Student Paramedics

The HSE has on-going opportunities for Student Paramedics. In order to meet this requirement it is the intention of the National Recruitment Service to create a national supplementary panel from which current and future Student Paramedic training places will be filled.

The recruitment and selection process for this campaign will be managed by the NRS and will involve various stages. The stages of this process are as follows:

Stage 1 – Application Form (www.hse.ie)

Stage 2 – Online Verbal Evaluation and Analytical Reasoning Testing

Stage 3 – Eligibility Sift in line with UCC course entry requirements

Stage 4 – Competency Based Interview

Full information on the testing / assessment stages and documents required is available in this Job Specification and in the Additional Campaign Information document.

Taking up Appointment

A start date will be indicated at job offer stage.

Location of Post

National Ambulance Service College and Operational Divisions throughout the National Ambulance Service (NAS) as required to facilitate training placements.

Details of the HSE National Ambulance Service Structure are provided at:

https://www.nationalambulanceservice.ie/

Student Paramedics are required to work in any division of the NAS and can / will be re-assigned between locations as and when service need dictates.

Every effort will be made to offer geographically convenient postings; however, we may be unable to facilitate this because of operational requirements.

Details of Service

The role and purpose of the National Ambulance Service (NAS) is to provide a clinically appropriate and timely pre-hospital patient care and transportation service. Pre-hospital emergency care and transportation services are provided as an integral part of a continuum of care for patients / clients, and there is a requirement to work in partnership with other health care providers in both Scheduled and Unscheduled Healthcare Services.

Reporting Relationship

Reports to Director National Ambulance Service College or his / her designated alternate.

Purpose of the Post

NAS is committed to providing an efficient and effective Emergency Ambulance, Intermediate Care, First Responder and Communications Service which meets in full, all statutory duties and public expectations.

NAS is seeking persons interested in undertaking the Paramedic Training Programme (including Internship) and acquiring Registration as a Paramedic with the Pre Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC).

The intention of this process is to provide a pool of suitably qualified paramedics, licensed to practice by the Pre Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC), who will be offered positions at the grade of Paramedic at various locations throughout the NAS.

The Paramedic (PHECC Registered Paramedic) will be competent to carry out all of the duties of the Paramedic (PHECC Registered Paramedic) and will have a range of abilities which will permit the safe delivery of emergency care and transport within the framework and limits specified by PHECC.

The Paramedic (PHECC Registered Paramedic) will be responsible for the care, treatment and movement of patients and maintaining self, vehicles, equipment and station in a manner fit to respond to that role.

The Paramedic Training Programme is operated jointly by the National Ambulance Services College (NASC) and the College of Medicine & Health, University College Cork (UCC). Successful completion of the course will lead to Paramedic Registration with the pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council and award of the BSc (Hons) in Paramedical Science, UCC. 

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

Clinical Responsibilities

•   Attend to cases of accident and sudden illness and respond to AS1, AS2 and AS3 calls in a prompt and timely manner
• Deal with emergencies as directed
• Attend to patients in a professional courteous and compassionate manner using best practice including compliance with Clinical Practice Guidelines
• Act within the principles of the Framework for Major Emergency Management (FMEM) during major emergencies if the need arises and to carry such communications equipment as necessary and to be familiar with the Major Emergency Plan
• Participate in exercises and training sessions designed to improve the ability of the Ambulance Service to respond to a Major Emergency
• Show leadership in the completion, audit, evaluation and development of clinical records including Patient Care Report Forms (PCR) both electronic and paper based.
• Communicate with a broad range of professionals as appropriate
• Carry out duties in an acting up capacity as required
• Paramedics (PHECC Registered Paramedic) in the National Ambulance Service are held in high esteem by the community and members are required to maintain a high standard of dress and appearance as well as conducting themselves in a responsible manner at all times

Tours of Duty

•   Be prepared to work to assigned rosters, carry out the duties of a Paramedic and be available for duty outside of normal hours as and when the need may arise
• Work in any Ambulance Station as assigned from time to time
• Be prepared to participate in strategic deployment at any designated Main Ambulance Station, Small Station, Sub-Station or other location as may be implemented in the future
• Foster good working relationships with others
• To report to a Paramedic Supervisor or Officer / Manager as designated by the Chief Ambulance Officer /Area Operations Manager
• To comply with all present and future Standing Operational Procedures including Clinical, Operational and Control related
• Where an Emergency Ambulance is not available due to unavoidable staff absence, a Paramedic (PHECC Registered Paramedic) will be expected to respond, where an appropriate vehicle is available, where the timely intervention of a Paramedic (PHECC Registered Paramedic) is a critical response to a life threatening emergency
• To provide optimum patient care within the scope of practice of a Paramedic(PHECC Registered Paramedic).

Tenure

The post of Student Paramedic is Specified Purpose. Any posts that may be offered, either specified purpose or permanent, full time and pensionable employment as a Paramedic (PHECC Registered Paramedic) are subject to successful completion of the Paramedic Training Programme, successful discharge of the Paramedic Internship and successful acquisition of registration as a Paramedic with PHECC.

Appointment as an employee of the Health Service Executive is governed by the Health Act 2004 and the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointment) Act 2004 and Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Amendment Act 2013.”

Remuneration

The Salary scale for the post as at 01/10/2021 is:

€29,195, €31,160, €31,949, €33,239, €33,945, €34,480, €35,334, €36,199, €37,055, €38,769, €40,350 LSI

Shift and weekend premia payments also apply.

New appointees to any grade start at the minimum point of the scale. Incremental credit will be applied for recognised relevant service in Ireland and abroad (Department of Health Circular 2/2011). Incremental credit is normally granted on appointment, in respect of previous experience in the Civil Service, Local Authorities, Health Service and other Public Service Bodies and Statutory Agencies.

Working Week

The hours of attendance i.e. average of 39 hours per week calculated over a predetermined period of time, involves shift work. You will be expected to be available for duty outside of the rostered hours as and when the need may arise. Shift patterns are normally of 8, 10 or 12 hours duration. A shift pattern may have a period of On Call incorporated. Rosters and periods of duty will involve working at weekends, nights and during public holidays.

You will be required to work the agreed roster arrangements advised to you by your line manager.  Where you are required to work unsocial hours and/or night duty you will be remunerated at the nationally approved rates for your pay grade.    

Where you are not assigned to a roster, your Supervisor will notify the working hours allocated to you at least 24 hours in advance. Where an unforeseen event such as staff availing of bereavement, force majeure, paternity or sick leave, staff injury, Stress Management stand down, a major emergency or critical staff shortage occurs, you will be required to change allocated working hours (& leave) at short notice, i.e. less than 24 hours’ notice.

Annual Leave

The annual leave associated with the post will be confirmed at Contracting stage.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.