicles of various sizes, so check your license to see which classifications you require. As a side point, it is probably worth you taking a look at event ambulance.
It takes a lot to become a paramedic because it is a demanding career that involves a lot of empathy, compassion to be nice to patients even in difficult situations, the ability to make quick choices, medical knowledge, mental strength, and physical stamina. Nevertheless, it’s one of the most gratifying professions that one can pursue!
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