# US Paramedic working in Australia?



## Savage (Jul 26, 2011)

Greetings people,

I was reading through this forum, specifically about Americans going to Australia to work in EMS and sounded like a diverse group contributing to the discussion, so I hope you don't mind me asking a few questions myself. 

I am currently a paramedic here in the US and going on about one year full time as a paramedic and had about three years as an EMT prior to my additional training. I have experience working in a fairly busy 911 service, I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Emergency Medical Care Administration and have certifications in ACLS, PALS, PHTLS, AMLS and PEPP as well as my NREMTP.

My wife and I both are young and have an interest in working abroad and Australia has really struck our interest. It would be at least 2, maybe 3 years before we would be ready to actually make plans/efforts and I have not done a great deal of research yet but Australia appears to be very progressive with their EMS services as compared to what we have here in the US. Before I pursue this much further, is it even worth my time and effort? Whats the likelihood of American paramedics (with B.S degrees related to EMS) being selected for employment? I know its often a case by case decision, but is it likely that they would honor my college degree? How much experience do they typically expect out of international recruits? Do they look at additional training and certificates obtained here? 

I apologize if all these questions have been asked before! I tried to do some reading before posting. 

Thanks for the time,

Savage.


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## sir.shocksalot (Jul 26, 2011)

Welcome Savage,

I will first say that most ambulance services in Australia require at least 2 years of experience.  It sounds like this won't be an issue for you, but just keep it in mind.

Australia is quite a bit different from the US. Here in the USA, EMT-Ps sit in an awkward, "higher-scope of practice than australian paramedics, but lower education". More than likely you will end up as an Australian paramedic (more like an EMT-I), but while their scope of practice is smaller, their ability to apply the treatments that they have is far broader than ours. If they want to give pain meds, then they give pain meds. There is no limit on how much they can give or if they need to call a doc for more. So while you will lose some skills I think the freedom you gain in Australia as a practitioner will more than make up for it.

Second, Australia doesn't care about all the alphabet soup courses we have here in the US. It's expected that you can take care of a trauma patient without a special course to confirm that you can. They have a CPR/ACLS equivalent but im not sure what it's called or any specifics about it.

I'll also add that I don't think they really care about your degree. I'm sure you could apply it to further Uni courses in something, but I don't think it'll have a huge impact on your appointment. The view in Australia is that American's spend entirely too much time on fluff stuff in their degree than on actual major course work. In Aus degrees are shorter and more focused. The Paramedic degree is 3 years and all 3 are spent on courses related to medicine/clinical practice.

Hope this helps.


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## MrBrown (Jul 26, 2011)

There are multiple threads on this here, do a search mate and you shall find


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## Savage (Jul 26, 2011)

Thanks guys! Do you then have to get a degree in Australia before working as a paramedic?


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## MrBrown (Jul 26, 2011)

Savage said:


> Thanks guys! Do you then have to get a degree in Australia before working as a paramedic?



In Australia yes

In New Zealand from 2013 yes

In the UK ... watch this space but expect it in the next year or so


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## McGoo (Aug 9, 2011)

Savage said:


> Thanks guys! Do you then have to get a degree in Australia before working as a paramedic?



Depends where you work. Western Australia pays you (you work full time) for your second, third and fourth year at university. I believe that the other states dont do this, however they may not require a bachelors degree to be a paramedic. Direct entrants to St John in Perth (the only emergency medical provider) get anywhere from a two month ride-along period for the highly trained foreigners, to a year of being an ambulance officer and working under a paramedic, before they are promoted to paramedic.

Check out www.ambulance.net.au for more info on our service.


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## MrBrown (Aug 9, 2011)

Yes, but WA also kills people


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## McGoo (Aug 10, 2011)




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## swissmedic1 (Aug 13, 2011)

*sir.shocksalot and MrGoo*

Thank you very much for your extensive informations! Very much appreciated!


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