Ambulance Service

[Boozy]

Don't have the search facility so apologies if this has been covered before, the other half is interested in joining the ambulance service, does anyone have any experience of this? tips etc?

thanks!

Boozy

[eightseventhree]

I have a mate who is a Paramedic.

Gone are the easy days of going in and training to be a Technician then converting to be a Paramedic. As now Technitions are having to become paramedics (difference between the 2 i think Paramedic can give more drugs etc)

2 ways in now are either Degree or going in from the very bottom of Emergency care assistant and doing degree on the job on 12k (basically ambulance driver)

Some places will sponsor you to do degree on around 19k p/a

if i'm wrong sorry please correct me

[LBird]

eightseventhree said:

I have a mate who is a Paramedic.

Gone are the easy days of going in and training to be a Technician then converting to be a Paramedic. As now Technitions are having to become paramedics (difference between the 2 i think Paramedic can give more drugs etc)

2 ways in now are either Degree or going in from the very bottom of Emergency care assistant and doing degree on the job on 12k (basically ambulance driver)

Some places will sponsor you to do degree on around 19k p/a

if i'm wrong sorry please correct me

eightseventhree is right about the degree and you will need Biology and Chemistry A levels to get on to a Paramedic degree course. They are heavily oversubscribed so good passes are necessary. Look on the internet for Paramedic degree courses and you should be able to find out which uni.s offer it and what their entry requirements are. It's worth phoning them and arranging to visit and talk to the admissions tutors too.

I think your other half is very noble to be considering this - not a job I could face. Good luck.

[Boozy]

Thanks to everyone so far! She's aware that at present, the Paramedic side of things is unrealistic and was wanted to be an Ambulance technician, so will look into that, keep it coming and again, thank you!

[eightseventhree]

As i said the Technician side of things is being phased out. look into Emergency Care Assistant jobs. I think they are Pay band 3 which is 14k - 18k.

[parapaul]

eightseventhree said:

I have a mate who is a Paramedic.

Gone are the easy days of going in and training to be a Technician then converting to be a Paramedic. As now Technitions are having to become paramedics (difference between the 2 i think Paramedic can give more drugs etc)

2 ways in now are either Degree or going in from the very bottom of Emergency care assistant and doing degree on the job on 12k (basically ambulance driver)

Some places will sponsor you to do degree on around 19k p/a

if i'm wrong sorry please correct me

You're absolutely right. However, a couple of observations from an insider's POV:

As already mentioned, places on Paramedicine degrees are like hen's teeth. As a direct result, a lot of very intelligent and completely unsuitable people are now filtering through. It takes a lot more than good A-levels to do this job, it's much more about common sense and life experience, something that UCAS can't assess. The course usually involves alternating modules of lectures and time out observing, roughly a 2:1 ratio of classroom hours to patient contact.

Even though the pay is lower, IMHO it's probably better all round to start as an ECA and work up. My service are currently working on a structured 3-year progression from ECA to Paramedic. This will mean that by the time they're qualified, these staff will have 3 years experience on the road.

Ask any serving member of the ambulance service whwther they'd rather work with a freshly graduated paramedic or someone who's been doing the job for 3 years already...

[Boozy]

Thanks Paul! is the best place to look on the NHS website? couldn't see anything on there at the moment (Hampshire based) or to call up the local office and have a chat that way?

really appreciate all the help and advice so far!

[captainzep]

Ex Nurse here who 3rd manned 'on the buses' for a couple of weeks.

My view is that Paramedic or technician, you don't do this just for the money shift patterns can be pretty savage (quite a few divorced paramedics) money is amazingly low given the responsibility and weight of clinical decisiona making.

However it is amazing in other ways.

I think working your way up is crucial, because you will be able to learn on the job without the weight of accountability that the Paramedic carries. Its sod's law that your first day going in at Paramedic level will involve getting an IV line into someone whose veins have collapsed. Not a time for first day shaky adrenaline hands.

Edited by captainzep on Friday 23 January 09:59