Program Overview

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This three year full time course will provide you with the opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary to become a competent and confident paramedic who provides safe person centred care.

You will learn these knowledge and skills in supportive environments within the university during lectures, seminar and tutorials. You will also develop knowledge and skills through simulated learning in clinical skills rooms, a simulated ambulance learning environment and practice-based learning across a range of community, hospital and ambulance based services.

Throughout your course you will be supported by staff in the university and practice based learning settings to develop your ability to provide person centred care to people across all age ranges and levels of ability. You will gain experience working with people who have long term health conditions, people with acute medical and surgical health conditions and people with trauma related conditions. Through these learning experiences in university and practice-based settings you will develop the necessary knowledge, skills and professional behaviour to assess, plan, implement and evaluate competent, safe person centred care.

This course will prepare you to work as a paramedic across a growing range of health and social settings. Applicants for this course will need to meet the health and character requirements noted under 'Additional Entry Requirements'.

This course is approved by the Health and Care Professions Council

Attendance

This is a full time course and students are required to attend all classes associated with the programme and be punctual and regular in attendance. Attendance will be monitored and recorded in order to confirm students have undertaken the hours necessary to complete this course.

A student who has not been in attendance for more than three days through illness or other cause must notify immediately the Course Director. The student shall state the reasons for the absence and whether it is likely to be prolonged. Where the absence is for a period of more than five working days, and is caused by illness which may affect their studies, the student shall provide appropriate certification in accordance with the General Regulations for Students.

Students who are absent without good cause for a substantial proportion of classes (defined for this purpose as a period of 4 weeks in accordance with the Attendance Guidance) may be required to discontinue studies, in accordance with the General Regulations for students.

Students who have been absent from theoretical study will be required to evidence an action plan demonstrating achievement of the learning missed during the period of absence.

During periods of practice learning, students are required to report any absence to the practice learning setting before or at the time they are expected on duty and to the Practice Learning Office on the first day of absence. All absences must be made up to ensure all practice time is complete.

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Start dates

September 2023

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Teaching, Learning and Assessment

We believe that the ultimate purpose of teaching, learning and assessment activity is to produce graduates who are competent and safe practitioners. Graduates will demonstrate critical enquiry, professionalism, resilient and responsive to change. They will be innovative and meaningfully contribute to professional communities and wider society. All graduate will have the potential to use their skills to become leaders in practice, education, research and scholarship.

Teaching, learning and assessment take a variety of forms across the modules. The strategies used are based on the principles of adult and active learning such as self-direction and the ability to reflect and learn from experience. It is guided by the University Teaching and Learning Strategy (2018/19 - 2023/2024). This values a learning community with is supportive, engaging, nurturing, as well as challenging and inspiring. The course incorporates the University’s Principles of Assessment and Feedback for Learning. It is based on the belief that graduates will possess the necessary values, knowledge, skills and professional behaviours.

Our learning strategy is designed to enable students to develop their academic and practice knowledge and skills in an environment that promotes graduate qualities, personal and professional growth. Learning environments are collaborative, active and learner-centred. These will equip students to make effective use of innovative learning spaces and technologies to enable their success. Learning in such environments encourages students to consider the wider skills associated with employability and lifelong skills to positively contribute to society.

Your transition to higher education will be supported by developing your study skills in several ways. This begins at induction and includes orientation to the use of learning resources on campus as well as online and allocation to an advisor of studies who will guide students in their studies according to the Ulster Code of Practice. Students are also supported by their course director, module co-ordinators and members of the teaching team through face to face contact, telephone and email.

The course incorporates the key partnership principles set out in the UUSU Student Voice Guidelines to ensure that student opinion is supported at Ulster. The course values student voices and pro-actively engages with students using the academic representative structure.

Teaching, learning and assessment in this programme values the importance of practice-based learning experiences. Through structured, high quality learning opportunities you will be supported to apply your knowledge and skills in authentic practice settings. During periods of practice learning students will be supported by a practice educator, alongside other health and social care professionals who have been prepared for their role in providing support and a lecturer linked to the clinical area. The programme will enable students to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding to become competent, confident and person-centred paramedic practitioners.

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Academic profile

The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.

Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (20%) or Lecturers (55%).

We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advanced HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.

The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise.  The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff.  This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.

Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.

Figures correct for academic year 2021-2022.