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Any paramedics please inbox me :)

Hi, I have lots of questions about paramedic work, so would any qualified paramedics please message me if you don't mind.
Basically, I am almost a third year student nurse (I do not want to drop out as that would be a massive waste of my time, effort, throwing away a degree etc).
I don't think I definitely don't want to be a nurse but I think id definitely enjoy paramedic work a hell of a lot more (mainly due to hating ward work and i think id have to be a little bit higher up such as a specialist nurse, practice nurse, ECP before I enjoyed my role) and have often thought about it but time has just went on and on and i've heard lots of different things like nursing can take you down a lot more avenues than paramedic work.
But I still think being a paramedic looks more interesting.
I'm really confused about what to do, I know unfortunately there is no bridging programme but I wouldn't want to start all over from square one.
Can any paramedics may be inbox me or comment below the pros and cons of the job and if you think I should go for it or stick with nursing.
(I know that the pay is better for nurses aswell but I really think paramedics should be paid the same)
Sorry if this message reads badly my head is very confused!!
I dunno if this is a case of just thinking the grass is greener on the other side or if it actually is!!
(Also I am maybe wanting to migrate at some point so don't know if its better to be a nurse in other countries)
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 1
Original post by Mango65
Hi, I have lots of questions about paramedic work, so would any qualified paramedics please message me if you don't mind.
Basically, I am almost a third year student nurse (I do not want to drop out as that would be a massive waste of my time, effort, throwing away a degree etc).
I don't think I definitely don't want to be a nurse but I think id definitely enjoy paramedic work a hell of a lot more (mainly due to hating ward work and i think id have to be a little bit higher up such as a specialist nurse, practice nurse, ECP before I enjoyed my role) and have often thought about it but time has just went on and on and i've heard lots of different things like nursing can take you down a lot more avenues than paramedic work.
But I still think being a paramedic looks more interesting.
I'm really confused about what to do, I know unfortunately there is no bridging programme but I wouldn't want to start all over from square one.
Can any paramedics may be inbox me or comment below the pros and cons of the job and if you think I should go for it or stick with nursing.
(I know that the pay is better for nurses aswell but I really think paramedics should be paid the same)
Sorry if this message reads badly my head is very confused!!
I dunno if this is a case of just thinking the grass is greener on the other side or if it actually is!!
(Also I am maybe wanting to migrate at some point so don't know if its better to be a nurse in other countries)


I know there have been a lot of threads asking about being a paramedic or a nurse, so I went back to look for them - and half of them are from you! You've already had a lot of advice, so can't expect to keep posting on the same website and getting more opinions. If you haven't found what you're looking for now you need to look elsewhere.

Paramedics are slowly becoming band 6, so by the time you've finished your training this will probably have changed. You'll also get night shift allowance, and never finish on time so will get a lot of incidental overtime. Many trusts also give a meal allowance if you don't get a break - for London it's £10 per missed meal break, and for East of England it's £45 per missed meal break. So things that you earn on top of your wages do add up.

A lot of the pros and cons are the same for both careers. You do long hours, are on your feet for a lot of it (although you do sit down mostly while the ambulance is moving), dealing with members of the public who may not be grateful. But you get to make a difference.

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