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Paramedicine_01

Paramedicine BSc (Hons)

Would you like to help save lives? Study all elements of clinical sciences theory and practice and gain the skills to become a registered paramedic.

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Overview

Pursue a rewarding career by gaining the knowledge and expertise to become a key member of the workforce within the health and social care system.

DMU has more than 50 years’ experience in delivering high-quality health professional education and you will be taught by paramedic lecturers as well as other healthcare professionals, such as midwives, nurses and ODP’s. You will also benefit from specialist equipment on campus, including mock ambulances and iPad-based advanced life support simulators.

Study a range of topics, from foundations of ambulance practice and trauma and resuscitative care to paediatrics and child health. Strong links and integrated work placements will allow you to put theory into practice.

You will gain practical experience during all three years of the course by working alongside senior paramedics and technicians on emergency ambulances and rapid response cars, as well as wider exposure through a number of community-based placements, such as in an emergency department or doctor’s surgery.  

Graduates will be eligible to apply for registration as a paramedic with the Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC). A two-year Associate Ambulance Practice (DipHE) programme is also available.

Key features:

  • Eligibility to apply to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) upon graduation, enabling employment in a wide variety of clinical areas.
  • Strong links and integrated work placements with local health and social care providers allow you to put theory into practice.
  • Benefit from more than 50 years’ teaching experience in high-quality health professional education.
  • Study in our purpose-built clinical skills suites that replicate real-life settings, part of a £12 million investment in our facilities.
  • International experience opportunities are available in the third year of the programme as part of your final project.
  • You will be taught by both paramedic lecturers and other healthcare professionals, such as midwives, nurses and doctors, and benefit from specialist equipment on campus, including mock ambulances and iPad-based advanced life support simulators.
  • You will study a range of topics including foundations of ambulance practice, trauma and resuscitative care, paediatrics and child health and paramedic clinical pharmacology.

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  • UK
  • EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: B780

Duration: Three years full-time.

Start date: September 2023

Fees and funding: 

2023/24 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

From August 2020, all nursing, midwifery and many allied health professional degree students will receive at least £5,000 a year with up to £3,000 additional funding available. Further information, including eligible health professional courses, can be found on the NHS website.

Find out more about course fees and available funding.

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

GCSEs

  • Five GCSEs at grade C 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 120 UCAS points or BBB. One subject should be a natural science (psychology is acceptable, but not sociology). We do not except General Studies or UCAS points achieved through music exams or key skills.

BTEC

  • Extended Diploma in Applied Science at DDM

Access course

  • Pass in the QAA Access to HE Diploma with a minimum of 120 UCAS points with at least 15 Level 3 Credits at Distinction and 30 Level 3 credits at Merit.

GCSE English and Maths at grade C(4) are required as separate qualifications.

We will normally require students to have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

International Baccalaureate 28+ points

English language requirements:

If English is not your first language an IELTS score of 7 in all components 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.

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.

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. Interviews are currently being conducted remotely via Microsoft Teams.

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).

Non-academic requirements

As well as academic requirements, you will also be required to meet and fulfil non-academic requirements which are stated below:

  • Self-Declaration Form clearance
  • Occupational Health clearance
  • Enhanced DBS disclosure clearance

You submit an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service disclosure application form before starting the course (if you are overseas you will also need to submit a criminal records certificate from your home country), which needs to be cleared in accordance with DMU’s admissions policy. Contact us for up-to-date information.

Covid-19 vaccination requirements

This course includes compulsory clinical placements, therefore placement providers may require you to provide evidence of full vaccination against Covid-19 (unless medically exempt).

Find out how to book your vaccinations.

You must meet and fulfil all non-academic requirements before 18th July 2022.

 

 


Availability: This course has a limited number of places so that we can ensure a good quality placement experience. In exceptional circumstances this may result in the course becoming full before you have completed the admissions process. In this situation we will offer you the opportunity to be considered for a place on an alternative course.

Structure and assessment

 

Course modules

Teaching and assessments

Accreditations

 

 

First Year

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

Second Year

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

Third Year

  • Urgent and Primary Care
  • Paramedic Leadership and Legal Practice
  • Paramedic Clinical Pharmacology
  • Improving Paramedicine
  • Applied Emergency Care 3

See for more detailed module information


Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

 

Teaching and assessments

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, OSCE (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.

 

 

 

Academic expertise

The paramedic teaching team are all registered paramedics or alternative allied health care professionals and qualified or developing teachers. Most lecturers hold masters level qualifications, whilst many are currently undertaking academic and professional doctorates and are actively engaged in research. The teaching team also boasts lecturers who hold fellowships with the Higher Education Academy. 

 

Accreditation

De Montfort University has been approved from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for the Paramedicine BSc (Hons). Accreditation of this degree programme signifies that HCPC recognise the high standard of teaching quality, and would ensure that upon successful completion of the programme graduates are eligible to register as a paramedic with the HCPC.

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

 
Placements
Placements
Placements
Placements
 

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

Find the people who will open doors for you

DMU's award-winning careers service provides guaranteed work experience opportunities DMU Works

Placements

As part of this course you will undertake compulsory work placements mostly in the NHS, working with a range of people to develop your clinical and professional skills. 

You will be placed with a local ambulance NHS trust within the East Midlands area. However, we will not be able to guarantee placement location, this will be dependent on mentorship availability. 

You will be expected to work in both city and rural locations, which means you must be able to get there using your own transport. Placements start early in the morning, with an average shift lasting for 12 hours, for example from 6am to 6pm, or through the night from 7pm to 7am.

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.

Graduate careers

As an applied subject, our graduates usually progress on to careers within paramedicine, healthcare, education or research settings. 

This course also provides graduates with the opportunity to pursue postgraduate study including areas such as Physician Associate Studies MSc.

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