Uk and Australia...same qualification?

[hertzvanrental]

Unfortunately, you'll find it very hard to to gain employment in Aus with just the EMT qualification. It is far easier to get yourself on the next Paramedic course in the UK then look to make the move. HPC registered Paramedics are already skills matched in Queensland.

That's where you're wrong, techs from my service have been offered places with queensland. All they needed was a reference from their line manager, medicals and police checks. On arrival to Oz will be placed on uni courses. Loads of paras/techs from my service are moving over there.

Anyway bushy what's wrong with other people coming over to work in your country? What it means is that there are plenty of Brits who are fed up to the back teeth with the S H I T hole of a country we live in and would prefer to live in such a nice place such as yours, kind of a complement me thinks.

[Timmy]

It’s extremely difficult to find a job after you’ve completed a degree. They prefer to give the jobs to people who have prior experience thus it’s hard to get experience if you can’t get a job. People who have worked hard to get there degree are forced to either work in a different field, patient transport, industrial or private standby.

This is why I’ve been told by an overwhelming majority of paramedics to do a nursing degree then do a bridging course into paramedics just so you’ve got something to fall back on.

[Aussie Canuck]

I am a Canadian, who has recently moved down under, and no I am not taking a job away from any Australian.

It is my opinion that the QAS has been very thorough in their Equivalency Qualification Assessment. They have given me a good sense of their determination to employ qualified staff for the multitudes of positions they currently have available. There are many positions to fill now and in the very near future, or they would not be recruiting abroad.

I was a Critical Care Paramedic in Canada, with two degrees, a diploma, and years of experience; and they don't simply let you walk in off the street and hand you the Intensive Care Epaulettes. There is a long and arderous process you must go through. It has taken me much longer to begin working than I had hoped, but I cannot question the need for due diligence in this process. They are certainly not handing all the jobs to "forieners" in an attempt to hold back the home grown students.

EMS is an incredible job, and we get to do some truly amazing things, but we have to remember that we also have the ability to do incredible harm. It is the very minimum responsibility for the Management of all services to ensure that all staff are qualified to practice at the level they are employed at. If you do not make the cut, I believe that putting your effort into improving your attitude/education/experience would be a much better use of time than whining about it.

But maybe it's just me, I am Canadian.

[Timmy]

I know what you’re getting at. But the guys who come from overseas have experience in EMS hence it makes it harder for a person who comes straight out of a degree to get a job and get that experience needed to work for a state service.

In my case, I live in Victoria. If I left school and went straight to uni and got my 3 year degree there’s really a slim chance of me getting a job in a state service because those people who already have a job in EMS get seniority because they have experience. This is why I’m not being encouraged to go straight into a paramedic course. But I totally understand were your coming from.

[sledogg1]

CCP Canadian in kangaroooooo land. Must have let u in with open arms or u had dual citizen ship. So, what did a CCP get u.?And what can a ACP get u? Where did u do your CCP at.................. we where CCP trained but do to paperwork.accredition crap.

[Aussie Canuck]

Sledog1,

I came to Australia with my wife, who is an Aussie, as she wished to return home after 5 years in Canada. The immigration was very easy on a spouse visa.

The process of having the service here process your equivalency is quite painful. They have no predetermined equality matrix as they do with the UK and some other countries, so they examine every Canadian applicant based on what documentation you can provide. This is not simply Degrees and Diplomas, but the actual didactic content, dialectical timeframes, and skill assessments. This takes many weeks, and then you must sit a panel interview with the Medical Director and Multiple Training Officers. They then assign you to a level that they feel you are equivalent to.

They CCP training means nothing here, as they do not really utilize said in the service. A Canadian ACP is for the most part, an Intensive Care Paramedic here. I will have to spend three months working with another ICP to familiarize myself with the P&P before they will authorize me to work alone as ICP's do here. It will take me the better part of a year to be working at the level I had been for 7 years in Canada. The price you pay for the weather and the waves I guess.

I did my CCP training through Ornge in Ontario, they held a class in Alberta for my services flight team and I was fortunate enough to be able to take the training, even though the Alberta College of Paramedics does not yet register CCP's.

BTW, I am originally from Antigonish NS, I almost went to NS to work prior to my wife bribing me with the surfing and riding of the motorcycle year round, and I have found three hockey teams to play on. I would love to show her the east coast some time though.

[sledogg1]

AUSTRALIA NEWS

** An ongoing shortage of paramedics in Queensland has prompted EMS brass to recruit practitioners from England. The Courier Mail (Jodi Munro O’Brien/April 12) said over 100 providers have so far made the committment, with 5 already on the job. Since March 2006, demand for EMS workers in the state has risen 20.5 per cent. Ambulance Employees Australia Queensland secretary Stephen Crow said 250 new practitioners a year for the next five years are needed to right staffing levels.

Sry to hear that, thats a kick in the butt as a CCP to a ICP but the surfing and biking would be heaven. Thinking of the Ornge course and do air med out of Moncton NB. Take care.

[theotherphil]

I know what you’re getting at. But the guys who come from overseas have experience in EMS hence it makes it harder for a person who comes straight out of a degree to get a job and get that experience needed to work for a state service.

In my case, I live in Victoria. If I left school and went straight to uni and got my 3 year degree there’s really a slim chance of me getting a job in a state service because those people who already have a job in EMS get seniority because they have experience. This is why I’m not being encouraged to go straight into a paramedic course. But I totally understand were your coming from.

Unfortunately, this is the way of the world and for almost any job. It happens here in the UK....many of my friends left uni with a degree and found it really hard to get work. I chose to go the vocational route and gain experience and joined the Royal Marines at 19. I joined the Ambulance service at 27. I've just finished a Paramedic course after my 2 years as an EMT and will be doing a degree at uni come september. My experience and current qualifications means I get accreditation for prior learning so I only have to do the final year of a 3 year degree and it's all paid for by my employers

Expect to see me applying for an Aussie visa towards the end of next year.

[theotherphil]

That's where you're wrong, techs from my service have been offered places with queensland. All they needed was a reference from their line manager, medicals and police checks. On arrival to Oz will be placed on uni courses. Loads of paras/techs from my service are moving over there..

I didn't say it was impossible, only very difficult. I have spoken the the recruitment team directly when they were at Ambex last year. I was told it was straight forward for SrPara's as skills matching had already been done - you can go over there and work pretty much as soon as you arive. Help would be given with the visa and help towards relocations fees is available.

For an EMT, you would have to arrange your own visa and pay your own relocation fees then apply directly once you are there. Skills matching takes a long time. There's also no guarantee of employment once you get there.

[hertzvanrental]

Tell that to the techs that have already arrived and the ones that are about to go, they already have everything sorted.