ellie10

Hi there,

I have finally got my visa application through today and am looking to start on the October 27th course. Am hoping to get across abit before the start date to sort out housing etc. Bit confused where to live as want to be near to station, but not too expensive.

Which station are you based, I've been given Redfern as mine.

Cheers ellie

Boweaver

Teepee, will be torturing you with questions for the forseable.

Cheers

swigski

Teepee, I am flying out in Oct for my interview. I have already had my RPL assessed as that of an ICP prior to going out there. Do you think that this will speed up the process if I am successful at interview?
What sort of questions are you asked at interview. Is there any clinical questions or is it more personal questions?

P.S. Good Luck for Oct!

Boweaver

I was wondering if you could elaborate on the nature of the training period, whats involved, the culture of the training school, the depth of clinical/physiological knowledge they go into etc. (i.e. should I cr*p myself and get the head in the books) How do regular Aussie ambulance people take to UK ones comming over and job for job how does being an ICP compare to a UK Paramedic?

Cheers and congrats on getting so far.

teepee

the service is very protocol orientated, everything is done according to a set of protocols and they give you a set to learn. they use different drugs to uk. most equipment is the same or very similar and they give you loads of time to play and get used to using it. patient report forms are a nightmare as are the timesheets. we get 1 hour lunch unpaid. if it is over 6 hours from your start time you get 60 minutes straight off payment. if you get disturbed again you are paid by the minute at time and a half for the first 120 minutes then double time. if you dont complete your break or even dont get a break you are paid overtime at the end of the shift at time and a half. there are allowances for nights and weekend working, working away from your base station. the people on station are good at helping you complete your time sheet. it makes up a significant part of your pay. in country areas they get callout allowancies and standby. quite lucrative i believe. questions at interview are not based on nsw protocols. they will give you a scenario or two and ask you to talk through what you would do. there were a lot of alcohol and anger management questions at my interview and also some questions regarding attitude to indigenous peoples. they clearly state at all parts of selection that you may be required to work anywhere in the state and in your excitement you may miss these statements but they are real possibilities. dont worry too much about reading stuff up before you get here unless you are rusty. if you know what you are doing you should be ok. you can always sit in on induction lectures. there is around 20 weeks before you sit a viva and you should aim to be s*** hot by then. hope this helps and good luck.

teepee

swigski, nothing you do will speed up the process. as events present themselves ie medicals for visa or police checks just be prepared to reply promptly. aussie police checks are valid for 12 months i think and they dont like paying to renew these checks so the process shouldnt take longer than that. regarding uk police checks, these take 40 days to come back and you will need them for all adults on your visa and kids 16 or over. estimate and judge for yourself when to apply for them. i believe uk checks are valid for 6 months but i may be wrong.

Boweaver

Cheers very helpful teepee. Should anyother wee bits of info come to you it will all be appreciated and very useful.

theotherphil

Thanks for all the info so far! I sent off all my certificates last month so am hoping to be assessed to ICP and invited for interview soon!

Boweaver

Teepee how did you fare when converting your licence, did you have to take lessons and a test?

teepee

regarding driving licence. nsw like you to get a light rigid class licence. you take your uk licence with paper bit as well and also proof of nsw residential address to the rta offices and pay for length of licence you want. the longer you choose the cheaper it is. you can transfer car and motorcycle straight off but you will need to take computer driver knowledge test then either take a driving test (supply your own vehicle) or do a competency based driving assessment which costs more and takes approx 6 hours of driving around without hitting anything. cbt is with an instructor who supplies vehicle and he does the test with a 10% chance of a rta examiner sitting in on the last hour or so. you can drive a car on uk licence for 3 months before getting nsw one but cannot drive ambo till you pass light rigid. hope this helps.

swigski

Hi Teepee, I know this has been asked before but it would be nice to hear it straight from the horses mouth (so to speak!).

What is the typical take home pay and when in training/induction is it lower?

What are the shift patterns like?

Thanks

teepee

take home for ao2 year 7 which is what you should be on is $1500 ish. depends on if you pay board and lodging in which case it will be $1300 ish. per fortnight. so thats $3000 per 4 week month (£1500 ish) that is the basic pay without any penalties (allowances) once you are on the road it depends on how you complete your timesheet and how good your colleagues are at directing you on completing your timesheet. im fresh meat so i havnt had a pay slip with any allowances on yet (due next week) but the peeps on station say around $2000 ish per fortnight. during training you only get basic pay but towards the end of the 8 weeks you go on road as third man for a week and then you get whatever allowances the crew get. i was supposed to finish a shift at 1600 one day but finished at 2100 with 2 meal penalties and lots of time and a half and double time. will let you know when i get the slipregarding the shifts, it depends on where you work. my shifts are 4 on 4 off. thats 2*0800 - 1800 and 2 * 1800 - 0800. one hour unpaid break. see previous post re penalties. hope this helps. im not here for the money but to be on holiday on my days off!! (better life for family etc) now off to the beach

theotherphil

Spoke to ASNSW last night as I sent my stuff away for the RPL application at the beginning of Aug. I was told they received them (well done Royal Mail) and they were put before the RPL panel on the 28th so I hope to hear from them soon!

swigski

theotherphil

Spoke to ASNSW last night as I sent my stuff away for the RPL application at the beginning of Aug. I was told they received them (well done Royal Mail) and they were put before the RPL panel on the 28th so I hope to hear from them soon!

Hi,I put all my stuff in at the end of June and was told it was going before the panel at the beginning of May. I heard back from them at the end of July. Assessed as an ICP.

Hope all goes well!

swigski

I meant put them in at end of May and went before panel beginning of June!

This red wine is good