How to become a paramedic

The career path for paramedics is varied, with passionate and dedicated medical professionals entering this field from a variety of backgrounds. Whether you’re a medicine, nursing or midwifery graduate, or haven’t completed any university level study yet, planning your route into this profession will help you make quick progress. 

This guide covers a variety of topics which are central to understanding the role of a paramedic, the job outlook for paramedics, and how you can use postgraduate study to achieve your career goals.  

Read on to learn how to become a paramedic, the certifications and education you’ll need, where you could study, and what skills are most important. 

CONTENTS

• Why become a paramedic?
• How do I become a paramedic?
• What are the entry requirements?
• What skills do I need to become a paramedic?
• What universities offer paramedicine courses?

Why become a paramedic? 

Working as a paramedic involves saving lives. As front line, emergency medicine providers who travel to patients and transport them to hospitals or other medical facilities, they are essential to helping patients survive all kinds of serious incidents. As a result, it’s an immensely rewarding – if challenging – career path. It attracts brave, compassionate and intelligent individuals who want to enjoy making an incredible difference to people’s lives every day. 

The salary of a paramedic starts at band 5, which is higher than entry roles for some other NHS roles. Over time you could find yourself in Band 6, 7 and 8c roles – the paramedic salary for a team leader could be up to £45,000 for example, while a consultant paramedic could earn up to £75,000. 

Advancing your career as a paramedic will allow you to choose from a range of exciting and unique specialist areas to suit your interests. Whether you want to work specifically with stroke patients, provide emergency care in an A&E or ambulance, or become a paramedic in remote and challenging environments, postgraduate study is the typical route to a satisfying career. 

How do I become a paramedic? 

Meeting certification and licensure requirements is your main objective when it comes to planning the steps to becoming a paramedic. With achieving paramedic licensure as your starting point, you can complete the training required to become a paramedic in several ways. Choosing the right paramedic programme will depend on your previous education. 

Completing a bachelor’s university course in paramedic science will include a paramedic certification in almost all cases. For students who have already graduated and are coming from a nursing, midwifery or other allied health profession, an MSc pre-registration course will provide you with the certification required to become a paramedic. 

You could also work as a student paramedic with an ambulance trust, which provides a hybrid work and study pathway to gaining the licensure required to become a paramedic through a degree apprenticeship. 

Once you have qualified, gaining hands-on experience as a paramedic will help you develop your career path and move into more specialised and senior roles. As you gain experience, you could specialise in areas like air ambulance, A&E paramedicine or remote paramedicine. 

What are the entry requirements? 

Paramedical training is offered through universities at postgraduate level, so the educational requirements to become a paramedic will depend on the type and level course you’re applying to, as well as the admissions requirements of your chosen university. 

In almost all cases paramedic requirements will include a previous qualification in a medical discipline, such as medicine or nursing. Applying from a biological or allied health background is also possible if you can evidence sufficient direct patient contact. 

You’ll need a 2:2 at undergraduate level most of the time, though some courses – particularly advanced qualifications like PhDs – ask for a 2:1 at minimum. 

A full UK driving licence may also be a requirement, along with minimum GCSE (or equivalent) grades in maths and English. 

What skills do I need to become a paramedic? 

To build a successful paramedic career path, understanding the requirements of the role and developing core skills is needed. The following core competencies will allow you to thrive in your role and deliver excellent outcomes for patients. 

Decision making under pressure 

Emergency medical care involves making decisions in the span of moments in order to save lives. You will make mistakes, and being able to move on and learn from them is essential. 

Communication and teamworking 

Being able to communicate with your fellow paramedics is key to providing effective emergency care in challenging circumstances. Helping patients understand what is going on is also central to their co-operation and experience. 

Empathy, care and compassion 

Like other medical practitioners, paramedics are first and foremost there to help people. As a paramedic, you’ll often be with patients in very serious and traumatic health situations – you’ll need to understand their suffering in order to treat them, as well as provide much needed emotional support. 

Mental and physical fitness 

Working as a paramedic is a highly demanding job, with long hours and periods of extreme pressure and stress. You’ll have to administer CPR or restrain patients, as well as drive safely and quickly in a variety of environments. 

What universities offer paramedicine courses? 

Postgraduate courses in paramedic education are offered at seven different universities in the UK, with a total of 11 paramedic training pathways on offer. 

Our course search tool will allow you to quickly find all the information you need about each study option, including course content, entry requirements, fees and a link to the relevant university webpage. 

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