The stressful years I spent as a student paramedic now seem a distant memory as I begin my career as a newly qualified paramedic (NQP)—and to think, I only graduated in September. I have so many people to thank who helped me to get here, but I have my parents to thank most of all. Why? They helped to fund my time at university. Like most students in university, I applied for student finance at the beginning of each year for a maintenance loan which I had to stretch over the semester. Because of my age, this loan amount was decided upon based on my parents' income, and with combined university and placement expenses, it could never cover my rent. My parents paid for my rented accommodation over the 4 years, but even then, I would be going into my overdraft to cover my living costs while on placement.
Students in England studying on either a nursing, midwifery or allied health profession course can apply for additional funding from the Learning Support Fund (LSF). This allows students to apply for financial support with Child Dependants Allowance, Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses and Exceptional Support Fund per academic year. However, this funding does not apply to student paramedics.
As a student, I needed to achieve 150 hours during each placement to pass the practice education module: this equates to over 1500 hours of unpaid placement over the 3-year period needed for HCPC registration. I will never begrudge this unpaid placement as I now have a career for life. But how can this be fair when other medical students get assistance with theirs? If you talk about additional funding with any student paramedic, you would most certainly get an eye roll and a sigh, or similar, followed by a hefty moan—and you would quickly regret resurfacing the topic. This has been an ongoing issue for many years, and one that, only recently, my local MP has gotten behind.
It was entirely down to luck that my MP was made aware of this situation. I had volunteered for him previously and had asked him to be a reference when I applied to join my ambulance trust. What has since ensued is a Notice of Motion in Parliament in November 2018, and it was discussed that student paramedics should have access to the LSF. This Notice of Motion does not immediately guarantee that current student paramedics will get the LSF, but it means that this ball has begun rolling and I hope to continue its motion as an NQP.
I do not want any current or future student paramedics to feel they need to drop out of university because of the cost of placement, or to forego visiting family. This has caused unnecessary stress on myself and my friends when we were students, and enough is enough. Despite this, I will always maintain that I had some of the best years of my life at university—at least it has taught me to budget efficiently.