Newly Qualified Paramedic roles – FAQs
The role of a paramedic focuses on a range of emergency and non-emergency situations, using clinical skills and judgement to quickly assess a patient’s condition and make lifesaving decisions.
The Newly Qualified Paramedic (NQP) course at the London Ambulance Service (LAS) is a structured two year programme designed to integrate and support newly qualified paramedics into the ambulance service, enabling time to consistently apply academic knowledge, skills and placement experience into confident practice.
What is the Paramedic pathway?
Clinical & Corporate induction: Introduction to clinical practice of LAS and NHS ambulance services which may be different if you have been a paramedic in another country. The induction will also include other aspects including familiarisation with our organisation structure, People & Culture processes, annual leave policies, and procedures and policies around other aspects such as sickness and trade unions.
Mentorship period: Your mentorship period will be between 8 and 10 weeks. This allows time to become familiar with the LAS and our various policies and procedures. Your placement is designed to support you, with time given for paperwork completion, referral processes and frequent feedback and debriefs. You will be likely be with another new starter and under the supervision of an experienced paramedic. Sometimes these placements are shorter and occasionally they are longer, depending on your clinical development needs.
NQP1- Your Clinical Team Manager welcomes you to your ambulance station local group where you will be based as a Newly Qualified Paramedic. Firstly, you’ll be working solely with an experienced paramedic, then once signed off to a certain level you will be working with non-paramedic clinicians too as you are supported in completing your portfolio of evidence. This period usually lasts between three to four months.
NQP2- Once you have completed 30% of you NQP portfolio you can progress to NQP2. Here, you can now work with non registrant clinicians (Emergency Medical Technicians and Assistant Ambulance Practitioners).You will also start to mentor non-registrant trainees and paramedic students during their formative placements.
By the time you have been on the road for 24 months you should have completed your NQP portfolio and blue light driving. You can now be credentialed to a “Band 6” paramedic and progress to pay band 6. You will be able to work with staff of any skill level, mentor summative and apply for secondments and other specialist paramedic roles.
What are the application requirements?
- You must be a final year Paramedicine student or hold a Diploma/Bachelor’s Degree in Paramedic Science or similar from an approved provider.
- To be eligible to register as a paramedic with the Health Care Professions Council (or already be registered) and have successfully completed a HCPC approved paramedic programme.
- Have demonstrable evidence of clinical practice within at least the last 12 months
- All UK applicants need to have a current B class driving licence, with a maximum of 3 penalty points and C1 provisional licence or full C1 licence at the time of application. A driving licence summary check will be requested at pre-screening stage to evidence this entitlement.
- All International applicants need to have a current B class driving licence (car licence), with a maximum of 3 penalty points or equivalent. You will be expected to convert your driving licence to a UK licence and attain a full C1 Licence during NQP1 training.
Other essential and desirable criteria can be found on the job description.
How do I apply?
Applicants are required to submit an application via
NHS jobs – https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/ or Health jobs – https://www.healthjobsuk.com/
For UK please apply for ‘Newly Qualified Paramedic’
And if you are not based in the UK please apply for ‘International Newly Qualified Paramedic’
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Would you give me any advice for my application form?
- Make sure all sections of the application form have been completed
- Ensuring all details are correct including your full employment and education history
- Make sure you have provided professional email addresses for your referees as we are unable to request references from personal email addresses
- Within your support information, detail your experience, knowledge, achievements, skills & abilities that meet the criteria of the person specification
- Lastly, this is YOUR application form so YOUR time to shine!
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Where will the training be based?
Our training education centres are based at Dockside, East London and Brentford, West London. Both training education centres are Outer London high cost area supplement (HCAS)
- Dockside– Newham Dockside, 1000 Dockside Road, E16 2QU
- Brentford– 4 Brentside Park, Brentford TW8 9DS
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How do I prepare for my interview?
The interview will be will be conducted via Microsoft Teams. The panel consists of 2 members and will include Values based questions and a clinical discussion.
When answering questions, make sure you give examples using S.T.A.R technique
Situation – set the mood, tell us what happened
Task – what needed to be done?
Action – what did you do?
Result – what was the outcome?
Viva Voce (clinical discussion)
The second part of your interview will be a clinical discussion led by the operational panel member. In the viva voce we are assessing your approach to and knowledge of different medical conditions and treatment pathways.
You will be expected to demonstrate knowledge and competency in:
- Patient assessment
- Patient treatment
- Pharmacology
- Pathophysiology
You will need to allow 1 hour for the interview.
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What happens after my interview?
If you are successful at interview you will be sent a conditional offer with a provisional start date outlining all of the pre-employment checks that are required.
A recruitment team member will contact you and explain the required checks.
If you are unsuccessful you will receive an email and if requested interview feedback will be provided.
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Are there any Assessments involved?
UK applicants will need to conduct a lifting assessment which will include carrying a 50kg mannequin in a wheelchair with a partner.
International applicants will need to complete a fitness assessment with a provider from your country. This will be done as part of your pre-employment checks and further information on how to conduct this check will be sent in your conditional offer letter.
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What is salary of an NQP?
The band 5 base salary is £29,970 with an additional £4,551 for outer London high cost area supplement (HCAS) during your induction at our education centres. Following this it will remain the same if you’re posted to an outer London group station, or the high cost area supplement payment will be £5,994 if posted to an inner London group station.
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How do I know my start date?
Our recruitment team will conduct a series of pre- employment checks including references, occupational health, DBS (UK), Police checks (Internationals) and HCPC registrations. Successful applicants will be allocated a start date on a first come first served basis and the recruitment team will provide further information.
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Do I need an HCPC registration to apply for NQP?
Applying for Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) registration is essential to be able to practice as a Paramedic in the UK. You do not need to be registered in order to apply, however this will be done as part of your pre-employment checks. Further information can be found on HCPC website.
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I have a foreign passport would my application be considered?
If you are an International applicant and require a skilled worker (health and care) visa, LAS will provide you with a certificate of sponsorship once all checks are complete. If you are eligible for a UK passport or ancestry visa, you will not need a certificate of sponsorship.
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How do I obtain a C1 provisional licence?
The C1 provisional licence process can take up to 3 weeks so it’s really important to start the process as soon as possible. It can take longer if your health or personal details need to be checked.
How to apply?
There is no application fee to apply. You need to complete the “D2” and “D4” forms from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). You can either collect these from your local post office or order the forms on the GOV.UK website here.
Filling in form D4
The D4 form has to be filled in by a doctor. This could be either:
- Your GP – but an optician might need to fill in the section about your eyesight
- A private firm specialising in driver’s medical exams
Your doctor, optician or a private firm can charge you.
Filling in form D2
- The category you are applying for is C1
Once complete, you will need to send both forms along with your photo card driving licence to the DVLA. If you have a paper driving licence you must include a passport-style colour photo and original identity documents. The postal address to post the forms back to is DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BR. You should then receive your driving licence back in the post within 3 weeks with the C1 provisional entitlement held.
If you hold an EU licence, you will need to complete a “D9” form found here on the GOV.UK website and obtain a UK licence with the C1 provisional entitlement.
We strongly advise you to revise as much as possible whilst waiting for your C1 provisional licence to be returned from the DVLA to help improve your chances of passing your theory test first time.
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I don’t have a C1 provisional licence yet can I still apply?
Unfortunately, for UK applicants we will not be able to move forward with your application if you do not hold your C1 provisional licence at the point of application. Please apply for this role once this has been added to your licence.
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Where will I be posted once I have completed my training?
You will be posted to a group station in one of our sectors; North West, North Central, North East, South West or South East. The scheduling team will try to post you to one of your preferred group stations where possible however, you will be posted to the area of the greatest need.
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