Associate Ambulance Practice DipHE

If you're looking to pursue a rewarding career that supports people in their time of need, this diploma can train you to deliver high-quality and crucial pre-hospital care as an enhanced level ambulance technician.

Overview
Structure and assessment
Facilities and features
Opportunities and careers
more about your DMU
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Overview

If you’re passionate about supporting your community, with the aptitude to keep calm under pressure and work as part of a team to make important decisions, then working as an ambulance technician could be a really enriching career choice. As an ambulance technician, you’ll be working alongside the paramedic a team of ambulance clinicians to support and assess patients. This diploma course is designed to teach you how to apply your knowledge and compassion to become a thoughtful and skilled healthcare professional. Our diploma course will educate you in many elements of clinical sciences and practice to be able to handle emergency and urgent healthcare situations.

You will study a range of topics taught by both paramedic lecturers and other healthcare professionals, including midwives, nurses and doctors, which means your learning will benefit from expert knowledge from those with real experience of working in the healthcare sector. Practical experience is gained by working alongside senior paramedics and experienced technicians on emergency ambulances and rapid response cars. You will also benefit from real-world experience in a number of wider community-based placements, for example in an emergency department or medical centre. Upon completion of this course you’ll gain access to our BSc (Hons) Paramedicine programme through our accredited prior learning pathway.

Key features

Learn and practice your skills in a safe environment on campus, where you’ll use specialist equipment including mock ambulances, tablet-based advanced life support simulators and purpose-built clinical skills areas.
Study a range of topics that will help prepare you for the variety of real-life situations you’ll encounter, including foundations of ambulance practice, trauma and resuscitative care, paediatrics and child health, and paramedic clinical pharmacology.
Your learning is supported by dedicated personal tutors and expert academics with first-hand experience, as well as clinical work placements and passionate mentors to offer you continued guidance.
You’ll be able to put your learning into practice by carrying out integrated work placements with local health and social care providers, which we can help you source thanks to our strong partnerships with the NHS and other healthcare providers.

Scholarships:
At DMU, we are committed to helping our graduates enhance their careers and personal development through further study.

DMU Sports Scholarship
Find out more about the DMU Sports Scholarships worth up to £6,000.

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Paramedicine BSc (Hons)

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UK/EU
International

Key facts for UK/EU students

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: AAP2

Start date: September 2021

Duration: Two years full-time.

Fees and funding: UK/EU: £9,250

Apply for the DMU Sport Scholarship, worth up to £6,000.

Our dedicated DMU Global High Flyers Award offers ambitious students a discount of up to £1,000 towards a DMU Global opportunity (terms and conditions apply).

Additional costs: You may incur additional costs for this programme, including the cost of travelling to and from project/placement locations.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

Not available to international students

Entry criteria

Please note: entry criteria is subject to change. This web page will be updated with the latest information should any changes be made.

GCSEs

Five GCSEs at grade C/4 or above including Maths, English and Science.

Passes in Functional Skills and Key Skills qualifications at level 2 in Maths and English can be accepted as equivalents.

Plus one of the following:

A levels

A minimum of 96 UCAS points (excluding General Studies, Key Skills and music exams) One subject should be a natural science (psychology is acceptable, or a health related subject or public services).

BTEC

Typical Offer 'MMM' - BTEC Extended Diploma Applied Science / Health / Public Services

International Baccalaureate

28+ points

Access to HE Diploma

Pass QAA Accredited AHE with at least 24 Level 3 crediits at Distinction and 21 credits at Merit. English and Maths GCSE required as separate qualifications.

Alternative Entry Approaches

Here at DMU we recognise the commitment and achievement required to take part in national cadet programmes, particularly those with a focus on health and first aid, such as Ambulance Cadets. Where an applicant can demonstrate over two years of commitment to a cadet programme (considered from the age of 15+), supported by a letter of recommendation from their Unit Manager, Youth Team or Officer-in-Charge, we will accept this in lieu of 32 UCAS points (equivalent to a C grade at A-level). The remaining UCAS points will need to be gained through academic study. GCSE requirements still apply.

Interview: Yes

The recruitment process for this course includes assessing applicants by the content of their personal statement and interview for the core values of the NHS constitution.

The interview will include a numeracy test (set to GCSE grade C in maths) and a literacy test (again set to GCSE grade C in English).

There is no fitness test, but you are expected to be able to lift, move and carry patients.

Professional conduct during the event will also contribute to the decision-making regarding an applicant’s application.

There is no routine fitness test, but you are expected to be able to lift, move and carry patients. Candidates may be invited to undertake a trade (fitness) test where concerns about capability are identified by occupational health screening questionnaires and this will form part of the decision whether a candidate is offered a place or not.

Work experience: Yes

Applicants are required to demonstrate relevant work experience. This would normally include experience from formal or informal employment, school or college work placements, voluntary work and other relevant life experiences. Merit is placed on either health based work experience of customer service experience (i.e. working with people).

Occupational Health check: Yes

Successful applicants at interview will be offered an occupational health screening to evaluate occupational competency as part of the pre-course checks. Clearance for placements will be required prior to starting the programme.

DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check: Yes

As a profession who works with the most vulnerable of people in society, a clear enhanced DBS screen will be required. Applicants with disclosures will be evaluated on an individual basis.

English language requirements:

If English is not your first language an IELTS 7.0 overall with 6.5 in each band, or equivalent when you start the course is essential. English language tuition, delivered by our British Council accredited Centre for English Language Learning (CELL), is available both before and during the course.

Please visit dmu.ac.uk/international for more information.

UCAS Tariff changes

Students applying for courses starting after March 2019 will be made offers based on a new UCAS Tariff. Find out more.

Structure and assessment

First year

Foundations of Ambulance Practice
Assessment & Consultation Skills
Foundations of Pathophysiology
Accountable, Legal & Ethical Practice
Simulated Emergency Care 1
Applied Emergency Care 1

Second year

Paediatrics & Child Health
Social & Psychological Emergency Care
Research in Paramedicine
Trauma & Resuscitative Care
Simulated Emergency Care 2
Applied Emergency Care 2

Click here for more detailed module information

Note: All modules are subject to change in order to keep content current

Teaching and Assessment

Learning is supported by a strong system of personal tutors and teaching teams, clinical work placements and enthusiastic mentors. Teaching methods include:

Lectures
Seminars
Presentations
Skill Labs
Tutorials
Enquiry-based problem solving
Independent e-learning

You will complete blocks of clinical placements 37.5 hours per week (average) and blocks comprised of theory and independent learning hours up to an equivalent of 37.5 hours each week. This means some weeks you may complete more hours than others, typically following the work rota of your mentor on that placement.

Students in practice placements are allocated a mentor to help develop and support learning.

Assessment

A variety of approaches are used to assess theory and practice.

Practice is assessed through the completion of a clinical skills passport and practice assessment documents.

Theory is assessed through poster presentations, OSPE (practical) assessments, tutor marked assignments, written exams, literature reviews, case studies, e-assessments, numeracy assessments, team based learning assessments, essays and critical reflection.

Teaching contact hours

Contact hours in a typical week will depend to some extent on the modules you are studying. However, typically you will have up to 16 contact hours of teaching and this will break down as:

Personal tutorial/small group teaching: approx. 1 hour of tutorials or small group teaching each week

Medium group teaching: approx. 6 hours of practical classes, workshops or seminars each week

Large group teaching: approx. 10 hours of lectures each week

Personal study: approx. 21.5 hours studying and revising in your own time each week, including some guided study using hand-outs, online activities, etc.

Expertise and Accreditation

Our lecturers are all registered paramedics and qualified or developing teachers. Many are research active, have masters level qualifications or are currently undertaking academic and professional doctorates. Many lectures also hold fellowships with the Higher Education Academy.

Accreditation

The BSc (Hons) Paramedicine is Accredited by the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC), this course has been recognised for its high standard of teaching quality, and upon successful completion of the course you can register as a paramedic with the HCPC. The DipHE is not a course which recognised by the HCPC and does not entitle registration on completion.

The healthcare teaching team have an excellent reputation and good links with the local NHS trust and other potential employers, which is beneficial when you are applying for jobs.

Facilities and features

Health and Life Sciences facilities

Substantial investment has developed our teaching and learning facilities to help you expand your practical experience and theoretical knowledge beyond the classroom.

The 19th century Hawthorn Building has facilities designed to replicate current practice in health and life sciences, including contemporary analytical chemistry and formulation laboratories, audiology booths and nursing and midwifery clinical skills suites.

Purpose-built clinical skills areas allow you to practice in a safe environment. You will receive guidance and support from staff to ensure that you develop a precise and accurate practical ability in the clinical skills suites.

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including Blackboard, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Opportunities and careers

Placements

You will be able to undertake work placement at both rural and city ambulance stations as part of your educational development. Work placements are integral to your learning on this course and, as part of the programme, you will complete clinical placements in blocks of 37.5 hours per week (on average).

You will be required to make your own way to placements at any ambulance station in the greater Leicester area, so the ability to drive or travel by other means is essential (although this is not an assessed entrance criteria).

The ambulance stations are not typically on public bus routes and, due to the early start of shifts and unpredictability around some late finishes, planning public transport as an option can be more difficult.

Graduate Careers

As an applied subject, you’ll be able graduate with the skillset to pursue a wide range of careers in crucial sectors such as paramedicine, healthcare, and education.

On completion of this programme, our undergraduate study opportunities can further enhance your knowledge and skills, with the chance for you to continue studying in areas including Paramedicine BSc (Hons)

Uniform and dress code policy

While on placement, students must adhere to the uniform and dress code policy of the placement provider. This includes acute and community-based placements, which are essential components for completion of the course. NHS trusts and other placement providers have given careful consideration to cultural and religious needs relating to uniform policies/dress codes.

These policies and codes have been developed in partnership with cultural and religious bodies to ensure that local and national infection control guidance is adhered to. While we always endeavour to accommodate individual needs, there are some areas where the need to fully comply with infection control guidance has overridden religious requirements.

DMU Open Days

Our next Open Day takes place on Saturday 7 July 2018, book your place today.

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How to apply

We welcome applications from UK and international students with a wide range of qualifications and experience. We are happy to help guide you through the process and answer any questions you might have

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