Thirteen students from Science, Health and Education courses recently experienced an eye-opening introduction to emergency medical services through the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust Summer School at Burnley College.
This immersive two-day programme provided a hands-on demonstrations in essential paramedic skills, including CPR, patient handling techniques and safe stretcher transfers – as well as looking at the roles behind the scenes.
Students gained practical experience using mannequins to practise basic life support, developing confidence in potentially life-saving procedures.
Students explored telephone triage operations, learning how emergency calls are assessed and prioritised. They also received detailed instruction on ambulance driving techniques, discovering the specialised skills required to navigate emergency vehicles safely to incident scenes.
Interactive sessions with various NWAS staff members revealed the diverse career pathways available within the ambulance service, challenging common perceptions about emergency medical work.
Matthew Bennett, Paramedic Learning Facilitator for East Lancashire, emphasised the programme’s broader mission:
“Over the two days we’re giving learners on a variety of courses an insight into the ambulance service – and that’s not just the clinical services but the non-clinical roles we offer as well.”
“What people see when they think of the ambulance service is the crew that arrive at their relatives’ home. However, what they don’t see is there are so many people behind the scenes keeping the service running.
“That’s those who manage the finances, balancing the books to those whoprocure equipment to those who do all of the logistical work behind the scenes which ensures the people who are arriving at the scene are correctly trained and have the right equipment.”
The summer school particularly focused on accessible career routes. Matthew highlighted:
“These days are also an opportunity to highlight the more non-traditional routes into the service, ones which don’t include university. You don’t need a degree to join the service, there are so many alternative routes open to you.”
At Burnley College we pride ourselves on the individualised support and enrichment opportunities we offer our learners. If you have a career dream and want to discover the perfect pathway, we’re enroling right now. Talk to us today.
