Paramedic Science

Paramedic science is the health profession at the front line of emergency care, responsible for responding to medical emergencies in the community, assessing patients in complex and time-critical situations, and making clinical decisions with limited resources before and during transfer to hospital. Paramedics work within the ambulance service and increasingly in a range of urgent and unscheduled care settings, and the profession has evolved substantially in recent decades from a transport and first aid role into a genuinely clinical and autonomous one.

At Sheffield Hallam University the pre-registration BSc in Paramedic Science includes a foundation year, which builds the scientific and clinical foundations you need before the main programme begins. The degree combines university-based learning with practice-based placements that take you into the realities of pre-hospital emergency care from the early stages of the programme. You will develop the clinical knowledge, decision-making skills and professional values needed to respond to the full range of medical and traumatic emergencies the profession encounters, from resuscitation and major trauma to obstetric emergencies and mental health crises.

The full honours award entitles you to apply for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council as a paramedic.

Paramedic science graduates register with the HCPC and practise within NHS ambulance trusts, NHS 111 and other urgent care settings, as well as in private and voluntary sector ambulance provision. The profession offers significant career development opportunities into advanced clinical practice, specialist roles, education and leadership. Some graduates go on to postgraduate study in advanced clinical practice, critical care or emergency medicine, developing the expertise for consultant paramedic and clinical leadership roles.