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To apply for the April 2024 intake please click apply now
Course starts: 22 April 2024Apply now
Equip yourself with the knowledge, skills and values to be a registered paramedic. Study pathophysiology, clinical skills and patient assessment. Start a highly rewarding career as a key worker in the NHS or the out of hospital care environment.
This course will provide you with the knowledge and skills you require to be a registered paramedic. You will be equipped to meet the challenges of modern paramedic practice, enabling you to deal with unpredictable situations competently and confidently. You will learn potentially lifesaving procedures that will allow you to treat and stabilise patients at the scene of an accident or emergency.
Key areas of study include anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, law and ethics and management and leadership.
You will be taught by a highly-skilled and motivated team with both clinical and teaching expertise. Evidence-based practice is embedded within the course, which ensures you are taught the most current and up to date skills and knowledge. You will learn through a variety of methods including presentations, seminars, lectures, group work and problem-based learning.
You'll also undertake a wide range of practice placements throughout the North East to enhance your learning which may lead to further employment opportunities.
A strong professional identity and confidence to work with various professional groups is an essential part of the course.
We don’t currently display entry requirements for United States. Please contact the Student Admin team on studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk or 0191 515 3154.
Your completed application form will be reviewed by our Admissions Team to ensure that you have the required entry qualifications. If you meet these requirements, then your application will be individually assessed by the Admissions Tutor and if successful you will be shortlisted for interview.
You must have some experience of delivering care in a professional or voluntary capacity. This can also include caring for family members, volunteering with youth groups, being part of the army/navy/air cadets or St John’s Ambulance. Evidence of the experience gained, understanding of the profession and a genuine, reasoned commitment to studying a professional course must be explicit in your personal statement to be selected for interview.
Your personal statement provides a unique opportunity to express your personal qualities and attributes related to a rewarding career as a paramedic. The statement should include a clear articulation of:
All applicants must attend an interview as part of the selection process, which includes a group activity and an individual interview. Your values, problem solving and communication skills will be assessed.
We select students based on their knowledge, motivation, experience, values and behaviours, not just academic ability.
You need to demonstrate an ability to:
Medical assessments of your mental and physical health and disclosure of criminal convictions apply to all paramedic courses and are based on current HCPC requirements. Paramedics are registered health care professionals and the ability to practise safely, effectively and professionally is essential, so all applicants are required to follow our fitness to practise procedures. This means you are required to complete the following:
Instructions on how you complete these checks will be sent to you once you hold a conditional firm offer with us. These forms are then reviewed alongside your application, and you must meet both the academic and fitness to practise requirements before you will be given an unconditional offer. If you are successful, you will also need to complete an annual declaration form to confirm you are fit and there are no changes to your DBS.
You must demonstrate that you are of good health, good character and can satisfactorily pass occupational health screening. The University will, taking into account current HCPC regulations, do all it can to accommodate the needs of candidates who declare a specific learning difficulty, long-term health condition or disability. Please refer to the HEOPS paramedic student standards.
A driving licence is not a mandatory requirement, however you will be expected to travel to placements and shift patterns may not always fit with the availability of public transport. Where possible we do try to arrange placements near to term-time addresses but this isn’t always possible. We strongly encourage you to try to gain a full driving licence by the end of the course to enhance your job opportunities and employability. A C1 driving classification is not an entry requirement for the course.
Students studying a health or social care course, that has a placement within the NHS or any other Care Quality Commission establishment, are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Find out more in our Help and Advice article.
If English is not your first language, you need an overall IELTS score of 7, with at least 6.5 in each band.
The annual fee for this course is:
Please note, we are unable to accept international applicants.
*European Union (EU), EEA (European Economic Area), and Swiss nationals who do not qualify for the EU Settlement Scheme are classed as international, however, for 23/24 admission you will receive a European student fee scholarship and will pay the home tuition fee rate for the duration of your studies. The discounted fee will be reflected in your offer letter. Learn more in our Help and Advice article.
A non-repayable grant of £5,000 and extra payments worth up to £3,000 is available to eligible home students for each year of study. Read more about the Training Grant on The NHS Business Services Authority website.
If you currently serve (or have recently served) within the Armed Forces, then the Ministry of Defence's ELCAS scheme may be able to help cover your funding for this course. For more information, see our Funding for Armed Forces personnel page.
Take a look at the Your Finances section to find out about the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.
This information was correct at the time of publication.
On successful completion of this course you will be eligible to apply for registration with the HCPC as a paramedic.
Typical starting salaries for paramedics in the NHS range from £21,000 to £26,000. Experienced paramedics who have achieved additional qualifications/skills can earn between £31,000 and £48,000. For those looking to seek exciting paramedic opportunities abroad, some salaries can be up to £100,000.
Career options are also available outside the NHS in out of hospital environments such as off-shore, remote medicine, armed forces or primary care.
To assist in preparing you for employment as a paramedic, this course:
You will undertake a range of practice placements to gain real-life experience and apply your learning to real-life situations which may lead to further employment opportunities.
Your placement may be in an ambulance department, care/residential home, patient transport service, accident and emergency or primary care setting.
Placements are subject to availability and can be anywhere in the North East, from Berwick to North Yorkshire. You will be expected to travel daily or stay in local accommodation for the duration of your placement. You will be responsible for any associated costs including travel and accommodation for the duration of your placements.
As you may be expected to travel long distances, start your shift in the early hours, or finish your shift late at night, you could be entitled to Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses (TDAE) which allows you to make a retrospective claim for excess travel costs and/or expenses for temporary accommodation near to the location of your placement. Find out more about the NHS Learning Support Fund. Please note, students who already hold a degree will not qualify for this fund.
Being able to go out on placement and experience the job first hand is absolutely amazing!
Every day I use the knowledge and skills that I learned at university to assess and treat patients.
I enjoy practicing realistic scenarios with all the equipment and assessing real patients.
The tutors are all paramedics with real-life experience, which they share with us.
