Paramedic

As a paramedic, you’ll be the senior member of a two-person team, with an emergency care assistant or technician to support you. Alternatively, you may work on your own using a motorbike or bicycle. You could also provide advice over the telephone from a control room or clinical hub.

You’ll work closely with other healthcare teams in the community, such as GPs, occupational therapists, mental health teams, diabetes specialists, and doctors and nurses in hospital emergency departments.

Your standard working week will be around 37.5 hours on a shift pattern that can include nights, early starts, evenings, weekends, and bank holidays.

If you work in the NHS, you’ll be paid on the Agenda for Change (AFC) pay system, typically starting on band 5. 

You will be able to claim £2,000 a year towards childcare costs through the NHS Learning Support Fund, and there’s funding available for adult dependants and some placement travel costs too. If you have a disability, there are grants to help with essential costs while studying via the Disabled Students’ Allowance.

If working on the NHS you will have access to one of the best pension schemes in the UK, as well as access to exclusive health service discounts and benefits at some of the most popular brands.

You will be based at a local ambulance station, usually attached to a hospital. Paramedics work shifts to provide a crucial service day and night, and no matter what the weather throws at you.

Once you’ve qualified, you could progress to become a team leader who supervises other paramedics and emergency care assistants. Or you might specialise in a specific area like strokes. You may even work for the air ambulance service. With additional training, you could progress to more senior roles with more responsibilities, such as experienced paramedic. 

As a paramedic, you’ll be thrown into unknown or unpredictable situations, working with patients who may be in distress. To help your patients you’ll need to be able to reassure them and explain the steps you will be taking to help them while you work. 

The ability to handle stressful situations calmly and make critical decisions in the middle of chaos is crucial. You will need to be able to stay focused on treating the injured without being overwhelmed by the pressure of the scenario you’re in. The lives of those injured depend on your ability to make quick and accurate decisions.

Excellent critical thinking skills are essential for a paramedic. You’ll need to make rational and accurate decisions as you assess and diagnose patients. Using your best judgement, you’ll need to identify and evaluate problems quickly and find the best solution for the situation.

You’ll need a good level of physical fitness and two years' driving experience. The recruitment process often involves several stages of interviews, tests, fitness assessments, and driving tasks. 

Most NHS ambulance trusts will require you to be able to drive an ambulance under emergency conditions.

To practise as a paramedic, you’ll first need to successfully complete an approved qualification in paramedic science, usually to degree level. You’ll then need to apply to an ambulance service as a qualified paramedic and register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). 

Paramedic science courses usually take between two to four years full-time, and include a mixture of theory and practical work including placements with the ambulance services. 

Entry requirements for an undergraduate degree include:  

• two or three A levels, including a science, along with five GCSEs (grades A – C), including English language, maths, and science

or equivalent qualifications include:

• a BTEC, HND or HNC, including science
• a relevant NVQ
• a science- or health-based Access course
• equivalent Scottish or Irish qualifications

Every university sets its own entry requirements, so it’s important to check with them directly. 

Driving licence

When applying to an ambulance service trust – as a student paramedic or once you’re fully qualified – you'll need to have a full, manual driving licence. 

If you passed your test after 1996, you may also need an extra driving qualification to drive larger vehicles and carry passengers. Ambulance service trusts use vehicles of different sizes, so check which classifications you need on your licence.

Only a few ambulance trusts now offer the option of studying while you work. Each will set out its own entry requirements. They usually ask for:

• at least five GCSEs, grade C or above, including English, maths, and science

or

• equivalent academic qualification with a high level of health or science content

To get onto a degree apprenticeship, you'll need to apply for an apprentice position with an ambulance service trust. You can search for vacancies on the NHS Jobs website and Find an Apprenticeship website.

You are likely to need relevant experience, either voluntary or paid. For example, working as an emergency care assistant or volunteering with St John Ambulance or the British Red Cross. 

Driving licence

When applying to an ambulance service trust – as a student paramedic or once you’re fully qualified – you'll need to have a full, manual driving licence. 

If you passed your test after 1996, you may also need an extra driving qualification to drive larger vehicles and carry passengers. Ambulance service trusts use vehicles of different sizes, so check which classifications you need on your licence.