Am I being foolish?

scotton86

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the lack of reply, I was up in North Wales climbing some mountains this weekend!

I really appreciate everyone's comments and advice, I will certainly take them all into consideration and use the info you have given me in my research.

There are a lot of factors against me doing it, and the chances of me getting all the way through are slim, but I think that I need to at least try and get on a course. You know what they say, you have to be in it to win it!

Sadly all of my free time at the moment is taken up with the Air Training Corps, which leaves precious little time to volunteer anywhere else really. Though... I have thought about setting up a regional first aid training team within the ATC, so may be able to tie this in and use it to my advantage.

I'll keep you posted folks, thanks again for all your advice!

Person_one

Ok, if you want to give it a shot here's some advice for making yourself the best candidate possible. You're going to be up against stiff competition but if you start now you have until Christmas (roughly) before your application goes in.

1. You will need some experience of first aid or healthcare related work, some people get in without out but they tend to be the exception. How much first aid training have you done with the ATC? Can you go on some advanced courses?

2. I highly recommend finding out about your local ambulance service's Community First Responder team, if they have one. These are volunteers trained by the ambulance service to respond to 999 calls in their immediate local area and provide basic life support (CPR, AED, medical gases) at the scene before the ambulance arrives. If you go through all the training you get a pager but if you are unable to respond to a call you are under no obligation. Doing this will give you valuable experience and links with the ambulance service.

3. Find out what the driving licence requirements are for the courses you are applying for and make sure you meet them by the time you apply. Some just want a full clean licence, some want Cat C or D.

4. There is a fairly intense fitness test that you need to pass before getting on the course. It involves lifting weights equivalent to carrying a casualty on a stretcher (30kg) and going up and down steps, performing lengthy CPR etc. You wear a heart rate monitor throughout the test and if your HR goes above a certain percentage of your maximum recommended you automatically fail. You can't fake or blag this one, you need to be truly fit so get in the gym now and start lifting and stepping!

5. If you can afford it, get a job as HCA in a hospital or an ambulance tech or similar. These jobs aren't as easy to come by as they used to be and they aren't very well paid but if you were to start one in say August then by the time you are interviewed in March/April 2012 you will have 7 or 8 months experience of caring for patients day in day out, working in a healthcare team, working a 24 hour shift pattern, seeing the occasionally unpleasant and smelly reality of health work and so on. Paramedic courses are usually very proud of their high pass rate and low to non-existent attrition rate, they want to know you can hack the tougher bits!

6. Something like 40% of 999 calls are to people with underlying mental health issues, some experience or knowledge in this area would be very valuable. Even a short OU course on an introductory level in the mental health/psychology field maybe.

7. Be realistic, one tutor I spoke to told me that most years they get at least 300 applicants who are good enough for the course but they have to whittle them down to 20. You've picked a really tough course to get into, you'll have to really dedicate yourself for the next 9 months or so and you still have a really high chance of not making it. Sorry to be a downer!



(Disclaimer: I'm not a paramedic, or studying to be one, but I did consider it and did an awful lot of research and started down the road before changing my mind!)

hjsmum

Can I just add, don't write off your current job when applying. When I applied for my midwifery degree (also highly competitive) I was told that I had sold my tranferable skills really well (was a lab technician) and this went in my favour. You've probably had to develop really strong organisational skills, accurate record keeping, good communication skills etc, these skills are important and are one less thing you'll need to learn. Good luck, having to scrape by for a few years is nothing when you're doing something you really care about.

scotton86

Wow!

Thankyou Person_one and hjsmum! That advice is fantastic and will definitely help me in my research and building up my personal 'portfolio' so to speak, to enable me a better chance of getting onto the course.

I have managed to get myself an observation shift with a local ambulance service within the next few weeks, so hopefully that will also give me a better insight and valuable experience.

The experience within the ATC is fairly limited to be honest, I have FAW and am teaching 'Heartstart' to cadets, but there is not much more opportunity to be honest, so I am looking elsewhere to see if I can do more advanced courses.

Community First Responder info is invaluable, thankyou. I will most definitely look into that!

I may have to get some additional categories on my driving licence, so I am currently looking into that. It may be that I can do that through the RAF somehow, so I'm making my contacts now.

I'm not massively unfit, but knowing the requirements is very useful, thankyou. I'll get training now! The weight side of things will not be a problem, but building up my stamina and endurance to keep my HR low is a definite must.

I was wondering what other jobs (pay-cut or not) might give me valuable insight and experience, I will try that, thankyou. Early scours seem to indicate that they are in short supply, but I'm not giving up that easily!

Mental Health? You know I had never even thought that a course in that would be looked upon so highly. thankyou for that piece of advice, I will most definitely look into it.

Don't worry about giving me a reality check! I'm quite a realist so always remember that there is a chance that I'm not going to get there, but maintaining a positive mental attitude should keep me in the running and motivate me to carry on with my research and training.

I'm really grateful for all the help and advice I've received on here, you have all been fantastic, THANKYOU!!

Dot x

Tiff_2

Hi dot!

It's a tough time for all prospective students right now and I think it's fair to say that it's probably too late to avoid any coming tuition fee hikes as many courses for Sept. 2011 will be full. I did some research and found some lnks which may be helpful.
As has been mentioned, your previous training with ATC may lead to an option of enlisting and training in your chosen field with the RAF or maybe the Reserves. It might be worth exploring although you will have to consider the possibilities of serving overseas and possibly in combat.
here

here

here

As I understand it, you can also become a student ambulance paramedic - it sounds like a kind of apprenticeship and you do get paid. I don't know if this is available in every area so you'll have to check that yourself. I've also included current links to a vacancy so you can see for yourself what it entails...
and here

here

here

here

Here are some NHS course sources for you to browse...
and here

here too

Another consideration is to volunteer within the hospital setting regarding basic care needs or within the mental health field. This would look good on your CV and as well as learning new skills, you'd be helping others.
here also

Would it make your job more tolerable if you were to think of doing it as a way to help save up for your desired course? After all, you probably had to save for a deposit on your house. I would also look into whether you'd qualify for any benefits as a student once you are married, which will depend on your complete personal family situation.

And finally, (as they say on all the best TV news shows! ), you have really set yourself a tough schedule for this year, especially financially. If you're already struggling under the pressure of your commitments now, it may be wise to re-schedule your career move. You're young enough for that and sometimes it's better to give yourself some breathing space than to take on a variety of loads you can't carry and may end up dropping the lot!
I wish you every success.

Much Love,
Tiff xxx

scotton86

Ah Tiff! I'm so touched by all the research you have done, that's amazing!

I'm rushing round like a mad woman this morning, big day at work today so I just wanted to hop in and say thankyou!

I will take a look at all the links you have given me and post some more later.

I really appreciate all your effort, it's so kind.

Dot x

Person_one

scotton86 wrote: »

I am looking into becoming a paramedic. Because of the cuts etc, the only entry route now is through getting a degree in Paramedic Sciences. So I was looking at going to university (I'm 24 so would be a mature student) and getting my degree.

Oh, one more thing!

If you get an interview, they'll want you to demonstrate that you're very knowledgeable about the ambulance service in general and the role of the paramedic in particular, especially how they have changed over the last few decades and will be changing in future. For example, the move to university education isn't really anything to do with the cuts and was started long before the coalition came to power!

I suggest you read the Bradley report:

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4114269

Then go on some open days and ask lots of questions, make sure you speak to the paramedics you're with on your observation shift, possibly subscribe to the paramedic practice journal and generally get yourself as well informed as possible!

scotton86

Hi everyone,

I just thought I'd post a quick update on where I'm at with this now.

I have decided that I am going to do a full time access course (Access to HE Health & Social Care) at a local college starting this September. I have my literacy and numeracy assessments this Friday and then hopefully an interview in the coming weeks.

I have also volunteered with the local St John Ambulance, and so am just waiting for my CRB to go through so I can start my training.

I have sat down with my partner and we have discussed our finances in great detail. We were lucky enough to be gifted some money from family for the wedding, so I think we should be able to cover those costs. I also have a couple of offers of part time work lined up already, so I should be able to supplement our income with that too. It will be tight, but we purposefully got our mortgage on the basis that we could still cope on one wage (in case one of us lost our job for instance) so we know we can cover bills & mortgage okay.

I know this might seem crazy to some, but after doing LOTS of research into it, I am more passionate than ever about making this happen. I'm really lucky to have a supportive partner, which is a massive help in this big life change.

Looking back over the info you have all kindly given me above, I have a lot of work to do before my application to university goes in at the end of this year, but it's nothing I am not willing to do to get where I want to be. Thanks again everyone for your help, it is really very much appreciated.

Thanks again everyone,

Dot