Case Study

Before university I was working as a support worker, supporting clients who had acquired spinal or brain injuries. I always wanted to be paramedic and decided to attend an Open Day at the University of Sunderland before applying. I was very impressed with the facilities and the fact the course offered a lot of hands-on experience – plus the tutors were all paramedics with real-life experience which they could share with us.

My favourite part of the course was the clinical placements. I have gained a vast amount of experience from different scenarios while being out on placement as well as different disciplines including theatres and A&E. My cohort were unlucky that our second-year placements were cancelled during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, but our tutors did their best to keep us up-to-date and on track through virtual sessions. Luckily, we were eventually able to get back out on placements as things started to ease. Outside of university, I also worked as a Nursing assistant which I signed up to during the Covid-19 lockdown. The skills and knowledge I had gained from university assisted me greatly in this role, from communicating with patients, diagnostic testing and understanding health conditions.

Upon graduation, I hope to become a Newly Qualified Paramedic (NQP) within the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) and eventually progress to a Trauma Paramedic.”

Published 12 October 2020