First paramedics degree course maps future for ambulance staff

Sam Paterson, the programme leader, said: “There’s definitely a demand for it, and looking at the amount of applications and the interest that we had on open days we do expect it to be a highly competitive course to come onto. There’s an awful lot of interest.

The three-year degree is the first full-time undergraduate degree of its kind in Scotland and puts paramedic training on a similar footing to other healthcare professions, such as nursing and physiotherapy, which require all new entrants to be degree qualified.

Ms Paterson: “We are going through a very similar journey to those in other healthcare professions – probably most recently those in nursing and physiotherapy, and even occupational therapy.

“All of these health services have gone from a very vocational model of training and education through into higher education.

“And we’re kind of in the middle of that journey at the moment. With this course opening up, it kind of helps to ‘future-proof’ some of the education and training available within Scotland.

“So there are still employment-led education and training programmes – some of which are overseen by the university, but they are owned and run and controlled by SAS and it is employees of the ambulance service who access that.

“Whereas this [degree] is open to anyone who meets our entry criteria. They can come and do a three year degree and if they’re successful they will come out and be able to register as a paramedic and ultimately it’s up to them where they continue to work, whether that’s with the Scottish Ambulance Service or another UK service.”

It comes amid a debate within the profession on increasing the threshold for entry onto the paramedics' register, which could see traditional on-the-job training phased out over the next decade.

A consultation on the issue by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) - the regulator for healthcare, social work and psychological professions including paramedics - closed on December 15, with results expected in early 2018.

The College of Paramedics, the professional body which represents paramedics in the UK, has urged the HCPC to increase the bar to degree-entry only, with a BSc qualification as a minimum.

Traditionally, aspiring paramedics would apply to the Scottish Ambulance Service for a post as a trainee ambulance technician meaning that they would earn as the learned. More recently, training has incorporated an element of university education through courses owned and run by SAS.

However, the new degree - which requires at least three Bs and a C at Higher - is the first time that schoolleavers have been able to study to become a paramedic without being employed by the ambulance service. The course, which combines modules such as anatomy and physiology with role play emergency scenarios and work placements in the field, has also attracted health professionals seeking a career change.

Michele Durham, East Kilbride, 34, care assistant in a care home with two children. "I nursed my own grandparents for so long and remember the paramedics coming in and being amazed by them. In the care homes, I've worked alongside nurses and paramedics, and I wanted to step up as I knew there was more that I could offer. When I saw this come up, I would have been stupid not to apply. It's been a challenge but despite the challenges, which come with work, life, children and studies, I know it will be worth it. You stand in awe when you see paramedics react and on the scene and to think that will be me in the future will be incredible."

School leaver, Greg MacLeod, Stonehaven, 18, from Mackie Academy, said: "Having been with the Red Cross for a number of years, I wanted to move into full-time work to treat people and provide social care in a varied role. That's what makes this is so exciting. There is never a dull day as there is always something to think about as no case is black or white."