During April 2004 I started working for East Midlands Ambulance Service and became a paramedic four years later. I have continued to maintain my clinical knowledge through several methods, including reading books and journals, on line courses and attending training sessions. As a part time First Aid at Work tutor and assessor, I have delivered and assessed courses for external and internal students, in first aid, EpiPens, Automatic External Defibrillators, Airway Management, Canulation and medical gases. I have received numerous letters of thanks from patients and even a commendation from the Leicestershire Police Divisional Commander and enjoy visiting the local primary schools and nurseries to talk about the Paramedics and teach them basic first aid. I have always enjoyed training and supporting people, for over 35 years, and during 2010 Steve was successful in applying for the position as Community Defibrillation Officer to explore this area of the business. However, after only five months decided he missed the direct contact with patients. Shortly after returning to a clinical role I successfully completed the University of Northampton’s Facilitating Learning and Mentoring course, allowing him to maintain his day to day clinical role with the opportunity to assist in the training and development of new Paramedics.
As a Paramedic, I believe patient care is paramount and strive to ensure this is achieved in his personal practice treating every patient as if they are a member of the family. Participating in the Pre-Hospital Assessment and Disposition course further improve my assessment and treatment skills. In addition to the new clinical skills the course gave the opportunity to further explore my academic writing skills, the main benefit was increasing my research and reading abilities.
At the end of 2017, I was in a position to retire from full time work, within the NHS, but maintain contact with patients, providing top quality care in the private sector. I have maintained my skill set since, working with several private ambulance organisations, both frontline and events and private event cover in and around Rutland.