Paramedic Science

Entry Criteria: 2023 Entry

To be eligible for the Paramedic Science BSc programme, you must meet the requirements outlined under Entry Qualifications, Other Academic Requirements, and Non-academic Requirements below.

Entry Qualifications

With the exception of GCSEs, all qualifications must have been completed within the previous five years, including the year of application.

Other Academic Requirements

Non-academic Requirements

The time on the programme is split between university based learning and clinical placements.

Patient-focused from the outset, your learning is designed to equip you with a range of essential professional skills and competencies, which become progressively more advanced as the course develops. Leadership and medicine management form part of the spiral curriculum embedded in the programme.

In Year 1, you will become familiarised with the safe selection and use of ambulance and paramedic equipment, practising safe assessment and handling of patients, measuring vital signs and administering immediate life support, including defibrillation, in simulated sessions.

You will also be introduced to the essential foundations, gaining a broad understanding of the role and responsibilities of paramedics, the legal and ethical framework underpinning professional practice. You will build a strong foundational knowledge of the anatomy, physiology and physiological processes of the human body and other relevant basic sciences, including microbiology, pharmacology, genetics, growth and development.

In Year 2, you will increase your knowledge of health, disorder and dysfunction so that you can better understand, anticipate, direct and provide appropriate care to patients. This includes the pathophysiology of pain, tumours and infectious or genetic diseases affecting the cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, endocrine and renal systems in both children and adults. You will consider problems with drugs in renal and liver diseases, pregnancy, the elderly and children. Medical ethics, law, and the effects of human factors on patient safety are also covered.

Clinical skills development focuses on acute and critical illnesses, such as heart attacks, strokes and diabetic emergencies. This will include advanced analgesia, airway management, advanced vascular access, allowing for the knowledge and understanding required to offer advanced life support to patients suffering from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OOHCA). You will also spend time assessing, identifying and managing treatment regimens for a range of mental health conditions.

The third and final year aims to help you transition to professional paramedic practice. Skills development focuses on styles of leadership, mentoring, communication, decision making and the adoption of a holistic patient approach involving other healthcare professionals. You will look at alternative referral pathways for stable and unstable chronic conditions to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. You will also undertake a literature review on a topic of your choice – this could range from analysing certain treatment techniques to methods of diagnosing injury or illness.

You will graduate as an effective, independent paramedic with empathy, sensitivity and a patient-centred approach to practice, able to problem solve, prioritise and adapt to the changing needs and demands of the profession.

This course will enable you to train as a paramedic, providing immediate assistance to patients in the emergency out of hospital environment.

Teaching and learning methods

Practice placements form an integral part of the course and help you link the theoretical knowledge with your practical experiences, enabling you develop a high standard of patient care.

Academic and skills modules are taught weekly throughout the academic year in sessions spread over two to four days per week. In addition to face-to-face learning, you will spend an average of 20 hours each week working online, assimilating information, performing activities and undertaking self-directed learning. Delivery may vary from one module to another, but we will ensure you are always properly guided and advised.

The skills required for the paramedic profession are wide and varied. We pay particular attention to developing your practical skills using the same equipment that is used in the ambulance services. These skills are practised using a variety of manikins and other equipment in various scenarios, that are constantly being updated to ensure realism and authenticity. Non-technical skills such as confidence in communication, compassion and empathy are a crucial element of Paramedic practice. Through the use of simulation and a variety of role players and professional actors, these skills are developed and tiered throughout the three years.

Each year, final year paramedics support and promote mental health and wellbeing in collaboration with the mental health charity MIND, as part of the student paramedic Blue Light Champion volunteer initiative. Every year the student paramedic Blue Light Champions organise a national mental health conference, held at St George’s.

While the St George’s programmes are recognised by many different countries, applicants are advised to check with their own individual national authorities if they wish to practise in their chosen country.

There is a huge demand for paramedics, not just here in the UK, but all over the world.

Paramedics can now work in a variety of environments including traditional 999 ambulance services, GP practices, walk-in centres, minor injuries units, helicopter emergency services, research establishments, and remote environments like oil rigs or expeditions.

Our Paramedic Science BSc Degree will prepare you for one of several available clinical routes – assessing, treating and transporting sick and injured people and helping individuals, families and groups meet their healthcare needs in an emergency or crisis. It is approved by the HCPC, and on graduation you will be eligible to apply for registration as a Paramedic.

In line with the evolution of health and social care practice and NHS Long Term Plan, many of our graduates will go on to work in the NHS. However, more and more are now choosing to work in a range of out-of-hospital emergency and primary care services, some will also choose to go on to work in the private and charity sectors.

Paramedic careers are hugely rewarding and form an integral part of the emergency healthcare workforce. Alternatively, you may choose to further your study with postgraduate education in a variety of topics.

Facilities

St George’s is the only UK university based on a hospital site, St George’s Hospital, which is where the Channel 4 television series 24 hours in A&E is filmed. We offer a unique opportunity to study and work alongside the full range of clinical professionals and their patients. Based in the thriving multi-cultural hub of Tooting in South West London, our location has the added advantage of being just a short tube ride from Central London and all the city lifestyle has to offer.

We also have a range of specialist paramedic facilities to support your learning, listed below.

Paramedic simulation centre

Complete with two fully-fitted rear sections of an ambulance, three purpose-built domicile rooms, a skills lab and an immersion room capable of 270° projections, these spaces can be adapted to fit any required environment or scenario. Using the facilities to simulate real-life situations helps you build confidence, flexibility and resilience. 

We also have a range of specialist health and academic facilities to support your learning, listed below.

Dissecting room

In addition to the face-to-face sessions and online materials and activities, the Paramedic programme at St George’s, University of London includes some Dissecting Room visits. The Dissecting Room is a unique learning resource that aids your understanding of the human body and explores practical and clinical applications such as physical assessment and clinical procedures.

Please note: The Dissecting Room is currently closed while we complete extensive improvement works. We hope we will be able to resume practical teaching in our facility in early 2023.

Pathology museum

Our on-site museum houses a collection of over 2,000 pathological specimens, including display specimens exhibiting diseases from lung cancer to tuberculosis. This space is used for small group tutorials by students across all of our courses as an educational tool to help you understand the mechanisms of disease. 

Library and learning technology

Our modern health sciences library offers a wide range of books, e-books, academic journals and other resources to support you. You will also have access to online resources, such as the Canvas virtual learning environment

and our Hunter discovery service to help you find the information you need. The library is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and comprises silent, quiet and group learning areas, as well as four group discussion rooms. 

IT facilities

We have five computer suites housing 260 workstations. Three of these suites are accessible 24 hours a day. It’s easy to find a free space with our handy real-time computer locator. We also have 75 self-service laptops available. Free Wi-Fi covers the whole campus, including all accommodation. You can use these resources to access your course materials, discussion boards and feedback through Canvas.

Apply for this course through UCAS (the University and College Admissions Service) by 25 January in the year of entry. There are no upper age limits, so we welcome applications from mature students.

At the moment there are no changes to our programmes due to Covid-19.

If you start at St George's in 2023 your course will be delivered in the normal way and you can expect the full university experience from us.

If you started prior to this and would like to see the changes that were made to your programme, please visit this webpage.