Job Dreams: Advanced Paramedic

As part of our Job Dreams series, we speak to professionals from different careers and share their advice with you. Last month, we found out what it’s like to be a caterer. This time we spoke to Dave, who works as an advanced paramedic for the NHS.

Tell us a brief summary about you, and your background, and how you got to where you are today:
Throughout secondary school I never knew what career path I wanted; I found it worrying at first because many friends seemed to have decided their direction.  After getting my GCSEs, the next seven years seem like a whirlwind in retrospect…

I left school at 16 and completed an apprenticeship in early years education. In a change of direction, I then found a job in the Ambulance Service answering 999 emergency calls (which became more relevant later in my career path). While working there, I set up an events management company and I then left the ambulance service to embark in self-employment for five years. Those five years were amazing. I was lucky to work across the entire country and manage an array of different events such as festivals, sports, and music!

And after all that…at 23 years old, a friend talked me into applying to university for the paramedic programme. I started the paramedic course and then during the holidays I had several roles with NCS, mentoring teams and leading NCS programmes. Like I said, a whirlwind of a journey!    

Fast forward eight years and we get here. I qualified as a paramedic in 2015, I was promoted to senior paramedic in 2018, and got another promotion in 2021 to my current role of advanced paramedic. 

Can you tell us what your day-to-day is like?
My role is very varied (variety is the spice of life!) I mostly work in the rapid response car, but other shifts I can be coordinating complex incidents from the ambulance control rooms, or providing clinical advice to paramedics with patients, or sometimes teaching.  

When I’m working a shift in the rapid response car, my alarm goes off at 05:20. I’m up, showered, full from breakfast, and at work by 06:45. Shifts are 12 hours long and are a mix of day shifts and night shifts. You get used to shift work after a few years, especially the sleep pattern. I sign onto my response car and check the equipment including the basic life support kit, advanced life support kit, defibrillator, medicines, and maternity kit – you wouldn’t believe how much equipment fits into the response car. I sign on with the ambulance service control and then it’s a waiting game, but one that doesn’t require much waiting because of how busy we are. As an advanced paramedic I’m sent to our most ill patients, whether that be cardiac arrests, major trauma, peri-arrest patients, complex mental health patients, or to support paramedics who need help with a patient. When I’m not with a patient, I spend time conducting investigations, and helping to support staff with learning and development, it’s a busy day! Within no time at all, it’s been 12 hours and I’m signing off the RRV and ready to head home, starting it all again in the morning. 

What do you love most about your job?
The variety. My colleagues. The opportunities. Helping people. 

What do you find most challenging?
Seeing people in their moment of need often means they’re distressed, especially when they, or a loved one is injured or ill. These scenarios mean there’s a high emotional demand to being a paramedic, and that can be tough. But being a paramedic is hugely rewarding, knowing you have helped someone during your time at work brings a lot of job satisfaction. Everyone needs to ensure they have a good work/life/social balance, no matter what career journey you decide upon. For me, I love the outdoors, camping, and walking – when the challenges of work start to become overwhelming, I get myself outdoors and it helps me to chill. 

What did you see yourself doing when you were a kid?
My mum tells this story best. When I was around six years old, I apparently wanted to be a ‘modern-day cowboy’, with a cowboy hat, on a motorbike, delivering food to those in need – no wonder it took me a while to find a career path! Even from a young age it’s clear I have always wanted to help people. By the time I was in secondary school I had thoughts of doing so many different jobs. I played the drums, enjoyed music, and liked organising events, so I thought that could be a good direction. I went round in circles with different ideas until I was 23 and started training as a paramedic - then I was captivated. 

What challenges did you face in reaching where you are today?
Until I found my niche, I used to find education difficult. I have always loved learning, but I always struggled to focus in a classroom environment through school and then with academic writing at university. Over the years I have found ways to tackle these challenges and I now know to persevere when things are feeling tough. I am now halfway through a Master of Science (MSc) degree, and I guest lecture for student paramedics at one of the universities, so persevering was worth it!

Where do you see yourself going next?
First, I want to complete my MSc. I’m not sure what direction I want to go in the future, but I know it will always evolve around helping people and developing the ambulance service. I’m okay with not fully knowing the direction I’m going in!

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you first left school?
A prescription for our journey doesn’t exist. It’s okay not to know what you want to do, equally, it’s great if you know exactly the direction you want to start in. Everyone is different and it’s our experiences that make us who we are, so treat each experience as an opportunity to learn. Don’t be afraid to break the mould of what people expect of you to challenge yourself and find a new direction. 

What advice would you give to someone interested in joining your industry?
Do it!  Working for the NHS has a lot of benefits, not only the satisfaction from helping people but also the opportunities it brings. Traditionally it’s thought that paramedics only work for the ambulance service, but some paramedics are now working in hospitals, GP practices, research fields, sports, and wilderness environments – there’s a lot of options. If, like me, you want to work for the NHS ambulance service, there are two main routes: 
- Enrol onto a Paramedic BSc at university. After three years at university, you are then able to start your paramedic career 
- Start with the ambulance service as an ambulance technician, then most ambulance services have internal progression routes to becoming a paramedic

I’m undoubtedly biased, but it’s a career path worth exploring. 

What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve been given?
Don’t take things personally. Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes you will achieve and sometimes you will fail. There are lots of ups and downs, just ensure to learn as much as possible from each experience.  

What quote do you live by?
I heard a quote by Steve Jobs many years ago and it really resonated with me, it’s one I often remind myself of:

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

There’s a degree of unpredictability in life, you never know what direction you might go or the challenges you will face, but when you look back it all makes sense.