Autopsy: Emergency Room from Channel4.com

Ambulance Technician

Responding to 999 calls and assisting paramedics, an ambulance technician can expect to come across and deal with a broad range of emergency situations, such as controlling severe bleeding, treating wounds and fractures, and assisting patients with possible spinal injuries. Since driving an ambulance is a major part of the job, they will also have to hold a clean driving licence.

As is the case with paramedics, ambulance technicians are very much frontline care workers who have to cope with a range of difficult working conditions as well as social situations, such as attending to patients in scenes of domestic violence or drug abuse.

To become an ambulance technician requires GCSE qualifications in order to gain entry to a 12-week intensive training course. This is then followed by a one-year period of gaining operational experience, working in the field under supervision, before taking examinations to complete the qualification.

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