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Why choose the School of Society, Community and Health
Our Public Health courses rank 1st in their subject table for graduation prospects – outcomes (CUG, 2024)
The majority of our students graduate with an additional professional qualification that will gain them entry to an allied health or social services profession
Gain an accredited qualification in a sector where qualified professionals are in high demand
About the course
The work of a paramedic is vital rewarding and expanding with increasing emphasis on clinical decision-making skills. It is the ideal career for you if you are looking for a central varied role in medical care and thrive under pressure.
This dynamic course takes you beyond the old perception of the paramedic called out purely for life-threatening situations. It develops your clinical knowledge and confidence equipping you with the skills needed for emergency and unscheduled care and ensuring you meet the requirements of the modern ambulance service and expanding paramedic role.
Taking you from novice to expert over three years of study the course uses a blended approach to learning ensuring theory clearly meets with practice. Each year you undertake 750 hours of placement learning spending around 50% of your time in supervised supported practice so you experience the full 24-hour working pattern.
The course has been developed in partnership with the East of England Ambulance Service. It is recognised by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and on successful course completion leads to eligibility to register as a paramedic.
Why choose this course?
- Study a course at the cutting edge of paramedic science developed in partnership with a Trust serving six million people over 7500 square miles
- Gain simulated and real-life supervised experience of the situations you will attend as a qualified paramedic
- Due to professional standards and regulatory requirements our course groups are small so you are able to build supportive relationships with other students and your academic team
- Learn to work as part of the wider healthcare team in the modern pre-hospital world
- Develop your clinical reasoning and critical thinking as well as your leadership skills
- Explore service improvement with your final-year research project and present your findings at an annual conference
- Our employment rate is high: 95% of our professional course students are employed in their chosen profession
- On completion of the course you can move into a career within the ambulance service or in one of the new roles now being offered to paramedics in the community and other areas of the NHS
- You will also receive at least £5,000 a year, with further funding available for eligible students with the NHS bursary
The NHS Constitution brings together details of what staff patients and the public can expect from the National Health Service. It sets out the principles and values that guide how the NHS should act and make decisions. The NHS Constitution states that the NHS 'aspires to the highest standards of excellence and professionalism'. Applicants are expected to demonstrate their understanding and application of these values throughout the selection process. View the Constitution here
Nursing and midwifery students will be eligible for additional support of at least £5,000 to help with living costs with funding from the NHS. The funding will be given to new and continuing degree-level students.
The funding comes as part of the government’s pledge to increase nurse numbers by 50,000 over the next five years.
You will receive at least £5,000 a year, with further funding available for eligible students:
- £1,000 for specialist disciplines
- £2,000 for childcare costs
- Exceptional Hardship Fund of up to £3,000.
The funding will not have to be repaid by recipients. You will also be able to continue to access funding for tuition and maintenance loans from the Student Loans Company.
with Professional Practice Year
This course has the option to be taken over four years which includes a year placement in industry. Undertaking a year in industry has many benefits. You gain practical experience and build your CV, as well as being a great opportunity to sample a profession and network with potential future employers.
There is no tuition fee for the placement year enabling you to gain an extra year of experience for free.
*Only available to UK/EU students.
with Foundation Year
A Degree with a Foundation Year gives you guaranteed entry to an Undergraduate course.
Whether you’re returning to learning and require additional help and support to up-skill, or if you didn’t quite meet the grades to pursue an Undergraduate course, our Degrees with Foundation Year provide a fantastic entry route for you to work towards a degree level qualification.
With our guidance and support you’ll get up to speed within one year, and will be ready to seamlessly progress on to undergraduate study at Bedfordshire.
The Foundation Year provides an opportunity to build up your academic writing skills and numeracy, and will also cover a range of subject specific content to fully prepare you for entry to an Undergraduate degree.
This is an integrated four-year degree, with the foundation year as a key part of the course. You will need to successfully complete the Foundation Year to progress on to the first year of your bachelor’s degree.
Why study a degree with a Foundation Year?
- Broad-based yet enough depth to give you credible vocational skills
- Coverage of a variety of areas typically delivered by an expert in this area
- Gain an understanding of a subject before choosing which route you wish to specialise in
- Great introduction to further study, and guaranteed progression on to one of our Undergraduate degrees
The degrees offering a Foundation Year provide excellent preparation for your future studies.
During your Foundation Year you will get the opportunity to talk to tutors about your degree study and future career aspirations, and receive guidance on the most appropriate Undergraduate course to help you achieve this; providing you meet the entry requirements and pass the Foundation Year.
What will you study?
Introduction To Academic Studies
This unit aims to foster your knowledge and understanding of how the skills of literacy and information technology enhance your learning and contribute to evidence-based care. The unit will equip you with the skills required to become a successful learner in a university setting. It enables you to develop an understanding of how you learn and provide you with opportunities to develop the fundamental skills of academic practice. By the end of the unit, you will have acquired the knowledge and skills necessary for University study. The skills developed while undertaking this unit are transferable and applicable to all types of organisations. They are skills which are fundamental to furthering academic progress in undergraduate and potential postgraduate study.
Fundamental Skills Of Paramedic Practice
The aim of this unit is to introduce you to key aspects of paramedic practice, focusing on assessment and diagnostic skills, and professional practice. By developing correct and ethical skill acquisition, you will start to develop professional practice.
The core skills you will be introduced to will underpin all aspects of paramedic practice, where you will develop both appropriate use and confidence preparatory for placement and service-user application.
You will combine theoretical knowledge to underpin the taught skills to help you determine the significance of assessment and diagnostic outcome.
Health Science For Paramedic Practice
Paramedic practice is underpinned by an application of health science. This unit aims to introduce you to the biopsychosocial determinants of health and wellbeing, facilitating your understanding of health promotion frameworks and practices. The concepts of health and well-being are relevant to the paramedic who has a responsibility for helping patients and their carers to understand the factors that affect their health. The role of psychosocial theories will be explored in relation to health and well-being. A knowledge of anatomy and physiology will help you as a paramedic to contact assessment, formulate preliminary diagnoses and determine appropriate management plans.
Professional Values And Relationships
The aim of this unit is to introduce you to professional values underpinning paramedic practice and how these influence the development of working relationships with service users and colleagues. Throughout the year, opportunities will be provided to assimilate into the role of the paramedic by developing ‘self’, interpersonal relationships and practice ability. The importance of developing an awareness of ‘self’ and how this can impact on your professional image and patient care will be explored with reference to your practice experiences.
Introduction To Applied Pharmacology For Paramedic Practice
It is imperative when administering drugs and medications to patients that the paramedic does so safely and effectively. This unit aims to introduce the principles of pharmacology and develop your knowledge and skills to be able to safely administer medicines, doing so in accordance with professional standards and legislation, making appropriate decisions in relation to medicines and educating others about the pharmacological aspects of care.
The unit addresses what you must know and do to fulfil the professional standards in relation to the law, safeguarding, consent, pharmacology, and medicines administration and optimisation.
This unit is an introduction to applied pharmacology, where it is expected that individuals will continue throughout their studies to develop and enhance both knowledge and understanding, preparatory to practicing as a paramedic.
Assessment & Management Of Urgent And Emergency Care Across The Lifespan
This unit aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills to assess and manage urgent and emergency conditions, including those caused by long term conditions, whether in a patient's home, work, or public place.
The unit will have two key focuses, firstly, emergency paramedic skills, and secondly, the assessment and management of chronic pathophysiology's. The later will explore the impact on the patient and their carer’s and will explore the burden of caring, where emphasis will be place on assessment of the patient’s capability and mental capacity; with a view to facilitating empowerment for self-care or appropriate referral.
The unit will use simulation to enhance learning with skills applied through Clinical Evaluation Exercises (CEX), Case-based Discussions (CbD), Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS), Simulation (SIM), and the practice learning environment. A combination of these assessment and learning methods will be adopted throughout the unit to enable the completion of both rapid assessment and treatment.
Obstetric And Neonatal Care For Paramedics
The aim of this unit is two-fold; firstly to provide you with the knowledge and skills associated with the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal assessment to underpin your practice as a paramedic, identifying the need to refer to a midwife or obstetrician, as appropriate. As more care of mothers is taking place in the community the chance of paramedics being called to assess mothers and their babies is on the increase. Secondly, the assessment and care of newborn and preterm babies is significantly different from other stages in the lifecycle and requires specialist care. This unit will explore these areas using both midwives and children’s nursing specialists
Mental Health Care For Paramedics
The aim of this unit is to explore the needs of people with a range of mental illnesses and the services available to them. During the unit, you will be introduced to some of the key aspects underpinning mental health care by paramedics in a pre-hospital context. You will learn about the importance of person-centered and holistic care for people accessing mental health services and the importance of partnership and effective communication between paramedic services and other health and emergency services. Emphasis will be placed on the needs of people accessing mental health services in emergency situations and key referral pathways initiated by paramedics in response to mental health crises will be reviewed.
Trauma Management In Paramedic Practice
This unit aims to develop knowledge and skills in relation to assessment and care management for patients in non-critical, critical, and complex situations. Such situations involve a high degree of risk to the patient and often to support services. Each situation has the potential to escalate within a short period of time to become life critical. Scene management is crucial to minimising risk before casualties can be assessed, treated, and transported to hospital where rapid and effective clinical decision making is vital for the preservation of life.
A structured system-based approach to patient assessment will be adopted throughout the unit to enable you to conduct a rapid assessment and management. The unit will use simulation to enhance learning with skills applied through mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercises (CEX), Case-based Discussions (CbD), Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS), Simulation (SIM), and the practice learning environment. A combination of these assessment and learning methods will be adopted throughout the unit to enable the completion of both rapid assessment and treatment.
Emergency Care Of Paediatrics For Paramedics
The aim of this unit is two-fold; firstly, to provide students with the knowledge and skills associated with paediatric assessment to underpin your practice as a paramedic, identifying the need to refer to appropriate definitive care, as appropriate, and to treat in the emergent situation. Infants and children constitute a small proportion of all patients attended by the ambulance service, and this can lead to additional stress for clinicians as paediatric patients are not regularly seen or the complexities they present may not be sufficiently experienced to allow for confident practice. While situations requiring Advanced Life Support are rarely seen, it is critical for paramedics to be well versed in this area as well as other emergent presentations.
Secondly, the assessment and care of paediatric patients is different to adults and requires an appreciation of developmental milestones. Paramedics must understand how a paediatrics’ growth and physical development relate to their condition as well as how they receive the care from a stranger in their world.
This unit will deliver topics to advance the student in both knowledge and understanding, utilising available evidence-based literature, real or fictitious cases, and practical skills to develop positive attitudes and professionalism towards emergency paediatric care.
The unit will use simulation to enhance learning with skills applied through mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercises (CEX), Case-based Discussions (CbD), Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS), Simulation (SIM), and the practice learning environment. A combination of these assessment and learning methods will be adopted throughout the unit to enable the completion of both rapid assessment and treatment.
This unit will not focus on neonate care as this is explored in a separate unit.
Leadership And Team Working For Paramedic Practice
This unit seeks to develop your understanding of the qualities of a contemporary paramedic leader who has personal confidence, competence in communicating, and awareness of the impact they make on others in professional circumstances. You will be given opportunities to explore a range of theoretical concepts associated with leadership and effective team working.
During the unit you will be introduced to a number of tools, strategies, models and frameworks, and scenarios which will support you to reflect on your own leadership abilities and role; in promoting effective team working.
Students are encouraged to enrol and complete the Edward Jenner programme with the NHS Leadership Academy. This unit will create the foundation needed to be an autonomous practitioner and help you develop into a functional leader through personal development, work-based learning, team work and communication skills.
The Critically Unwell Person
This unit aims to develop your knowledge and skills in relation to assessment and care management for patients with acute conditions. Such conditions have the potential to become life threatening within a short period of time and therefore required prompt assessment and stabilisation. A structured system-based approach to patient assessment will be adopted throughout the unit to enable you to differentiate between normal body function and dysfunction.
A structured system-based approach to patient assessment will be adopted throughout the unit to enable you to conduct a rapid assessment and management. The unit will use simulation to enhance learning with skills applied through mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercises (CEX), Case-based Discussions (CbD), Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS), Simulation (SIM), and the practice learning environment. A combination of these assessment and learning methods will be adopted throughout the unit to enable the completion of both rapid assessment and treatment.
Transition To Professional Practice For Paramedics
The aim of this unit is to assist you in making the transition from student to registered paramedic practitioner. You will develop skills and strategies for facilitating learning for service users, carers and colleagues, reinforcing your role in influencing others. Support systems for the paramedic will be discussed and as you are expected to be a lifelong learner, future professional development will be explored. You will be given opportunities to prepare for employment as a paramedic by developing a CV and practicing your interview techniques.
Minor Illnesses And Injuries
The aim of this unit is to enable you to manage people with minor illnesses and injuries in a range of settings thus avoiding unnecessary and inappropriate use of hospital services. This unit focuses on the management of minor illness and injury by paramedics. What may seem minor symptoms may be recognised as early symptoms of a major and possibly preventable disease by a paramedic. At the opposite end of the spectrum, worrying symptoms can be exacerbated by anxiety into a crisis, when all is needed is reassurance. Sorting these out and managing them appropriately is challenging, but essential for modern-day health care where fast access to primary health care and appropriate use of resources is key.
A structured system-based approach to patient assessment will be adopted throughout the unit to enable you to conduct a rapid assessment and management. The unit will use simulation to enhance learning with skills applied through mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercises (CEX), Case-based Discussions (CbD), Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS), Simulation (SIM), and the practice learning environment. A combination of these assessment and learning methods will be adopted throughout the unit to enable the completion of both rapid assessment and treatment.
Quality And Safety In Paramedic Practice
Improvements to health care quality frequently improve patient safety. This unit will enable you to analyse and suggest improvements to practice that enhance quality and where appropriate patient safety within a specific area of health care practice. A distinguishing feature of the graduate paramedic is the ability to critically analyse the existing evidence for current practice, and formulate views and judgments about how the quality of future practice might be developed and evaluated. Graduate paramedics, through such processes, can be active participants in service developments that are important to the quality improvement agenda in health care.
The unit aims to enable you to access, critically analyse and apply service improvement methodology, to negotiate and plan a project for service improvement.
How will you be assessed?
The course assessment strategy is closely aligned to the teaching and learning strategy which is designed to have: immediate relevance to practice; draw on expertise-by-experience; foster active learning and be learner-centred in approach. A distinct feature of the course is the range of assessment tasks including those that allow you to undertake workplace relevant assessments that can have an immediate impact in practice. Examples include: written assignments ranging from reflective pieces to academic essays culminating in a service improvement project assessed practice within your placements; computer based examinations and oral presentations. In most of the units we have appropriately revised the threshold statements and the learning outcomes to be met by the proposed assessments. In some units we also amended/corrected the both formative and summative assessments as needed to improve learning performance as well as increase flexibility. The overall approach to these assessments would create a reduction of over-assessment combining more innovative opportunities for students to use different skills and develop wider digital literacy while maintaining the standards of research and subject enquiry with a view to providing students with different learning needs a variety of ways to receive support through general assessment reduction formative feedback and time to apply feedback into their work. Similarly the use of professional and theoretical literature will increase in complexity depth and breadth as you progress through the course.
In the first year you will be expected to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the evidence-based literature and apply this to practice. In contrast the second year will demand deeper analysis and evaluation of the literature and its applications. For example you will develop your ability to study and practice more independently. You will be expected to identify a subject that particularly interests you based upon the NHS values and propose a service improvement project supported by appropriate literature. Assessments of clinical skills will begin with observation of your participation in caring for patients/service users during practice. Expectations of the levels of skill demonstrated by you will increase over time and by the final assessments you will be expected to manage more complex and challenging encounters in a non-judgemental empathic manner in accordance with NHS values.
Careers
As a graduate of this course you will be able to work as the lead clinician in the ambulance service. Upon gaining experience you could diversify into areas such as Hazardous Areas Response Teams (HART); flight paramedics; management roles; or one of the new roles now being offered to paramedics in the community and other areas of the NHS.
Entry Requirements
Fees for this course
UK 2024/25
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the Academic Year 2024/25 is £9,250 per year. You can apply for a loan from the Government to help pay for your tuition fees. You can also apply for a maintenance loan from the Government to help cover your living costs. See www.gov.uk/student-finance
Merit Scholarship
We offer a Merit Scholarship to UK students, worth £2,400* over three academic years, which is awarded to those who can demonstrate a high level of academic achievement, through scoring 120 UCAS tariff points or more.
Bedfordshire Bursary
If you aren’t eligible for the Merit Scholarship, this Bursary is there to help UK students with aspects of student living such as course costs. The Bursary will give you £1,000* over three academic years, or £1,300* if you are taking your course over four academic years (including those with a Foundation Year).
Full terms and conditions can be found here.
Alternatively if you have any questions around fees and funding please email admission@beds.ac.uk
International
The full-time standard undergraduate tuition fee for the academic year 2024/25 is £15,500 per year.
There are range of Scholarships available to help support you through your studies with us.
A full list of scholarships can be found here.
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