Aussie Paramedics

[nremtp]

Just wondering, what qualification/grade in Australia is considered equivalent to a UK Paramedic? I have seen several levels/grades/titles and I am curious.

As I understand there is Cert IV, Diploma in Paramedical Science and Advanced Paramedic?

Which is equivalent to a UK Paramedic, how long is the training and what does your training involve?

Thanks

[Timmy]

http://www.ambulance.qld.gov.au/recruitment/qualified_uk.asp

[nremtp]

Thanks for that link, I downloaded the blue book which seems to contradict itself! According to page 2, an Advanced Care Paramedic is equivalent to a UK State Registered Paramedic but according to pages 5 and 6 the scope of practice of an Advanced Care Paramedic is quite a bit less than that of a UK Paramedic.

It would appear that a UK Paramedic falls between an Advanced Care Paramedic and an Intensive Care Paramedic. Unless someone can correct me?

[Dustdevil]

Thanks for that link, I downloaded the blue book which seems to contradict itself! According to page 2, an Advanced Care Paramedic is equivalent to a UK State Registered Paramedic but according to pages 5 and 6 the scope of practice of an Advanced Care Paramedic is quite a bit less than that of a UK Paramedic.

It would appear that a UK Paramedic falls between an Advanced Care Paramedic and an Intensive Care Paramedic. Unless someone can correct me?

Are you basing your entire judgment of equivalency upon scope of practice? :?

[Timmy]

I don’t know, not from Queensland. The guys from QAS would be better to ask…

[nremtp]

In a nutshell YES because although QAS will reciprocate a UK Paramedic, this will not be the same in the UK as the scope of practice is less. So an Advanced Care Paramedic would not be equivalent to a UK Paramedic although it appears a UK Paramedic can reciprocate and be an Advanced Care Paramedic if they limit their skill set.

[Timmy]

Well I’d take a look at this page http://www.ambulance.qld.gov.au/recruitment/qualified.asp

It has all the different levels and what qualifications you need ect…

Other wise OzMedic works for QAS and StretcherMonkey is a paramedic in the UK coming to Queensland to work.

Sorry I couldn’t help you more

[nremtp]

Hey no problem Timmy thanks for your replies so far. I want to travel, as much as I love England I want to experience EMS in different countries and my goal is to go to a country that has no EMS system at all and help them set one up. Maybe that's just a stupid dream as I have no idea how to go about it but we have loads of old ambulances sitting in our yard that have plenty of use in them and I don't want to see them end up as burger vans! They are no good for UK EMS but would be ideal for a developing country.

Anyone got any ideas how I can get involved in this sort of project? I don't have any money but I have a whole heap of time I can invest.

So far I am planning on working in: USA and Aus and maybe Singapore (got a friend over there). I want to get about before I'm too old and have some kids and a ball and chain.

[nremtp]

Okkkaaayyy so here is what I found out last night in a lengthy telephone call to Aus. Can someone PLEASE confirm whether this is true or not?

Scope of practice in Australia is determined by the employer NOT by a national standard. So an Advanced Care Paramedic in one territory with a certain employer may be completely different to a member of staff with the same title in another territory with another employer.

Training is inconsistent and although HLT07 will set a core standard, a lot of the training is optional so even having the same qualification does not guarantee that a paramedic has actually received the same skills.

A UK Paramedic is mapped to Advanced Care Paramedic but this is only in Queensland, another employer may decide otherwise. A UK Paramedic has a higher scope of practice than an Advanced Care Paramedic in Queensland but less than an Intensive Care Paramedic but again this only applies to that particular employer.

Paramedic is not a protected title in Australia and many first aiders are calling themselves "Industrial Paramedics" or otherwise so one Paramedic is different to another.

Is this correct so far? I thought we had it bad here in the UK and I thought National Registry was a mess!

I also spoke to a training provider who said I can RPL (I think this is the same as what we call APL in the UK) directly to Cert IV Basic Emergency Care.

Also, it appears that Aussie Paramedics are "text book" paramedics as the courses I have seen do not include any patient contact time or in-hospital time. Is this correct? How on earth are you competent to intubate if you have never done it on a real patient? Or is this again down to the employer?

Thanks in advance.

[Timmy]

LOL its bit of a head spin ay… Some ambulance services in Australia have on the road and theoretical training (diploma and cert courses) this takes 3 years to obtain. Most services prefer paramedics to complete a 3 year degree at university.

In regards to Queensland I’m not really clear as to what there training standards are.

Where I live in Victoria it’s a must to have completed a 3 year bachelor degree to work on an emergency ambulance. In Victoria ambulance a Cert IV Basic Emergency Care wouldn’t really get you anywhere and I doubt they’d employee someone from another country. I would assume that most states train there members to a paramedical diploma level of some sort. But every state is different. Recognition of prior learning and experience varies from state to state. I would assume most ambulance would have a bachelor degree paramedic partnered with a Diploma paramedic.

It’s true that paramedic isn’t protected which sucks. There are so many courses you can do to become an Industrial Paramedic it’s not funny.

This is what an Australian EMT (industrial medic) is:

http://www.firstresponseaustralia.com.au/c...al_Response.htm

I’ll ramble off the state ambulance services:

New South Wales

www.ambulance.nsw.gov.au/

Victoria

www.rav.vic.gov.au

www.ambulance-vic.com.au

Queensland

www.ambulance.qld.gov.au

Australian Capital Territory

www.ambulance.act.gov.au

Western Australia

www.ambulance.net.au

Northern Territory

www.stjohnnt.com.au

Tasmanian

www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/ambulance

Just to give you a look at what a bacholr degree looks like:

http://med.monash.edu/beh/

http://wcf.vu.edu.au/Handbook/index.cfm?Se...p;CourseID=4872