Paramedic Practice 2015 Applicants

With UCAS Deadlines on the horizon - A big good luck to those applying for Paramedic Practice for 2015! Remember you can ask questions here or on the Social Media contacts above.

First of all congratulations for getting an interview!

Nerves are perfectly normal, I was a wreck this time last year! The course is excellent, I was lucky enough to have offers elsewhere and I picked Teesside due to it's facilities, enthusiasm of the Lecturers, and the wide variety of clinical placements (there's 6 or 7 specialist placements ontop of your usual ambulance placement which includes Air Ambulance, Mental Health Units and Pediatric Units).

With regards to Interview, just try and be calm and let your personal qualities shine through. They aren't looking for qualified brain surgeons, you can be taught the Medical bits, what they can't teach is passion for the profession, a genuine desire to care for others, the ability to cope with emotionally demanding situations and the discipline to learn at Higher Education - it's these sorts of things you need to be able to demonstrate through your interview answers.

Reading up on the role of the HCPC, being aware of current affairs in the NHS Emergency and Urgent Care world, and reading reports such as the Francis and Bradley reports can't hurt either!

Regards,

Fast_Medic

So who is applying this year? There is some of us Year 1 and (almost) Year 2 guys floating around on here if you have any questions!

Engage with the Teesside Paramedic Academic Team on FB and Twitter below:

https://www.facebook.com/teesparamedicteam

https://twitter.com/TeesParamedic


Or directly with the Students through our Student Paramedic Society on the same platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/TeesParaSociety

https://twitter.com/TeesParaSociety

Good luck to all the potential 1509 Intake guys out there!

Fast_Medic

Experience is important but they don't want people who are all ready the finished product, your care experience will be far more valuable than your St Johns experience for example as it shows Compassion and a desire to help others even with the things that might not be so 'sexy' in the emergency medical world.

I've no idea how many places there will be or how many will be interviewed. For my intake it was apparently 6-700 applied, 200+ interviewed, 50 taken. I'd expect something similar as 50 really is the upper limit for this sort of course due to how practical it is in nature.

Placements then first:
We had 9 weeks in Uni that covered all the foundations of our Paramedic Education and the essential skills to be able to take part in a care episode in an assisting capacity including observations, moving and handling and equipment familiarisation. Then out on our first 4 weeks Placement which was two weeks in a Hospital first of all learning how to actually care for people, then two weeks out on the Ambulance/RRV with our Mentors for an initial get to know them and they us and what to expect when we come out on our longer Paramedic Placements.

We're back in Uni in January where we'll be doing Cannulation and Advanced Airway skills amongst other things before going back out on Placement at the start of Feb for 8 weeks in total before Easter.

Placement Areas:
Over the next 3 years we will have placements in the following areas:
Ambulance/RRV - 15 or 16 Weeks per year plus specialist placements in the following areas:
> Air Ambulance
> Paediatrics
> Mental Health
> Critical Care
> Patient Assessment
> Fundamental Care

Elective Placement:
In our 3rd year we get a 4 week Elective Placement in an area of our choosing, either something new or an area we had been in previously. Options available include HART, London Ambulance Service, Air Ambulance again, or you can find your own and arrange it yourself including overseas (self funded).


Hope this helps.