I am IHCD qualified Paramedic in the UK. Wondering if there is anyone who can advise me on the differences between UK and Canadian Paramedics, (I would be prepared to do further training if needed,) and if there is need for Paramedics in any particular area of Canada?
I have also been told that Paramedic pay changes quite a lot depending on which part of Canada your living.

Cheers

I think you would be required in most of Canada, I can only speak about where i have looked but in Calgary they have seperate EMS and Fire Dept, but it seems to be in surrounding areas you are a FF/Paramedic. So are unsure if you would need to train for the FD part. I will stand correct on the ins and outs as I am coming from the other side being a FF so i have no clue on your quals.

The first thing you need to do is work out where you want to live, when you have done that you need to contact the gov/reg body for that province and see if they will let you submit your training records for approval to sit a equivalency exam, if that all works out and you pass, you can then start applying for jobs in that province only, to work in an other province you would have to go through it all again.

In over a year i have not seen one job advertised that is willing to train you, they all seem to want you trained first at your expense, so if you want to live in a rural setting you may need to train as a fireman as well before you look for work.

Yes there are lots of jobs going but the pay is not that good (a little less than the uk) when you bear in mind a shift in a rural area is up to 4 days long 24hrs live in/on call, city is better but much harder to get as they are very sought after,

Then again you could always work the oil patch, very good money, always short of crews, Take a good book and a warm blanket,

drop me a pm if you want any more help with pointing in the right direction

Cheers for your replies. We are only at the very beginning of the paperwork mountain that will hopefully some day lead to living in Canada!! After reading what has been written here I think I need to look at training with the fire service here in the UK, hopefully something like that may be accessible through my current job, this may will give my more scope for a job in Canada.
Cheers again
Kate

Hi

The City of Calgary were looking for Paramedics in their recent recruitment drive in the UK. This link may help to get you started:
http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server....ecruitment.htm

Good luck!
Flossie

Calgary and Edmonton need Paramedics and Calgary are/will be recruiting heavily in the coming 3 years.

You need to be registered with the Alberta College of Paramedics and go through their equivalency process before getting any work. Same for other provinces - in BC you need to be registered with the Justice Institute and in Ontario it's the Ministry of Health.

Be aware though that there is a lot of competition for basic, or Primary care Paramedics out there as the kids graduate from the colleges with their Paramedic diplomas. If you are a UK Paramedic especially with experience & our JRCALC skills list, you will be valued and will be roughly equivalent to Canadian Advanced Care Paramedic standard.

I think there are plenty of Paramedic jobs out there without having to go down the cross training route (FF&Medic).
As said before, you need to pick which part of Canada you are interested in.

In Alberta's Provincial Nominee Program website, Paramedics are specifically mentioned as a profession in demand but I'm not aware of any EMS employer signed up to PNP yet.

PM me if you need more info.

Hey there

I am really sorry but the IHCD paramedic does not come up to the standard of ACP in Canada.
We fail on external pacing, cardioversion, surgical airway, procedural sedation, knowledge or actual scope of practice involving RSI (depends on where you go), several pharmacologies, OG/NG tubes, blood products, and urinary cath to mention a few.

I am not saying that the IHCD paramedics couldn't do the job far from it as we are more used to working independently without med dir. There is nothing within the ACP scope that a good IHCD paramedic could not be taught in a short bridging course. Its just proving to the paper pushers that you can do it.

If you look on the alberta college website you can find the National Occupational Competencies Profile (NOCP) and that lists what they expect you to be able to prove education/training/knowledge in.

I know several UK paramedics who have tried to get ACP status and so far only one has managed that I know of.

I have heard of several who have gotten PCP slots and one even managed to convince an alberta company to sponsor him for AINP (the old PNP).

The UK para falls between the PCP (you will find that scope easy and not challenging at all) and the ACP.

All training is done by the student and more often then not paid for by the student. Some companies offer payback schemes where once you pass they give some money towards the course. Some even give some time off to do the course.

I have looked at this in some depth so feel free to PM me
If you are going/willing to re train think about police as they are actively chasing UK coppers. Just a thought

If you are looking to retrain then do it out here, then you will have no problem getting a job,

You could always come out here on a study visa, as this allows you to also do a small job to help pay your way while in uni.

The other way is to work for a UK based agency that sends uk para's out to work the oil fields for uk companies,

Do not be put off, it is possible if you want it that bad.

Most definitely good advice about re training in Canada. It will make the whole thing easier than trying to convince the Canadian that what you have done is equivalent to theirs.

It is possible at either the tech(PCP) level or the para(ACP) level it is not as easy as suggested on other threads.

Don't forget that there is Occupational First Aid(OFA) and Emergency Medical Responder(EMR) jobs in the oilfield that pay well and are easy courses to get as a UK para

Never give up if it is something you want.

Thank you so much to everyone who has responded to my questions.
I think that the studying visa sounds good as I love my job here in UK, and would be great if I could continue to do it when my family and I (hopefully) move to Canada. It has certainly given me lots to think about.
Thanks again.
Kate

Thank you- great thread!

We are at the start of the long road to moving and this thread had been really helpful.

My husband although a Paramedic does have remote and oil field experience so may go down that road to get the foot in the door.

Thanks again

Nikki

I know of a paramedic who posted their CV on monster.ca and was offered o job, moving costs and flights. I know that this person got to Canada a whole lot quicker than the norm.

It is possible

Would love to know where and at what level he got in??

I have managed to get ACP after testing etc so am now moving family to Canada just getting a job lined up

Being Canadian no visa issues but still had to go through the APL process

Almost all services that I have spoken to are very short of EXPERIENCED staff.

That is what UK paras and techs have in bounds. If you look at some services they only do 1500 calls per year. My dispatch centre does 700 a day over a smaller area and we have three dispatch centres and mine is the least busy.

It is well worth the e mails, phone calls, and face to face visits to use what you have to get over there.

If anyone wants more info feel free to PM me