Ulster University has marked a historic moment for Northern Ireland, as the first cohort of BSc Hons Paramedic Science students celebrate ahead of graduation in December 2024 from the region’s first ever BSc Paramedic Sciences programme.
Forty students attended an official celebration ceremony, recognising their successful completion of all elements necessary to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
This milestone marks their readiness to contribute significantly to the future of healthcare delivery across Northern Ireland.
With funding support from the Department of Health, the three-year course launched in September 2021 with 40 students and three dedicated lecturers.
Due to its growing popularity, the programme now accommodates 130 students across all year groups and boasts a teaching team of 10 academics.
This expansion emphasises the courses’ vital role in supporting Northern Ireland’s healthcare workforce and easing pressures on the health service.
Throughout the course, students completed a comprehensive range of academic modules focused on the fundamentals of emergency and urgent care.
They completed 60 weeks of practice-based learning in various community health and social care settings, hospital services, and ambulance services.
In addition to classroom-based learning, students benefited from hands-on experience within Ulster University’s cutting-edge facility Skills Suite featuring hospital wards, clinical rooms, and a unique simulated ambulance custom-built for the School of Nursing & Paramedic Science at the Derry~Londonderry campus – the only one of its kind in the region.
Graduates have developed the knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary to become a competent and confident paramedic who provides safe person-centred care.
This groundbreaking course, based within multi- award-winning School of Nursing & Paramedic Science is a significant step forward in the development of the paramedic profession in Northern Ireland and beyond.
Until 2021, aspiring paramedics from Northern Ireland were required to travel to the south of Ireland or across the Irish Sea to complete a BSc Hons programme in Paramedic Science.
Ben Malone a student on the course always wanted to be a paramedic since the age of 8 years old after his Nanny experienced a stroke, he remembered feeling relief and reassurance as the Paramedics arrived, he said:
“I’ve always wanted to be a paramedic. We have been at the forefront of this programme, pioneering its development over the past three years. The friends I have made, skills and knowledge I have learned from expert lecturers and the experience I have gained through practice learning, will stand to me in years to come.
“Whilst it has been challenging and demanding at times, both academically and throughout practice learning, I am glad to say that I have successfully completed the course, passed all modules and received a conditional offer of employment from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service HSCT (pending my registration in the coming weeks).
“I look forward to what the future holds, embarking on a career as a paramedic and witnessing the success of future cohorts from the BSc programme at Ulster University.”
Professor Neal Cook, Head of School of Nursing and Paramedic Science at Ulster University said: “We are immensely proud of our paramedic science students reaching this important and historic milestone as the first cohort to graduate with their BSc Hons Paramedic Science.
“Their success is testament to their dedication to the profession and their studies and also testament to the support and expert education they have received from their course team and practice partners, without whom we could not deliver this quality provision.
“The success of their programme is the culmination of valued partnerships and collaborative endeavours across a spectrum of stakeholders, including all six health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland as well as the Department of Health and the independent and voluntary sectors.
“We have every faith that these graduands will have long and impactful careers as paramedics, we are so proud of their achievements”.
Mr. Andrew Chambers, Course Director BSc Paramedic Science at Ulster University said: “Despite often being the first, and sometimes the crucial medical contact for people within the community, paramedics have lacked the credibility that they deserve.
“However, the introduction of this degree programme and the recent elevation of paramedics to Allied Health Profession (AHP) status helps to further cement the position of paramedics as healthcare professionals in their own right, capable of operating across a wide variety of healthcare environments.
“The students from our course represent the future of the paramedic profession and the wider Health Service here in Northern Ireland and I have no doubt that with the diverse learning opportunities they have received as part of this programme that they will go on to have a profound impact on the delivery of prehospital care within the province for years to come.”
Neil Sinclair, Chief Paramedic Officer, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said: “We are delighted to join Ulster University, and all of the other partner organisations, in congratulating the first cohort of UU Student Paramedics as they complete their BSc (Hons) programme.
“They have been on a journey through academic and practice-based learning over the past 3 years, and they will soon embark on the next phase of their careers as they transition into employment.
“We are looking forward to welcoming many of them to NIAS in the very near future; where they will be able to utilise the knowledge and personal attributes they have developed over the last 3 years, alongside their new colleagues in NIAS, to provide the best possible pre-hospital care to people across all of Northern Ireland.
“The arrival of this large number of highly-skilled new recruits will bring benefits and welcome support, not only to NIAS, but across the entire health and social care system, and most importantly to the local community.”
If you are interested in studying BSc Hons Paramedic Science at Ulster University Derry, or would like more information on the course, please visit – Paramedic Science BSc (Hons) at Ulster University 2024/25 entry – Full-time Undergraduate Study.
Tags: