I’m really excited about going
out on the road – but a bit scared at the same time. You never know
what it’s going to be like when you treat a patient for the first
time, but I suppose every patient is different so you’re always
learning.
As student paramedics we’ll have all the
skills though, so the time on the road will let us put everything
into practice and help us to understand the big picture. I’m
looking forward to seeing things at first hand – after all, the
London Ambulance Service is the busiest of its kind in the
world.
Up to now I’ve been based in the classroom at
the Hannibal House training centre at Elephant and Castle. The
academic side of things has been quite intense since I started in
October, so I’ve had to be quite disciplined. It’s been very
interesting though and because you’re training for something that
you want to do as a career it’s an enjoyable kind of hard work.
One of the best things about the three-year
course so far has been the great teamwork – everyone’s been pulling
together to help each other progress and improve. There are about
20 student paramedics on my course all from different backgrounds
and everyone has different skills.
I joined the London Ambulance Service from
another service where I worked in a control room taking 999 calls,
but you don’t need an ambulance or medical background to sign up as
a student paramedic. You just need to be
dedicated, organised and a fan of hard work!
Jenny Leggott started the student paramedic
course in October 2008, aged 22.
If you are interested in a student paramedic
role, check our
current vacancies page to see if we are recruiting.