Future student
Copyright@ Australian Catholic University 1998-2024 | ABN 15 050 192 660 CRICOS registered provider: 00004G | PRV12008
Copyright@ Australian Catholic University 1998-2024 | ABN 15 050 192 660 CRICOS registered provider: 00004G | PRV12008
For Ryan Webster, role playing to get ready for the real thing is a big part of studying paramedicine at ACU. To an outsider it might look like he and his classmates are playing pretend most days, but Ryan knows there’s a serious side to the scenarios they act out. Here’s what it’s really like to study for a Bachelor of Paramedicine.
7.30 – 8.30am
“I have to be on campus ready to go at 9am, so I leave home at around 7.30am to get the train to uni. I like to relax on my commute rather than study. I just chill out and listen to music or catch up on the news.”
8.30 – 9am
“Coffee, of course, is a must-have and an essential part of my morning routine. I spend this time hanging out in the quad with the other paramedicine students before class begins. I really believe I’ve made lifelong friends at uni. Our cohort is small, so we’re always together. We have a group chat going all the time, and we help each other though exams and assessment.Getting to know people has been my favourite part of the course.”
9am – 12pm
“My day begins with a workshop in the paramedicine lab, which involves a lot of scenario-based learning. This means the whole class takes it in turns pretending to be either a patient or a paramedic, acting out all kinds of scenarios that we’re likely to face on the job. If I’m in the paramedic role, I have to walk into the room not knowing what the patient is going to throw at me, just like in real life. You have to work out what the problem is through observation and by asking the right questions.
“Afterwards, we’ll have a group discussion critiquing how it went. We’ll talk about what I might have missed, what I could have done better, and what I did well. It’s not always high-intensity scenarios either. For real paramedics, the job entails a lot of low acuity work. And as students we were told very clearly right from the start that our days won’t always consist of heart-pounding work, like cardiac arrests or mass casualties. I appreciated this honesty, but it wasn’t until I did my first placement that I really understood what the job was about.”
12 – 1pm
“I like to take an hour for lunch. I’m not great at studying on campus – I prefer to work with the TV on in the background or some music playing. So instead of going to the library, I’ll just have something to eat and chat with my classmates before our tutorial.”
1 – 2pm
“Often we spend the tutorial going through pathophysiology, learning more about how the body works, doing drug calculations, or studying drug protocols. In the first year of paramedicine, the focus was more on talking about individual issues, such as how to treat something like a broken bone. In my final year, it’s more about piecing everything together and extending our knowledge. The tutorials are still very casual with lots of discussion.”
2 – 3.30pm
“I’ll head home in the early afternoon. If I haven’t finished my notes from class, I might do a bit of work on the train.”
3.30 – 6pm
“I often do some study at home by myself in the afternoon – I learnt the hard way to never leave things till the last minute. I figured out that the effort I put in always reflects in my results.”
6pm – 12am
“I work long hours as a gaming manager at an RSL club. It’s a flexible job and I mostly enjoy it, but I do work a lot. Time management has been the biggest challenge I’ve faced at uni, but I’ve definitely got better at it.”
If you’re interested in a day like Ryan’s, discover more about our paramedicine degrees.
Copyright@ Australian Catholic University 1998-2024 | ABN 15 050 192 660 CRICOS registered provider: 00004G | PRV12008
