Menu
Assistant Ambulance Practitioners respond in ambulances beside a paramedic or another suitably qualified member of staff and delivers urgent and emergency care to a wide range of patient groups.
Paramedics are usually the senior member of a two-person ambulance crew, with an Emergency Care Assistant or Technician to support them. You might work on your own, using a motorbike, emergency response car or you could work to provide advice over the telephone from a control room or clinical ‘hub’. In this role you could be:
You will need to be able to understand a situation quickly, be confident, reassuring and calm in stressful situations.
You need to be resilient in dealing with other people’s strong emotions, be able to follow procedures, to work alone or in a team, to work quickly and carefully and be prepared to go into unknown situations.
To practise as an assistant ambulance practitioner, you must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
To register you need to successfully complete an approved qualification in paramedic science.
There are three different routes to studying and qualifying as a paramedic. You can:
You could start as a support role such as driver in the Patient Transport Service (PTS). Then with further training and experience you could apply for a training scheme as an assistant ambulance practitioner.
Entry is very competitive. It may help if you have volunteered with St John Ambulance, as a community first responder (known as a CFR) with an NHS ambulance trust or already worked in a supporting role.
We'd love to hear from you. If you'd like to talk to us about apprenticeships and traineeships, email hyp-tr.apprentices@nhs.net
Welcome to Med Shed.
An interactive resource to help you find your career with us in the local NHS.
There’s a lot to see and lots to explore so come back and visit us regularly…