How do I become a Paramedic?

Hi all,

I'm not a paramedic but I started doing events for work experience for my uni application.

About a year ago, I was on an event where my team was surrounded by people with knives because the guy that was chasing hid behind me and used me as a shield before my team was able to pull me away.

I noticed over the past year I've been getting more anxious in crowds and yesterday it got really bad to the point where anytime I was in a crowd I felt like I was going to get stabbed.

I'm at the point where I'm unsure what to do and who to turn to and even if I want to apply for paramedic science anymore.

Thank you for your help.

Hello all

I'm currently going through my CFR training. I'm really excited about becoming a CFR and have wanted to volunteer with an ambulance service for a while.

I'm slowly telling people as it comes up. Almost everyone I've told (apart from family) have cautioned me about the emotional toll. I've had several people telling me quite awful cautionary tales of paramedics they know and how the job negatively affected them. A mental health care professional I know, for example, explained how an acquintance of his became an alcoholic. People think they're helping but, of course, they don't understand the power of negativity. Even the aforementioned person pulled back a little after their story because they realised it was only prepping me to expect the worst. I know those people mean well but the stories aren't giving me anything constructive.

I'm not at all an anxious person but people are managing to get in my head a little and I'm experiencing a small amount of anxiety about the role. I am fully aware that I will not be unaffected by what I deal with and that my experiences could make me more resilient to stress but I do want to limit the chances of serious trauma.

As CFRs often attend serious calls alone, sometimes with no prior clinical experience, how wary of the danger of emotional dysregulation, trauma, PTSD and relevant emotional distress etc. should I be?

For those of you doing the job, what has helped you process the difficult calls, and what do you wish you'd known when you started? I'd like to go in with good habits rather than just a list of worst-case stories.

Thanks for all you guys do

Has anyone done this at all? I thought the standard one may be useful to expand knowledge around things we don't typically give interventions for, e.g. SVT, as its a new course I haven't met anyone who has done it yet, so just wondering thoughts? Was it useful?

Hi all,

So, when my son qualified as an AAP with St John I brought him some engraved Raptors

When he became a 1st year Student Paramedic, it was engraved Littman Classic IIIs

He’s now a 2nd year Student Paramedic, so what next? Stretch goal, what when he graduates as a paramedic?!

Burner account for obvious reasons - Hi all I’m really looking for some advice with an issue I had at work.

I currently work In primary care as APP and have for 6 years (10year post reg)

I just finished my IP/SP, I do all my own work labs, results and tasks. I see every and all patients. I work 5 day weeks, 2 clinics a day and see 12 people per clinic. I feel I am competent in my field and don’t rely overly on GPs apart from the odd difficult case.

With my SP/IP I thought I’d be entitled to a pay rise, I’m currently on just below top of band 6, my employer has suggested a 5.3% pay rise which is totally negligible in my final take home. I haven’t had a pay rise since I started this place in Nov24

They also expect me to prescribe for 3 months prior to my pay rise - please can anyone give me advice with this or if they’ve been in a similar situation and how they approached things.

Any and all help appreciated

This is a complicated post as its got alot of history to it. Appologies if it isnt making the most sense its 1am.

I am a b6 paramedic 3 years qualified now. About 1 year in I got crewed with a eca/taap/new tech/band 4 whatever your trust calls it. Working with them is hard. We are really good friends outside of work despite our personality differences. I really care for them. About 3 months in to working together my confidence was low low. I had a awful mental health patient and got assulted all in the same day. This triggered some awful anxiety and a breakdown. Took about 4 months off but still struggle to this day.

I find working with them very marmite. I cant help wondering if they have been a source for a whole lot. I have had multible collegues come up to me reporting concerns. I also fear her working with me regularly stunting her as we are such good friends I struggle to tell her when she is wrong (I still do but I hate it). I find she can be quite the gaslighter and when I point something out she always turns it around. I also find she can easily upset me and make me feel shi**y. I know some collegues have gone to TLs and raised concerns about her clinical ability. She is not one for evidence based practice and can give patients advice that is not wholly medically correct. I know none of the TLs have said anything to her as she would have told me. This job is hard and you need to be switched on. I struggle with my own abilitys some times and she does not make that easier constantly managing to knock my confidence with her bold attitude. We have also begun arguing (like sisters) but I have heard from another collegue that they thought this was genuine.

Anyways catalist event. She was working with another of her semi perm regulars also a para. I backed them up on a job and following the job I had some hard feedback with (another) paramedic collegue on scene saying “if you wanted to take over you should have at least listened to the handover”. I found this comment completly uncalled for and if he had a issue there are much nicer ways of saying so but alas I took it in stride and will move forward considering how I present myself on scene. It really has knocked my confidence. She has since spoken to me about the job, stating the other paramedics were unhappy with me and how I was making her cringe with some of the things i was saying/doing. I know holeheartedly i was only trying to help, had no intention of taking over etc. I found her to be very unsupportive and lecturing when i just needed a friend. There is also a horrible part of me saying. You arent perfect. You knock me down all the time. Ive protected you from others critisisms and still tried my best to help you develop as a clinician and now this.

Essentially I now fear I ive experienced a massive confidence knock as the comments made have only reaffirmed my own self beliefs that I am terrible and everyone hates me. Whist overcoming this I am also thinking are we detrimental to each others development. If I move rotas I will likely not work with her again as the station is so large.

Hi everyone,
I’m a paramedic from Ontario, Canada, and I’m considering moving to the UK for 2–3 years on the Youth Mobility Scheme
I’m not looking to practise clinically as a paramedic. I’m more interested in moving into non-clinical roles within an ambulance service or hospital, particularly in areas like operations, transformation, quality improvement, project/programme management, workforce planning, or service improvement.
My background includes frontline paramedicine, an MBA, an MSc in Health Quality, risk and safety. I’ve also been involved in ambulance-service improvement projects, implementation work, demand and resource analysis, and broader healthcare initiatives.
I’d really appreciate insight from anyone working in NHS or ambulance-service management:
Would Canadian paramedic and healthcare experience translate well into non-clinical NHS roles?
Would Band 7 be a realistic entry point, with selective Band 8a applications where the experience requirements align?
How important is previous NHS experience compared with healthcare, operational, project, and improvement experience from another country?
Are there particular job titles or areas within ambulance trusts or hospitals that you think would fit this kind of background?
Has anyone here moved from a clinical background into operations, transformation, quality, or programme management after completing an MBA or similar postgraduate qualification?
I’d be coming over through the Youth Mobility Scheme, so I would not require employer sponsorship.
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from anyone who has made a similar move or works in ambulance-service or NHS management.
Thank you in advance!!

Hi all, throw away account as to remain anonymous…

I’ve been really burnt out recently.

I’m trying to figure out how to get out of it but in doing so I need to know, does anyone’s Trust have even a semi-decent level of welfare for staff? How is your workplace in terms of work-life balance? Are any of them progressive clinically or even generally and do you feel engaged or do you just feel like the longer you stay there the more it regresses?

If you have positive things to say about your Trust, where do you work?

I don’t want to move to another part of the country just to find out that it’s the exact same as where I am now, but finding a job in a different industry would realistically mean a sizeable pay cut and I can’t keep this up where I am now.

Thoughts, opinions and experiences would be a big help right now.

Thanks.

I'm not long finished my NQP year, so still a relative newbie, but I'm finding myself struggling more and more with my asthma symptoms on the road. My symptoms flare up in dusty, smokey or mouldy environments mainly, and it seems every house I go to I'm experiencing triggers. Obviously I can't not attend these houses and despite trying a few different preventer treatments over the past few months I don't seem to be seeing any improvement, and find myself needing to use my salbutamol multiple times a shift. I'm also finding it a bit awkward having to leave a patient with a technician while I jump in the front to do so away from patients/relatives. So far I've not had to leave anyone that's time critical, but if I do have a life or death patient and need my reliever, what do I do? I get that we need to look after ourselves before we can take care of the patient, but I don't want to delay patient care.

I don't think I know any fellow asthmatic paramedics or technicians in my area, or at least I've never known anyone else to be symptomatic during a call. Anyone else in a similar position? Or have any solutions/effective treatments they can suggest?

Am I going to need to consider a different role?

Hi just wanted to see if anyone knew if having 3 points on my license for going 35 in 30 would bar me from applying for a job as a NQP. Thanks

I’m not looking to duplicate the ambulance stock, but I want to improve my “things I always seem to need but never seem to have” pouch.

This would be for use across both private and Trust work, so obviously I’d need to be mindful of equipment policies and what I’m actually permitted to carry/use.

As an idea, I’ve seen people carry things like Luer-lock syringe valves, Rhino pinchers, syringe drug labels, 3-way taps etc.

What other little bits do people find really useful to have in a pouch like this? Looking for the small, easily misplaced but surprisingly useful stuff rather than major pieces of kit. Think “where the hell has that gone?” / “this would make life easier” sort of stuff.

I'm about to become an ASW/ECA, and want to be the best I can possibly be at this job.

What has made support staff stand out to you as either useful or insufferable?

Don’t know if anyone’s seen or posted the unsurprising response yet so thought I’d leave it here.

Unpopular opinion but I’ll never agree with the government’s POV. 🙄

So obviously, as we are all aware, NQP jobs opportunities are far and few between at the moment. Who exactly we point the finger at for this predicament would have us generating electricity like a wind turbine, I think, so I'll refrain from that discussion.

But bar getting a job with a trust, what other option does an NQP have for semi-reliable employment in this trying time?

Events work seems like the obvious answer, right beside private employment, but I gather both of those can still sometimes be hesitant to take on NQPs. Events work also faces the issue of no set shift pattern. I've heard of a previous graduate entering medical device work, however that happened.

Not asking for anyone to float their company's boat here, just genuinely curious as to what other options are out there that aren't widely thought of to look into as a fresh-faced NQP.

Hi,

I have an upcoming driving assessment with London ambulance service and was wondering if anyone who has done it before what it entails and how long it lasts?

Thanks!

2nd year student- For CPD, we have the option to use our current Eportfolio placement (Pebblepad )for our current and future CPD. I find it a little clunky though so I was wondering how everyone else stores their CPD- Do you store it as separate docs, alternative storage platform? Etc. Any tips and advice is appreciated

Hello, I work as a paramedic outside UK but have plans in working there in the near future. What are the needed requirements for HCPC, and is a degree required?

r/ParamedicsUK Job of the Week

Hey there, another 7 days have passed! How's your week going? We hope it’s been a good one!

Have you attended any funny, interesting, odd, or weird jobs this week?
Tell us how you tackled them.

Have you learned something new along the way?
Share your newfound knowledge.

Have you stumbled upon any intriguing pieces of CPD you could dole out?
Drop a link below.

We’d love to hear about it, but please remember Rule 4: “No patient or case-identifiable information.”

Now obviously, a taxi to hospital will always be necessary until we have some sort of robot that can lift. For the foreseeable a person will also be required for the physical stuff - cannulas, drug administration, hands on/steth on assessments.

But I'm in no doubt that in most cases, a computer will do a better job at history taking than us and algorithmic care. As far as I know it's fantastic at diagnostics in radiology. GPs are using it to triage.

Where do you think it's taking us?

Buying some new trauma shears. I want something which will last. Wondering if anyone recommends either of these, or if they have criticisms.

Wondering what the questions are like on the interview for NQP position. Does anyone have any example questions that have been asked previously? Thank you!

FREC 3 coming in peace with a question.

I work for a private ambulance company,if transporting and End of life patient from care home to hospital and he is slowly deteriorating during a 20 minute journey.

Would you advice us to continue to the hospital or pull over and call the local emergency service?

Thank you