Paramedic Science

Overview
Paramedics are vital to the health, safety and wellbeing of the nation.

If you’re ready to work at the frontline of the NHS, this BSc (Hons) Paramedic Science degree will prepare you for life as a registered paramedic.

Approved by:
This course is approved by the Health & Care Professions Council.

Course highlights

• Practise your skills on medical manikins and simulated patients safely and under expert supervision in our Centre for Simulation in Health and Care, one of the country’s leading healthcare teaching environments

• Gain more than 1,500 hours of practical experience on placement with real paramedic teams and in clinical settings, including community medicine, emergency departments, minor injuries units, maternity and critical care

• Get expert support from a personal mentor within the Ambulance Service

• Receive an induction, full uniform and PPE (personal protective equipment) from the NHS Trust you're assigned to

• Become eligible to register as a paramedic with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC) when you graduate

Careers and opportunities
A career as a paramedic is fast-paced and demanding, but also incredibly rewarding. As ambulance call-outs continue to rise, paramedics are needed in ambulance trusts nationwide – there were 783,050 incidents in June 2021, 80,000 more than in the same month two years ago.

On this Paramedic Science degree, you’ll master the complexities of acute pre-hospital care, and learn to assess patients and treat patients using life-saving equipment safely and effectively. At the end of the course, you'll be eligible to apply to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for professional registration as a qualified paramedic in the public or private sector.

As a paramedic in the NHS in 2021, you'd begin your career on a Band 5 salary of £25,655 to £31,534, before moving up to Band 6 after two years in your role, which ranges from £32,306 to £39,027. With more experience you could progress to become a consultant paramedic, making up to £75,874 (Band 8c).

Once you graduate, you’ll also be prepared for jobs in clinical settings like telephone triage services, helicopter emergency medical services, with ambulance trusts, or in special operations response.

Where could you work as a paramedic?
Many graduates work in ambulance trusts – recent graduates have gone on to work for organisations including:

South Central Ambulance Service
London Ambulance Service
South Western Ambulance Service Trust
East of England Ambulance Service
Welsh Ambulance Service
North East Ambulance Service

To prepare you for your career as a paramedic, you'll get at least 1,500 hours of experience on work placements in paramedic teams and other clinical settings.

Ambulance placements
Each year, you'll complete an ambulance placement, working 37.5 hours a week (which includes 7.5 hours a week study time).

You'll be allocated a clinical mentor from the Ambulance Service and you'll work with a clinical team that consists of a team leader, paramedics, specialist paramedics, ambulance technicians, associate ambulance practitioners, emergency care assistants and other student paramedics.

You'll work alongside and be supervised by a paramedic on every shift and work in different ambulance stations across Hampshire or the Isle of Wight (depending on where you live during your studies).

Clinical placements
You'll also undertake the following clinical placements:

• Year 1 – a 1-week community placement in a setting such as a drugs and alcohol rehabilitation team or with a learning disabilities team

• Year 2 – a 2-week in-hospital placement, which allows you to experience various clinical departments such as maternity, emergency departments and coronary care units

• Year 3 – a 3-day placement in a setting such as an ambulance control centre or minor injuries unit

Year 1:

Core modules in this year include:

• Foundation of Evidence Based Practice (Paramedic) (20 credits)
• Foundations of Paramedic Professional Practice (40 credits)
• Fundamentals of Paramedic Practice (20 credits)
• Science Informing Practice (Paramedic) (40 credits)

There are no optional modules in this year.

Year 2:

Core modules in this year include:

• Acute Prehospital Care (20 credits)
• Applied Paramedic Professional Practice (40 credits)
• Engaging with Service Improvement (Paramedic) (20 credits)
• Evidence Based Decision Making (Paramedic) (20 credits)
• Patient Assessment (20 credits)

There are no optional modules in this year.

Year 3:

Core modules in this year include:

• Assessment and Care of the Older Adult (20 credits)
• Enhancing Paramedic Professional Practice (40 credits)
• Pathology & Therapeutics for Paramedics (20 credits)
• Project (40 credits)

There are no optional modules in this year.

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

You’ll be assessed through tests (academic or practical/skills based), assignments, projects, academic written work/portfolios, objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs), presentations, dissertation/project.

You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.

You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:

• Year 1 students: 42% by written exams and 58% by coursework
• Year 2 students: 13% by practical exams and 87% by coursework
• Year 3 students: 10% by practical exams and 90% by coursework