Thinking of a career in Ambulance and Paramedic sector?
Overview
The Ambulance and Paramedic sector which is a part of Health Care and Social Assistance industry delivers fundamental pre-hospital and out-of-hospital care services in Australia. Services can be provided in both emergency and non-emergency settings, and workers in the sector carry out important roles in terms of injury/illness prevention, health promotion and the determination of patients’ long-term outcomes.
Facts:
According to the National Skills Overview 2020-2021 report, Health Care and Social Assistance industry is the largest employing industry in Australia. In 2020, there were over 1.7 million people employed in this industry, which is projected to increase to more than 1.9 million by 2024. Occupations related to the Health Training Package make up around a third of the Health Care and Social Assistance workforce and are expected to experience substantial growth up until 2024. In particular the demand for ambulance services are among the many health services which are expected to significantly increase due to the growing ageing population and the related trend in favour of senior Australians continuing to live independently in their own homes.
Further insights reveal that demand for emergency and non-emergency health care services both in pre-hospital and out-of-hospital settings has been growing steadily, and the latest statistics show 3.5 million patients were assessed, treated or transported by ambulance service organisations from 2017–18 (the most recent data available at the time of preparing this information). In particular, non-emergency responses have increasingly been transferred to the private sector over the past five years. Notably, the Victorian Government separated emergency and non-emergency ambulance operations into distinct units, which has opened up the market for non-emergency service providers. Overall, private ambulance service providers are forecast to have represented 16.2% of the revenue across the ambulance industry for the 2017–18 period. With the ageing population expected to steadily continue to increase, managing the demand for pre-hospital and out-of-hospital services will be a priority.
So what does this mean for you?
With the projected steady increase in demand for pre-hospital and out-of–hospital services would mean a promising career in the industry.
Job demand: High
Average weekly wage: $1,700
What does it take to be working in the Ambulance and Paramedic sector as a health care service provider?
Let’s review the key skill requirements to be a good health care service provider in the Ambulance and Paramedic sector:
- Caring and empathetic nature
- Capacity to remain calm, think clearly and act quickly in stressful situations
- Highly developed communication
- Teamwork and self-reliance
- Quick decision making
- Ability to follow instructions and guidelines
- Resilient and adaptive
- A good level of health and physical fitness
What's the importance of these key skills?
Because on any given day as a health care service provider in Ambulance and Paramedic sector, you could be:
- Assessing, treating and managing patients’ treatment en-route to the hospital.
- Attending medical emergencies and accidents which may require the administration of basic and advanced life support.
- Performing some invasive techniques such as fluid resuscitation, airway management and so on.
- Lifting and placing patients on stretchers, loading the stretchers into ambulances and transporting patients to medical facilities.
- Prepare patient care reports and other written reports detailing patients condition and the treatment provided.
- Providing emergency and non-emergency patient transportation to patients that will require various skills.
- Performing vehicle and equipment checks to ensure the patient transportation vehicle (ambulance) and the medical supplies are accounted for and the equipment is in good working condition.
- Attending events and public gathering such as large music events, where accidents or other health emergencies may occur.
- and much more…
According to Skills IQ report, Ambulance and Paramedic Training Package qualifications can lead to employment in a wide range of roles that involve multiple emergency and non-emergency medical support responsibilities. Pre-hospital and out-of-hospital health care roles can involve attending accidents, emergencies and requests for medical assistance; assessing the health of patients and determining their need for assistance; transporting sick and disabled persons to and from medical facilities; and instructing community groups and essential service workers in First Aid.
You could be the first contact health worker who delivers out-of-hospital patient assessment, healthcare and transport service. This could involve delivery of clinical care and providing clinical assessment and pre-hospital and out-of-hospital interventions to patients in an emergency, including providing basic and advanced life support. You could be working in a variety of roles within the health care and patient transport system.
Job Roles
You could be working in but not limited to the following job roles:
- Ambulance Officer
- Ambulance/Paramedic Assistant
- Ambulance Transport Attendant
- Ambulance call-taker
- Emergency Services Officer
- Emergency Medical Dispatcher
- Emergency Medical Technician
- Emergency Medical Responder
- Dispatcher
- Patient Transport Officer (Emergency and Non-Emergency)
- Community-based First Responder (CFR)
- Medical Assistant
- Oil and Gas Medic On / Offshore,
- Defence Force Medic
- Private Medic
- Industrial Medic
- Remote Medic
- Event Medic
How can Heed Health Education assist YOU with a career in Ambulance and Paramedic sector?
Heed Health Education can assist you in the following manner:
- Offer Nationally Recognised qualifications in Certificate IV in Health Care and Diploma of Emergency Health Care.
- Provide up to date, best evidence practice in skills
- Support from qualified and experienced clinical staff
- Provide relevant units of assessment that are required and sort after within the industry
- Provide a comprehensive skill set that can be used in multiple health care roles
- Comprehensive assessments to help prepare you for tertiary education
- Access to up-to-date equipment and resources that are used within the pre-hospital health care sector
- Credits towards Bachelor’s Degree – unit dependant
- Job ready skills to move into the healthcare industry after completion of qualifications
- Clinical Placements with Industry Partners
We invite you to check the following Nationally Recognised qualifications offered by Heed Health Education, that will impart you with the required skills, knowledge and hands-on practical training to be job ready for the Ambulance and Paramedic sector:
- HLT41120 – Certificate IV in Health Care
- HLT51020 – Diploma of Emergency Health Care (formerly known as Diploma of Paramedical Science)
So what does this mean for you?
With the steady increase in demand for pre-hospital and out-of-hospital services in the coming years would mean a promising career and you will not be out of job.
What does it take to be working in Ambulance and Paramedic industry as a health care service provider?
Let’s review the key skills requirements to be a good health care service provider in Ambulance and Paramedic industry:
- Caring and empathetic nature
- Capacity to remain calm, think clearly and act quickly in stressful situations
- Highly developed communication
- Teamwork and self-reliance
- Quick decision making
- Ability to follow instructions and guidelines
- Resilient and adaptive
- A good level of health and physical fitness
Are these key skills important?
YES!
