22 July 2008

Where do our paramedics study?

| nanzan
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While ambulances and paramedics are in the news at the moment, does anyone know where the ACT’s paramedics study?

I mean, we know the AFP has its police college in Barton, and the ACT Fire Brigade has its college in Belconnen, but where do paramedics become paramedics in the ACT?

Interstate there are something like 8 universities now that offer degrees in paramedical studies (such as Monash, QUT, CSU, Ballarat, ACU, VUT etc), but no such courses are offered in the ACT. Becoming a paramedic takes something like three years of training, so there must be some substantial setup for it, somewhere in Canberra, but where?

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Bonejac said :

ACT Paramedics come from 3 different sources
– Source 1: 3 year training course run internally at the Emergency Services Headquarters at Curtain.
– Source 2: Direct employment of Qualified Intensive Care Paramedics from other state & territory Ambulance Services.
– Source 3: 1 year bridging course for interstate Qualified Ambulance Paramedics.

Bonejac have you heard if any of the unis in Canberra are looking at introducing a paramedics course here? ACU, for instance, is offering a combined Paramedics/Nursing degree at their Ballarat campus, but not in Canberra. Seems strange that other jurisdictions have gone down the tertiary track, but the ACT, with its better level of qualification, has not.

I have a friend studying for 3 years at the uni in Bathurst

ACT Paramedics come from 3 different sources
– Source 1: 3 year training course run internally at the Emergency Services Headquarters at Curtain.
– Source 2: Direct employment of Qualified Intensive Care Paramedics from other state & territory Ambulance Services.
– Source 3: 1 year bridging course for interstate Qualified Ambulance Paramedics.

The ACT Ambulance Service operates a single tier service of Intensive Care Paramedics – the baseline qualification of an ACT Paramedic is as an Intesive Care Paramedic (Advanced Diploma of Health Science (Paramedic) or equivalent) where as other services around the country use a tiered system where a Qualified Ambulance Paramedic is their baseline qualification (Diploma of Health Science (Paramedic) or equivalent)and have a smaller number of Intensive Care Paramedics.
The university level qualifications (eg: Batchelor Health Science (Paramedic) or equivalant) offered by a variety of institutions, while giving you an academic qualification do not guarantee employment as a Paramedic (or Intensive Care Paramedic)within Australia, though they are looked on favourably when the various services are recruiting. “On road” experience is highly prized by the various services as it demonstrates an applicants experetise in application of knowledge in a real world environment that is just not possible to acquire in a 3 year academic course. This is why the ACT has a 3 year “traineeship” style of in house training and a 1 year “upgrade” course.

Courses are run internally by ACT ambulance service.
They hve an entry every year or so.

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