Question for ambulance crews/paramedics - career change??
Discussion
Evening all,
I've been considering changing jobs for some time now for the usual reasons - not feeling engaged, the career I am in at the moment is not particularly exciting or social, etc. It has it's ups (paying my mortgage for one!) but am not enjoying a long commute, round about 70 miles round trip most days of the week if not more.
I am not currently on a shift pattern but like the idea of a job which has this as standard, as well as options of overtime and holiday cover. Which brings me to the question! Does anyone on here have shift experience, particularly with the NHS in the paramedic area?
My O/H is a junior doctor so that'd help a lot with picking up the basics and some advanced treatment techniques. I like the idea of the excitement, variety and change of lifestyle pace that'd come with a paramedic/ambulance tech type role.
Some background on me... I'm 25, hold a degree in colouring in aka Geography (not that this has proved useful for bugger all in life), a full license with no points (miracle) and am prepared to take the time out to study. Currently on £25k approx. And money isn't my biggest motivator - i'd do this job to get damn good at it and the cash is a bonus!
If anyone can help with any experiences in an ambulance or paramedic role, comments on how to kick start a career move, or any pearls of wisdom on the realities of shift work I would be very grateful indeed
Cheers!
Tom
I've been considering changing jobs for some time now for the usual reasons - not feeling engaged, the career I am in at the moment is not particularly exciting or social, etc. It has it's ups (paying my mortgage for one!) but am not enjoying a long commute, round about 70 miles round trip most days of the week if not more.
I am not currently on a shift pattern but like the idea of a job which has this as standard, as well as options of overtime and holiday cover. Which brings me to the question! Does anyone on here have shift experience, particularly with the NHS in the paramedic area?
My O/H is a junior doctor so that'd help a lot with picking up the basics and some advanced treatment techniques. I like the idea of the excitement, variety and change of lifestyle pace that'd come with a paramedic/ambulance tech type role.
Some background on me... I'm 25, hold a degree in colouring in aka Geography (not that this has proved useful for bugger all in life), a full license with no points (miracle) and am prepared to take the time out to study. Currently on £25k approx. And money isn't my biggest motivator - i'd do this job to get damn good at it and the cash is a bonus!
If anyone can help with any experiences in an ambulance or paramedic role, comments on how to kick start a career move, or any pearls of wisdom on the realities of shift work I would be very grateful indeed
Cheers!
Tom
Paramedic route is via university now, 2 years DipHe or 3 for Bsc Paramedic practice prior to registration with HCPC
http://www.hpc-uk.org/.
https://www.collegeofparamedics.co.uk/
There is a chronic shortage of Paramedics nationally, helps if you can demonstrate experience in a caring/voluntary role as uni places are competitive. Employment will not be a problem.
Some services are advertising for lesser qualified roles such as Technician or Emergency Care Assistant, these roles have fewer responsibilities and are remunerated with a lower pay banding, shift work gets you 25% on top of salary.
Is it worth it? The role yes, the politics, NO. I'll leave it there.
http://www.hpc-uk.org/.
https://www.collegeofparamedics.co.uk/
There is a chronic shortage of Paramedics nationally, helps if you can demonstrate experience in a caring/voluntary role as uni places are competitive. Employment will not be a problem.
Some services are advertising for lesser qualified roles such as Technician or Emergency Care Assistant, these roles have fewer responsibilities and are remunerated with a lower pay banding, shift work gets you 25% on top of salary.
Is it worth it? The role yes, the politics, NO. I'll leave it there.
Edited by BadRotorFinger on Sunday 4th January 23:07
Interesting timing. I start my training for the Emergency Care Assistant role tomorrow. I'm a bit old than you at 47 and now with no mortgage to the earnings drop is less of an issue. I've been looking for a new start for ages and really looking forward to the challenge/reward of doing something different. I was in Network Infrastructure for 30 years and been running my own business for 20 years!!! The idea was suggested by a woman I was doing some Advanced Driver training with last year. She is the same age as me and was in the final stages of the recruitment process. I gave it some thought and said sod it. Now here I am as The New Boy tomorrow.
Paul.B said:
Interesting timing. I start my training for the Emergency Care Assistant role tomorrow. I'm a bit old than you at 47 and now with no mortgage to the earnings drop is less of an issue. I've been looking for a new start for ages and really looking forward to the challenge/reward of doing something different. I was in Network Infrastructure for 30 years and been running my own business for 20 years!!! The idea was suggested by a woman I was doing some Advanced Driver training with last year. She is the same age as me and was in the final stages of the recruitment process. I gave it some thought and said sod it. Now here I am as The New Boy tomorrow.
Best of luck to you Paul. I wonder if the appeal of going places, being busy but not rushed, and driving with the blue lights on has the same appeal for you as it does me? ... Basically after nearly 3 years in 'juniour management' I'm desperate to do something else before I take on too many commitments and condemn myself to a life hunched over a desk and getting used to a boring existance.
Please let me know how it goes!
NorthernSky said:
Best of luck to you Paul. I wonder if the appeal of going places, being busy but not rushed, and driving with the blue lights on has the same appeal for you as it does me?
Please let me know how it goes!
All of the above appeals, as you say, busy but not rushed. The complete mixture each day will bring and the challenges that will throw up. The situations I will be put into where what I do and how I act will have a real effect is obviously a little scary. But being able to use the skills you acquire through life along with the training will hopefully mean you stay calm and in control.Please let me know how it goes!
And the Blue Lights etc? I have been 'into' advanced driving for the best part of 15-years so getting the opportunity to take that to the next level and practice it every day is a nice bonus.
I worked for the ambulance service for 10 years before leaving last year. Lots of people that have done the job for years are leaving at the moment. The only reason i left was that i worked on the response cars full time and found it a lonely job, but otherwise enjoyed it. The politics are very frustrating but if you can live with that, hopefully you'll enjoy the job. As another poster says, it's degree entry only now.
Take this with a pinch of salt but I had a friend who found that he was dealing with old people and their bodily fluids a lot more than he might otherwise have hoped for before signing up. I don't think there's much glamour or adrenaline to it, and he expressed some disappointment at how rarely he felt like he was actually "making a difference", but that may have been unrealistic expectations., It looks like you'll find others here who have first hand experience, so don't take what I've said as anything other than a couple of chats with a friend.
Good Evening, and apologies for being late to the thread been busy studying
I did exactly what you're thinking about. I'm 42, and a couple of years ago, after being battered by the recession, and an element of disillusionment creeping into my life - I decided that being a Paramedic was the perfect solution.
I will qualify this August, which will represent 3 years of University training.
Despite all the problems with the NHS, the media reporting, the general chaos and shortage of money in the Health Service etc....I can honestly say that, so far, it's been an amazing experience, and I am still absolutely delighted to be doing what I am doing.
Who knows when misery and cynicism may arrive? I have no idea - but joking aside, despite everything, I would still happily recommend this course and direction. However, it is not for everybody - there are some serious challenges facing you, and indeed all of us - and it is NOT like you see on the telly. Well....it is at times, but generally day to day the job is more 'Emergency Social Worker', 'Pensioner Attendant', and 'Ambulance GP...' all done at the mercy of monstrously long day and night shifts (12 hours plus) and a background of general exhaustion! Oh yeah, and the starting salary is the equivalent of a shelf-stacker at Sainsbury's
Anyway - the poster above, 'BadRotorFinger' is a complete dude, and he helped me a while ago when I was discussing making the change on here. Drop him a line, and also drop me a line too. Lots of people helped me from the internet on various forums when I was looking to do it, so now it is time for me to put back into the pot and help anyone else as much as I can.
Good luck and speak soon.
been busy studying I did exactly what you're thinking about. I'm 42, and a couple of years ago, after being battered by the recession, and an element of disillusionment creeping into my life - I decided that being a Paramedic was the perfect solution.
I will qualify this August, which will represent 3 years of University training.
Despite all the problems with the NHS, the media reporting, the general chaos and shortage of money in the Health Service etc....I can honestly say that, so far, it's been an amazing experience, and I am still absolutely delighted to be doing what I am doing.
Who knows when misery and cynicism may arrive?
I have no idea - but joking aside, despite everything, I would still happily recommend this course and direction. However, it is not for everybody - there are some serious challenges facing you, and indeed all of us - and it is NOT like you see on the telly. Well....it is at times, but generally day to day the job is more 'Emergency Social Worker', 'Pensioner Attendant', and 'Ambulance GP...' all done at the mercy of monstrously long day and night shifts (12 hours plus) and a background of general exhaustion! Oh yeah, and the starting salary is the equivalent of a shelf-stacker at Sainsbury's Anyway - the poster above, 'BadRotorFinger' is a complete dude, and he helped me a while ago when I was discussing making the change on here. Drop him a line, and also drop me a line too. Lots of people helped me from the internet on various forums when I was looking to do it, so now it is time for me to put back into the pot and help anyone else as much as I can.
Good luck and speak soon.
I'll throw in my 2 pence... I'm 32 just to give the OP an idea.
I was very very lucky to get onto one of the last IHCD courses a couple of years ago. This meant being employed by an ambulance trust throughout so I had the benefit of a salary with unsocial hours, pension, overtime and not a penny to pay towards my training. However lucky I was I would still embark on the training route that Ray has mentioned without a hesitation, the job really is worthy.
The course was intense and to be honest, for me the studying continues. You can do enough to 'get by' or keep pushing to be the best you possibly can be. Can't stress how intense it really is and it was a very tough time for my family to go through. I felt like a real s
t at times, my young boy wondering why daddy couldn't take him to the park at weekends when I maybe had exams the following week.
I'm now qualified and working operationally and holding HCPC registration with 'grandfather' rights as I do not hold a degree - something I intend to start this year.
The challenges are most certainly character building. Long hours, late finishes (I had 12 hours of late finishes and a similar number of spoilt meals last month) and much of the work can be routine but when a 'sexy' call comes through - boy do you earn your money. PTSD is a very real possibility in this job (seeing real horrors is a definite) and a lifetime of carrying patients up and down stairs and the aforementioned shift work means that the retirement age really should be 55. It isn't.
I'm not really selling it but the rewards are immensely satisfying. Almost universally being invited into peoples homes at a time of need, a thank you from a patient, the privilege of seeing life begin and unfortunately end, getting to do things in vehicles that most of the population never experience legally... I really could not imagine doing anything else now and the respect and pride I feel whilst wearing my uniform hasn't yet faded.
If the OP does embark on this sort of career the only advice I can give is the day you become completely cynical to the point of being lazy in your clinical practice, think about a change.
Quick edit: Some of my regular crewmates earn between 40 and 60K a year but that requires a fair dollop of overtime. Oh and you'll encounter plenty of pee and poo
I was very very lucky to get onto one of the last IHCD courses a couple of years ago. This meant being employed by an ambulance trust throughout so I had the benefit of a salary with unsocial hours, pension, overtime and not a penny to pay towards my training. However lucky I was I would still embark on the training route that Ray has mentioned without a hesitation, the job really is worthy.
The course was intense and to be honest, for me the studying continues. You can do enough to 'get by' or keep pushing to be the best you possibly can be. Can't stress how intense it really is and it was a very tough time for my family to go through. I felt like a real s
t at times, my young boy wondering why daddy couldn't take him to the park at weekends when I maybe had exams the following week.I'm now qualified and working operationally and holding HCPC registration with 'grandfather' rights as I do not hold a degree - something I intend to start this year.
The challenges are most certainly character building. Long hours, late finishes (I had 12 hours of late finishes and a similar number of spoilt meals last month) and much of the work can be routine but when a 'sexy' call comes through - boy do you earn your money. PTSD is a very real possibility in this job (seeing real horrors is a definite) and a lifetime of carrying patients up and down stairs and the aforementioned shift work means that the retirement age really should be 55. It isn't.
I'm not really selling it but the rewards are immensely satisfying. Almost universally being invited into peoples homes at a time of need, a thank you from a patient, the privilege of seeing life begin and unfortunately end, getting to do things in vehicles that most of the population never experience legally... I really could not imagine doing anything else now and the respect and pride I feel whilst wearing my uniform hasn't yet faded.
If the OP does embark on this sort of career the only advice I can give is the day you become completely cynical to the point of being lazy in your clinical practice, think about a change.
Quick edit: Some of my regular crewmates earn between 40 and 60K a year but that requires a fair dollop of overtime. Oh and you'll encounter plenty of pee and poo
Edited by Fattyfat on Thursday 8th January 21:27
Edited by Fattyfat on Thursday 8th January 21:43
Don't have any personal experience to offer but the BiL has been a paramedic in Scotland for 20 odd years, I'm sure he wouldn't mind being contacted or anything specific I can ask him. He is based in Scotland though.
He got in before a degree was a requirement, but has since had higher education paid for (under graduate and recently a masters). He's based in a relatively large town in the Highlands, and genuinely loves his job and has many tales to tell. He's fancied a change/new challenge recently so has been looking at his options. He has spent some time with the air ambulance but is considering a permanent move. He seems to have a very attractive working pattern, the rota is such when he's at work it's long hours but then gets a lot of down time in between working patterns.
No doubt working in a quiet/rural environment is much different to working in a big city. He seems to spend a bit of time doing a 5 hour round trip to Glasgow transporting patients, if they get a call when they're down there and their close(st) they'll answer it. Probably not the best if you like set hours.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I think a lot of NHS workers have recently been stitched up in terms of pension? I think he now has to work another 5+ years to get the same out of his pension. If you're in a position where you can afford to go back to study etc, reduced wage for a few years go for it. Wonder if your local trust would be receptive to a visit/tag along?
He got in before a degree was a requirement, but has since had higher education paid for (under graduate and recently a masters). He's based in a relatively large town in the Highlands, and genuinely loves his job and has many tales to tell. He's fancied a change/new challenge recently so has been looking at his options. He has spent some time with the air ambulance but is considering a permanent move. He seems to have a very attractive working pattern, the rota is such when he's at work it's long hours but then gets a lot of down time in between working patterns.
No doubt working in a quiet/rural environment is much different to working in a big city. He seems to spend a bit of time doing a 5 hour round trip to Glasgow transporting patients, if they get a call when they're down there and their close(st) they'll answer it. Probably not the best if you like set hours.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I think a lot of NHS workers have recently been stitched up in terms of pension? I think he now has to work another 5+ years to get the same out of his pension. If you're in a position where you can afford to go back to study etc, reduced wage for a few years go for it. Wonder if your local trust would be receptive to a visit/tag along?
To everyone who has replied with so much useful information and advice, thanks again, it makes a big difference when weighing up my options!
... I have heard that certain 'perks' such as the working unsocial hours extra payments may be under threat in the near future and this is being earmarked for yet more cuts!
. hat said, there seem like some real positive stories to go with the job, apart from the p!ss and sh!t as someone mentioned!
I think I could put up with some of that now and again for a new interest and solid salary. Definitely going to investigate volunteering options this year and make some inroads to discussing or even applying to a course.
Guys you've been super helpful. Cheers! :thumbsup:
... I have heard that certain 'perks' such as the working unsocial hours extra payments may be under threat in the near future and this is being earmarked for yet more cuts!
. hat said, there seem like some real positive stories to go with the job, apart from the p!ss and sh!t as someone mentioned!I think I could put up with some of that now and again for a new interest and solid salary. Definitely going to investigate volunteering options this year and make some inroads to discussing or even applying to a course.
Guys you've been super helpful. Cheers! :thumbsup:
God, this was a bit of a wake up call.
Five years (!!) on from making the OP, I am still in the same company and did not make the jump back then, five whole years ago. I've now split up with that doctor girl and living in Bristol, contemplating the same move once again, but this time, hoping to find the courage to actually make some progress with it.
Are any of the original repliers to this still in their roles - ray or anyone else - and care to give some 5-year feedback since the OP!?
I'm sitting here feeling slightly unnerved that almost to the day it's been five years, I am 30 now and not sure what if anything I have achieved in my current job. STILL. :/
Urgently need to make the changeover.
Five years (!!) on from making the OP, I am still in the same company and did not make the jump back then, five whole years ago. I've now split up with that doctor girl and living in Bristol, contemplating the same move once again, but this time, hoping to find the courage to actually make some progress with it.
Are any of the original repliers to this still in their roles - ray or anyone else - and care to give some 5-year feedback since the OP!?
I'm sitting here feeling slightly unnerved that almost to the day it's been five years, I am 30 now and not sure what if anything I have achieved in my current job. STILL. :/
Urgently need to make the changeover.
NorthernSky said:
God, this was a bit of a wake up call.
Five years (!!) on from making the OP, I am still in the same company and did not make the jump back then, five whole years ago. I've now split up with that doctor girl and living in Bristol, contemplating the same move once again, but this time, hoping to find the courage to actually make some progress with it.
Are any of the original repliers to this still in their roles - ray or anyone else - and care to give some 5-year feedback since the OP!?
I'm sitting here feeling slightly unnerved that almost to the day it's been five years, I am 30 now and not sure what if anything I have achieved in my current job. STILL. :/
Urgently need to make the changeover.
I'm still here, and still flogging myself to death on the front-line Five years (!!) on from making the OP, I am still in the same company and did not make the jump back then, five whole years ago. I've now split up with that doctor girl and living in Bristol, contemplating the same move once again, but this time, hoping to find the courage to actually make some progress with it.
Are any of the original repliers to this still in their roles - ray or anyone else - and care to give some 5-year feedback since the OP!?
I'm sitting here feeling slightly unnerved that almost to the day it's been five years, I am 30 now and not sure what if anything I have achieved in my current job. STILL. :/
Urgently need to make the changeover.
by all means PM me if I can help.Ruskie said:
Paramedic of 13 years, I left full time approx 6 months ago but retain a registration and still do occasional shifts. Happy to answer any questions.
Hey chap. What is the current climate regards to recruiting new staff, be that EMT or fully qualified paramedics in the NHS at the moment? Especially in the southwest - would be handy to know!From what I've read so far there is a shortage of trained staff. Wonder what has been driving that?
TIA.
NorthernSky said:
Hey chap. What is the current climate regards to recruiting new staff, be that EMT or fully qualified paramedics in the NHS at the moment? Especially in the southwest - would be handy to know!
From what I've read so far there is a shortage of trained staff. Wonder what has been driving that?
TIA.
Can’t answer specifically about SW as I’m North based.From what I've read so far there is a shortage of trained staff. Wonder what has been driving that?
TIA.
To be a Paramedic now you have to do a 3 year degree which until last week was totally self funded as per a normal degree. I believe they have added a bursary of £5,000 a year last week. Also the money when you first start is pretty poor given the responsibility.
The other route is by joining as a Emergency care assistant. When I worked it out with colleagues a few months ago, it was 2 years as ECA, 18 months as Assistant Practitioner then the 3 year degree. So absolute best case is 7 years to become a Paramedic going that route. That’s a long time.
There’s a shortage because of the way the job is now. It’s not a sustainable long term career. 12 hour shifts where you don’t stop, that often becomes 13/14/15 hours when you are inevitably late off. Physically and mentally it’s exhausting. Also there are situations where I was often going 10 hours without a break and occasionally doing 12 hours+ without a break. Retirement age of 67 is a disgrace for the work involved.
There is limited progression and limited additional training, for example nurses get protected time off to do, courses and extra things. Ambulance staff expected to do it in their spare time.
I loved (still do) the job but I had to get out. It has given me access to other amazing opportunities in my life (There’s a thread on here if you can be arsed to find it) I might go back one day.
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