Uni application for paramedic science

[ucasstatement]

DD (18) is in her final year of A Levels (psychology, combined science and health & social care). She wants to apply to uni next year for paramedic science. I have agreed to help her with her UCAS personal statement. I'm just wondering what are the key things they'll be looking for? She has a part time job in a cafe, and has worked in a bar/restaurant, but she has no healthcare experience. Is she likely to need this specific experience?

Any tips from those who know what this course will be looking for will be much appreciated!

Perhaps she could complete one or more of the free online courses with the Open University in the Health, Sports and Psychology section. There are a huge number to choose from, from introductory through intermediate to advanced.

Some are only a few hours of learning, like 'Child Mental Health: Is It In Crisis?' (3 hours). Some are much longer, such as 'Exploring Learning Disabilities' (24 hours).

The transferable skills learned in hospitality jobs are a strength tbh - being able to prioritise tasks, to listen to instructions and carry them out efficiently, to work as part of a team, to deal with members of the public (both unhappy and happy), and to be able to communicate with diverse people. Also, anyone who has worked in a café and bar knows that you have to muck in with the grunt work like cleaning and mopping, work some funny hours, and be punctual and reliable.

I actually admire kids who work in hospitality. It's often gruelling, poorly paid and stressful. The public can be such arseholes.

Wishing you both luck.

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue

I suggest she does a weeks volunteering at a care home and does a first aid course.

I'm always worried when dcs apply for paramedic science with no social care experience as the job is brutal

So she's emailed someone from our local Red Cross and they've sent her a link to currently volunteering vacancies but many of them require a driving licence and access to a car. She's learning to drive currently so doesn't have this. 😕

@Brananan

Yes I think we may need to go down the route of a local care home, as many of the Red Cross and St John's ambulance options require a driving licence. I can definitely get her booked onto a first aid course - they're not cheap but if it helps her application I will do that.

Be warned that volunteer vetting can take quite a long time, particularly for under-18s. It's like no-one's ever asked to do it before!

@AutumnCrow thank you!

Yes, she does deal with some interesting (and at times quite rude) characters in her job! So that will definitely have given her valuable experience.

She certainly could do that. Any volunteer work in a hospital would help, eg those people who are general helpers. It would show her interest in healthcare, and dealing with the public.
Does she have a first aid qualification?.
Good attendance and punctuality at school would help. Plus clear research about what the job actually involves.

To be frank, she needs to see people be ill, sick and shitty. If she can cope with that it will help.

No. This wouldn't be particularly strong. "My mum says" isn't really indicative of anything...

@BodyKeepingScore
Well, she wouldn't word it like that, obviously.

I was thinking more along the lines of, "having a close family member who has worked in the NHS for 15 years means I have gained some insight to how the NHS works etc.... "

It was just an idea. It would only form one small part of her statement.

Local care home then, possibly?

@KatyaKabanova
No she doesn't have a first aid qualification yet, but she's open to doing a course, which I'll happily fund if it strengthens her application.

OP is it really a passion for your DD or just something she has seen on TV. She will have to put some effort it, the competition for places is high. Someone I know studied as a mature student and said it was tough to get on a course even with lots of life and relevant experience.I used to work in a Pathology Dept and remember the stampede of young people wanting to work in that field when all the CSI programmes started.

I know you say this is the only thing she's passionate about, but is she really? "She's open to doing" a first aid course. If she really wants to be a paramedic, surely she would have done something like this years ago. You said earlier that you found out that the local ambulance service is looking for volunteers. Again, if she's really enthusiastic about being a paramedic, she should have known this off her own bat. From what you've posted so far, her only interest in the subject is watching a "reality" series on tv. She hasn't done any volunteering, any study into what the course requires, any work experience or additional training in any sort of related field. And you're on here asking what she should be doing to make her application better, instead of her doing it herself. Is she really interested in this, or is this the only thing she's shown a tiny bit of enthusiasm for and you're pushing her at it.

St John ambulance might be good, DD is only 12 but really very keen indeed to be a paramedic, to that end she's been in St John ambulance badgers, and now cadets since she was 9, we also watch all the programmes! It looks a very tough job and not for the feint hearted, so I think it really needs to be a vocation if she's keen to do it.

@KrisAkabusi
Yes, it's the only thing she's interested in pursuing as a career. I do hear what you're saying, she's very laid back about everything, it's a personally trait. But it's doing her no favours in this respect and I've told her that many times, that she needs to be more proactive in seeking out opportunities etc to drive it forward. I don't know what more I can do, short of doing it for her (which I clearly can't).

Her face lit up at the open day - she was so enthused, she didn't want to leave the campus. So I do know this is her dream - she's just lacking the "get up and go" to make it happen.

She's the exact opposite of my personality, just so chilled and laid back, waiting for things to land in her lap. There's only so many times I can tell her that isn't going to happen! It's hugely frustrating.

My daughter is in the second year of her BSc Paramedic science straight from college. On open day she was told in the strongest terms the job is not like an episode of Ambulance where the juiciest cases are picked for viewer interest. The day to day grunt work of a paramedic is much more mundane - elderly falls, redirects from 111 etc. She loves it but Ambulance it is not!

it is also extremely competitive - 1200 applications for 60 places at her uni. She did a BTEC health and social care with two placements plus worked on a supermarket. So loads of real life experience to write about on her personal statement. She then had a face to face 40 min interview which drilled down in to why she wanted to be a paramedic, what do paramedics do, what fo the HVPC say. So a way to really understand if the applicant knows what they are applying for.

in the first year there was a high dropout rate as you see and hear things that are traumatic and difficult and need to be able to process this and move on to the next job. She is made for the job, but doesn’t mean she is immune to the stress and trauma she sees. I work in healthcare too so we talk openly but some of it fairly harrowing!

So, I am certainly not trying to put anyone off, but she had to give 100 percent commitment to getting through a competitive application and interview process. Your daughter’s application is going to need to stand out from the crowd and real world health/social care or employment experience will deffo be needed.

I wish her lots of luck in the process.

@ucasstatement I would add this in being honest- it shows she understands about public service, shift work etc

Has she looked into the apprenticeship scheme directly through the ambulance service? I would urge her to seriously think about this as her way in.
She would avoid the huge debt associated with being at university and get the same qualification whilst being paid.

If you google recruitment with whichever service is local to you - there's information on there.

She needs some life experience. The biggest skill is talking to people. All people from all walks of life.

I've been a paramedic for 22 years- the students I get coming out from uni at 18 years of age have none of these basic skills. Watching Ambulance- which is heavily edited and scripted (and quite frankly unethical) does not impress me at all.

I worked as a lifeguard for 3 years before I joined the service- it was there that I discovered the interest in first aid, a love for unknown scenarios and dealing with people- so much so, that I abandoned my teaching degree and took this very different path instead.

She needs to have driving experience under her belt and the C1 category on her license which is a separate test.

Good luck..

if she has no direct experience it needs to be translatable skills.

maths- she’ll need good mental arithmatic for drug doses etc. in her cafe work presumably she calculates change etc?

working under pressure- busy shifts, managing multiple requests, keeping calm, diffusing issues if customers are waiting. Understanding that working calmly and methodically gets the work done quickly with fewer mistakes.

working accurately and efficiently- when it’s busy it’s sometimes worth taking a moment eg to get an order right than rush and have to take more time putting it right.

h&s- has she done any training on stuff like chemical dangers and first aid- burns, eye washes, decontamination? Glass cleaners/beer line cleaners/oven cleaners can be very toxic.

Then your basic working as a team. Allocating tasks, deciding who does what etc. making sure everyone knows what their part is so nothing is missed or duplicated. Same with working independently- taking the initiative, working without direction etc.

there’ll be plenty, although I do agree Red Cross volunteering or similar would be good. Has she tried Samaritans? MH is massive now. St John’s ambulance as well.

I’d suggest a police ride along as well if her local force do it. Get a feel for the demands on emergency services as a whole.

Could she not get a part time care job instead of her existing one? My dd did this in the third year of her sixth form - at the time it was just a job but it eventually got her on a different career track and she's just finished her PS degree.
Also we were told places are more competitive than Oxbridge.
There's another route - you can become an Emergency Care Assistant (the other person on each ambulance) and get the paramedic degree while working. Takes 5 years I think and isn't an easy option.

I agree with the others saying she needs to get some care experience, the drop out rate in healthcare roles for those with no experience is huge. It’s my firm belief that anyone wanting to do nursing/paramedic etc should do 18 months as a healthcare assistant either in hospitals/community/care home before being able to apply.

on your point about being very laid back and everything falling in her lap does she have the motivation for all of the course work, placements etc that will be coming up? I’ve just completed my nursing degree and it was relentless and totally takes over your life, you need to be on the ball constantly

I’d suggest a police ride along as well if her local force do it. Get a feel for the demands on emergency services as a whole.

That reminds me, @Whatamitodonow, that my DC blagged 'shadowing days' with local councillors that we vaguely knew. They sometimes had to sit outside of confidential meetings but they were taken under the wing of the members' PAs, given drinks and reading materials, and treated well.

They learned about how Local Authorities function, including Public Health and the Health Overview Scrutiny Committee. DS for example was able to put a charity in touch with right person at the LA's Public Health team to arrange defibrillator training.

Honestly, it sounds to me as if your DD may need to take a gap year and reapply with results in hand and some decent work experience or qualifications related to becoming a paramedic. Don't UCAS applications have to be in by end of January? Which gives her no time at all to sort out first aid training or probably even to get her DBS checks done if she is lucky enough to find a space to volunteer in a care home or other setting, or do anything with St John Ambulance. Paramedic courses are hugely competitive, DS2 considered doing that but ultimately ended up studying child nursing instead, so I have some experience from open days etc. While admissions tutors don't want to discourage anyone with legitimate barriers to volunteering, part-time work, etc it is also the case that the courses are popular, attract a huge number of applicants for limited places, and many of those applicants will have significant relevant experience. It doesn't have to be in a clinical setting, DS2 had a very strong personal statement based on his years in Scouts and as an Explorer leader, also helping out with a local children's church group, a residential camp for adults with disabilities in summer etc. He also managed a part-time job so he could talk about teamwork, repetitive nature of a job etc.

I know you were semi joking but I would advise that she keeps well away from any mention of programs like Ambulance, I have other children who are doctors and police officers and none of those programs are a realistic representation of what really happens in the job. If that is how she thinks the job is going to be in her mind then she does really need to at least speak to some existing paramedics or other frontline healthcare workers. A gap year with six or nine months spent in a care home would honestly do her the world of good.

Thanks @AlohaRose. I think you may be right about a gap year being the way to go. That way she can gain lots of relevant experience for 2026 applications. I'll discuss this with her. U genuinely don't think she realises how competitive it is.