The Beginning Pt. 2

(Part 1 here)

Although there isn't much more to my 'story', I thought I would continue the post by giving you an idea of the obstacles I have to face in the coming months and years. Be warned, this is a LONG post so get a cuppa on the go (or something more suited to the amazing weather we've temporarily stolen from another part of the world).

...

I have done a lot of research into this line of work, and most importantly, how I get into it. I have discovered various ways, all of which have some requirements in common. So here they are:

1) Get a degree

This is as simple as it sounds. A few universities in the country offer the Paramedic Sciences foundation degree which consists of two years of higher education based learning along with a placement. As luck would have it, UWE is one of the universities that offers this course and was originally my main plan of attack. Unfortunately, I would still need to acquire my C1 driving licence either before or during the course and with the recent increase in fees I would probably be in about £40,000 of debt after completing my second degree. It also means going back to uni - is this really a good idea given my track record?

2) Become an Emergency Medical Technician

An EMT is basically a Paramedic's assistant, travelling around in the ambulance and performing medical procedures under a paramedic's supervision. The pay is less, but it means that I would gain incredibly valuable on-the-job experience and possibly be given the chance to 'upgrade' to paramedic status through the open university, which takes four years of hard work whilst working. I know what you're thinking; it's the hard work part that puts me off. Well, no not really - I'm just impatient. This also means I need to acquire my C1 driving licence.

3) Find a Student Paramedic Placement

This involves finding and applying for a student paramedic placement, where the NHS train me up through university and on-the-job placement. I think this is the ideal method as it almost fast tracks me through the training and straight into a job which is ultimately what I want. This poses several problems though. I need my C1 driving licence first. You can spot the common theme here, right? I am completely for gaining my C1 licence but it's going to cost around one THOUSAND pounds. People don't have that kind of cash lying around! And I will still need to pay for the Open University course which is £10,000 (admittedly, much cheaper than the nine grand a year for a normal course and I get paid while on the job).

4) Go Private

"A lot of research" unfortunately didn't cover this.

...

Now, the obvious decision would be to go for number 3 and as it happens I have applied for one of these student paramedic positions with the Great Western Ambulance Service (the application deadline is tomorrow). This means starting my studies on October 1st and this leaves me no time to obtain a C1 licence, and I have basically written a promise in the application that I will get it by the start of the course. Will they believe this? Who knows (whatever happened to the good ol' fashioned benefit of the doubt?). I have also committed to living in Bristol for another year as I have signed a contract on a house with some friends and the ambulance service could end up sending me to the farthest reaches of cornwall (AKA 'end of the earth' to some people). So whether they accept my application/plea is still to be seen. Look on the bright side, if I did get this my journey would be over and you can stop reading my rambling (or so you think)!

I'm currently focusing my entire efforts on getting a job to help pay for my new financial commitments, otherwise I'll be in the poor house. I'm also saving for this stupid C1 driving licence, which is clearly just a money making scheme! I need to go through a full medical and redo a huge theory test, a driving course and the actual test. You would have thought the NHS would pay for this while they give 'blue light' training (for the record, they used to). It's a shame this doesn't even guarantee me a place in any of the above jobs as competition in this line of work is incredibly high. It's a risk I will have to take.

 Almost at the end now, have a good slurp of your beverage!

My main plan for the time being will be to work for a year and re-assess the situation then (unless pigs fly and I get this October placement). I am trying to gain some work within the NHS as this makes me much more employable within the health care industry - unfortunately to get a job in the NHS and gain the necessary experience, I need to already have experience. This seems to be an impossible situation. I should probably get out there and do some voluntary work, but it is a struggle to focus on so much at once. Luckily, I have a 'last resort' lined up, but I am not sure I want to go down the route of 12 hour shifts in a yoghurt factory just yet...

I wish there was an easy way to focus my efforts in one distinct direction. Instead, I am presented with a myriad of options painted every colour of the rainbow. Which is the best option and which do I take?! This is where I wish guardian angels really existed (or the NHS could actually give me a definitive line of attack).

I shall leave you with this parting gift to show my appreciation for your time:

Dolomites Mountains, Italy

Taken by one of the people I stalk/follow on Deviant Art - niccolobonfadini