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Ambulance Officer

Ambulance officers attend to ill and injured people at accident sites or in medical emergencies, and transport them to hospitals and other suitable medical facilities. They also provide non-urgent transport for patients between hospitals and from homes to hospitals.

Tasks & duties

Ambulance officers may do some or all of the following:

attend accidents and emergencies
treat ill and injured people
stabilise the patient's condition by treating shock and injuries
transport patients and accident victims to medical facilities
be on hand at large gatherings, such as sports events, in case of accidents or illness
ensure the ambulance and equipment is kept clean and in good working condition
liaise with other emergency services, such as fire and police, at the scene of an emergency
transfer patients to and from medical facilities

Specialisations

Senior ambulance officers may do specialised rescue work in air ambulances, which provide transport for patients to and from emergencies in other towns, or incidents that occur in remote areas or off-road.

Skills & knowledge

Ambulance officers need to have:

good knowledge of pre-hospital emergency care
knowledge of anatomy and physiology of the human body
knowledge of medications and treatments, and the effect these have on patients
the ability to judge and diagnose a patient's condition
knowledge of patients' rights
knowledge of different cultural and religious beliefs about how the body should be treated
the ability to use technical equipment such as cardiac defibrillators
excellent driving skills
good knowledge of the town they work in and the ability to read a map to locate all the streets and buildings in an area
good communication skills
problem-solving and decision making skills

Entry requirements

To become a full-time paid ambulance officer you need to have a Bachelor of Health Sciences (Paramedic), which is offered by Whitireia Community Polytechnic and AUT University, or a National Certificate in Ambulance (Patient Care & Transport).

For those without a tertiary qualification, many provincial regions and towns require you to have volunteer experience in the ambulance service before applying for a paid position.

To become a volunteer ambulance officer it is good to have a First Aid Certificate although this is not essential. All volunteers must have a clean driver's licence and undergo a police screening process. You also need to be physically fit.

St John website – becoming a volunteer

Wellington Free Ambulance website – becoming a volunteer paramedic

Secondary education

There are no specific secondary education requirements, but useful subjects include anatomy, physiology (body structure and function), biology, chemistry or other health science subjects, and English.

Training on the job

Ambulance officer training is extensive and begins before an officer starts working.

Training courses that ambulance officers are required to take during their careers include an induction course involving primary care, resuscitation, and patient assessment. Regular on-the-job assessment is also undertaken to ensure ambulance officers maintain their skills.

Volunteer ambulance officers can extend their qualifications by sitting the National Certificate in Ambulance (Patient Care & Transport) and the National Diploma in Ambulance (Paramedic). These courses can be done through ETITO, the ambulance industry training organisation.