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studentparamedicsaus · 6 years

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Student-Graduate Paramedic Transition

This piece was written by the awesome @freshontheambo, who’s taken the time to provide some insight into the process of applying for jobs and beginning on road.

“Hey, I’m a recent paramedic graduate who has just embarked on my GPIP period with the QAS. The application process can certainly be a difficult thing to navigate and wrap your head around, so I’d love to help clear the air a little for those of you who maybe want to hear about it from the perspective of someone freshly through the process.

First of all is the online application process. This only opens once a year, so keep an eye out on their website as well as their Facebook. Remember, you can apply even if you haven’t yet completed your degree, though you must be in your final year of study. This online application can take a bit of time to do, and when I was doing it, there was no closing it and coming back to it, you had to restart it if you couldn’t get it done in one hit. There are important things you’ll need on hand to attach to the application file, all of which can be found in the applicant information pack QAS provide. Off the top of my head I believe this includes:

Certified copy of birth certificate

Certified copy of driver’s license

Certified copy of academic transcript or graduation certificate, whichever is relevant (NOTE: the certified copy of academic transcript must be of the original, not a copy you can get online. You’ll probably have to pay to get this unfortunately).

A clinical reference (i.e the most recent mentor)

A professional reference which needs to be no more than 2 years recent (if not available, a volunteering reference is also accepted)

Certified copies need to be done by a Justice of the Peace. Basically, you make a photocopy of the original document, then take the copy as well as the original along to a Justice of the Peace who will certify it (this will be free don’t worry). You will then need to scan and save this certified copy onto your computer so it can be attached to the application form online. It’s definitely a good idea to get these all done before you do the online application form because, as I said, if you complete a section and then find out you need to submit one of the above files, you have to stop and re-start it all over again once you’ve got it.

As part of this online application, you also select where you would like to work. You can either select the specific LASNs (Local Area Service Network which the state is divided up into) in the order you would prefer, or you can select a box which says that you are willing to work anywhere. You will no doubt hear that this box is the best idea to select as you are more likely to get a job. I can’t really tell you how much truth is in that, but I will say that of the people I know who listed Metro areas as their preference are mostly still waiting to hear from QAS, or were told they weren’t successful and should apply again. It seemed that many of those who selected regional areas got jobs quite quickly, and those who selected the box (myself included) either got jobs straight up or a little later. Again, this is based just on the small pool of people I know. At the end of the day, you of course need to select whatever option is viable for you with your circumstances at the time.

Once you submit the application, the waiting game begins! Most people will end up getting asked to attend a QAS assessment day. For my application round, this ended up happening about a month or maybe two after the applications were all submitted. From what I understand, the vast majority of people will get to this stage, very few end up getting rejected based off the online process alone.

The assessment day is a pretty big day and is obviously very crucial. One thing to remember for this day is that YOU ARE WATCHED 100% OF THE TIME. The facility has cameras and microphones everywhere, and they will watch how you conduct yourself between the various assessments, as well as during them. Use this opportunity to make a point of putting yourself out there, to show that you can work other people whom you don’t know. Make a point to go and talk to other applicants you don’t know. As for what you’ll do on the assessment day, it’s split into 3 main parts:

English and Numeracy test

This comprises of online multiple choice questions which are based on your ability to handle grammar and data interpretation. The best advice I can give for this is to go online and Google ‘maths and English aptitude practice test’ because the maths in particular was maths that I hadn’t done since Grade 8

Psychometric test:

There is no way you can actually prepare for this. It’s your personality based on answers you give to specific questions, and it takes a LONG time to complete as there are about 200 questions. The only advice for this one is to answer truthfully. Don’t just answer what you think QAS wants you to answer with, the test actually flags for answers that are ‘too perfect’. You’ll be told this again on the day, but still, it’s good to know to just answer truthfully.

Various teamwork scenarios:

These are not clinical scenarios. Indeed throughout the whole assessment day, there is no clinical knowledge required, most likely because those applying are not exclusively from Queensland universities, and as such are not familiar with QAS protocol. There’s no equipment. It really is more about how you conduct yourself in team-work, problem solving situations. Again, it’s important to remember that you need to make an effort to show to them that you can work seamlessly as part of a team. It’s also important here that while you need to try and stick out, they also don’t like to see you dominate above others.

Once the assessment day happens, that’s pretty much the last you’ll hear until you know your fate. Some may get contacted later for a further psych assessment, but not everyone will. I didn’t and I still got a job, so don’t stress. Once the offers start coming out, they come out in rounds with about 45 people usually per intake. These come out every 6 weeks or so typically, and if you didn’t get selected in a particular round, they’ll let you know and they’ll either say ‘You’re still being considered for further rounds’ or ‘You’ve been deemed not suitable’. There isn’t one mass round of rejections, they seem to do it in stages as well.

You’ll know you’re in when you get an email, asking you to complete a medical assessment. This is basically the exact same assessment that you’ve got to do when you go on prac, so don’t stress. Before attending, though, you’ll need serology reports and vaccination records, as well as an optometrist report if you wear glasses.

Provided the medical assessment goes well, they’ll go on to do a criminal history report and ask you to give them a driving history report which you can get emailed from the transport and main roads website for about $20 from memory. Once that’s all done, you’ll get your contract and be told the dates of your 6 week induction program at Whyte Island (which is also where the assessment day is held), as well as the station you’ll be at for your GPIP period and then the permanent station after you have finished your GPIP period (NOTE: the station you will be permanently in will very likely be different to where you spend your GPIP).

That’s really it for the application process. The worst part is obviously the waiting. Be prepared to wait and to see a very large disparity between the people who are chosen and those who are not or who are left waiting a long time. QAS’ selection process is very difficult to understand, even clinical educators who ran our 6 week induction didn’t fully understand it. It seems QAS care more about your ability to work in a team than they do your actual ability as a paramedic. I have seen people whom I knew to be very competent throughout uni and their pracs to be left waiting or even rejected, and I have seen people whom made their way through with bare minimum passes throughout uni get jobs straight up. It can be a long process and a long waiting period for many people, so my best advice is to keep yourself busy with a job of some kind in the mean time, and to keep yourself touching up on clinical things every now and then so you don’t forget everything. The 6 week induction program is an excellent refresher and you really learn a lot of clinical things, but keeping yourself up to date with a bit of study here and there prior to commencing is definitely a good idea.

Good luck with your applications and I hope this helped some of you at least get some kind of an understanding of what this process entails, rather than just leaving you even more confused.

As for being a GPIP itself, out on road, it is quite a lot different from when you did clinical placements, and will definitely take some getting used to. You find yourself having to think about things you didn’t have to before, such as where are you going to put the stretcher, even just manoeuvring the stretcher with a patient onboard. Obviously you also have driving to consider, which is a lot of fun but again, something new to throw on to what is already a very overwhelming event. I’m still finding it strange to get myself out of the headspace of not being a student anymore, of actually making clinical decisions and having to look confident on those decisions, not just feeling like you’re making suggestions that your mentors will choose to either act on or not. On one hand, it’s an amazing feeling of freedom, and on the other hand, it’s a little daunting because you feel a little like you’re doing a trapeze act without a net. There’s no longer the safety of having 2 mentors who ultimately make the decisions, it’s you. You’ve got your partner, sure, but it really is on you and in doing your paperwork, again, it’s got your name and signature on it, not your mentor’s. It’s daunting but you do start to get used to it. And don’t worry about how you’ll be treated by other staff. People are supportive of you and your partner will help you navigate these strange waters because, of course, this is a very teamwork-based career where mistakes and errors are shared. Paramedics will ultimately see that you have the same uniform on as them, not that you don’t have 2 stripes under your caduceus. You may not be a “full paramedic” yet, but you’ll get treated as one of the gang. No more having to give up your seats in write up rooms or at station! They’re your seats as much as their’s now!”

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