You will of course be keen to get as organised as possible before starting on the BSc Paramedic Science course. The most important things at this stage are to ensure you have support and strategies in place to enable you to prepare for placement and university and you understand the commitment and flexibility required to do this successfully.

The Course Team appreciates that this is a time of change for you. The prospect of university can be daunting as it is a big step up from your previous experiences of education. It might also be the first time you are leaving home. To assist with the transition, you will be assigned a Personal Academic Tutor (PAT). They will be your first point of reference for any personal or general academic matters you might have throughout your time at the university. Our very hands-on peer mentors are ready to guide you through your journey.

Please ensure that you engage with occupational health clearance and DBS processes required by the Admissions Team. Failure to complete this by the time you register on the course may result in you not being able to proceed with your studies. Please also ensure you engage with the Placement Planning Form FoMHSC 2024/2025.

We are proud to be an inclusive University that supports a diverse community of students. Please note that if you have a disability or would like to learn more about the support that we can offer to students, please visit the Disability and Mental Health website.

Welcome and Induction, Uniform and Occupational Health

Welcome and Induction

Please ensure you view and engage with your Welcome Schedule.

Please note that timings given in your Welcome Schedule for uniform measure and issue events and occupational health vaccinations are indicative timings only. Please check below for the exact time of your appointment, which will be dependent on your surname (A-Z).

Visit us in the Health Hub to get your questions answered and have a soft drink and biscuit on us!

In addition to your course welcome activities, you can also join us at our Health Hub, timings below, where we can help you with any questions you may have or direct you to the most appropriate service.

You are now on your own exciting journey, but you are also part of our community where we support each other to grow and flourish at university and beyond. Drop in and stay connected, meet new friends and your peers. Meet and chat to our placements team, academic course administration team and existing students.

Drop in on the 1st floor of the Rowan Williams Court building in RWf39 during any of the times below:

• Thursday 19 September, 9am to 4pm
• Friday 20 September, 9am to 4pm

Follow us on our CCCU_Health Instagram account to keep up to date with what is happening for students.

Occupational Health Clearance & Uniform

As part of starting your studies here at Canterbury Christ Church University, you will need to attend an occupational health vaccination appointment and a uniform measure & issue appointment during Welcome Week.

If you were an S23 Health Foundation Year student and you have passed and are proceeding onto your Year 1 with Paramedic Science, you are not required to attend the occupational health vaccination appointment, as you already have your occupational health clearance. However, please attend the Paramedic Science uniform appointment detailed below, thank you.

Occupational Health Clearance

Students need to obtain occupational health clearance to ensure they are fit to practice. You will be prompted via your ‘MyRecord’ to complete a clearance check and directed to an online health questionnaire.

Once you have submitted your questionnaire, you are required to attend an occupational health vaccination appointment appropriate to your placement requirements. We use an external company called OH Works for this. Ahead of your appointment, please gather any vaccination documentation (paper or electronic) from your GP or workplace and take to your occupational health appointment.

Click here for your occupational health appointment location and time.

For enquiries about your occupational health clearance please email cccustudents@ohworks.co.uk or phone 01227 286288.

Uniform

At your measure & issue appointment, you will be welcomed by the CCCU Uniform Team and our uniform suppliers, Alexandra. Once your sizing requirements have been determined, you will be able to collect your uniform which is expected to last the duration of your course. Your uniform is provided to you free of charge.

Click here for your uniform appointment location and time.

Important information regarding your uniform can be found on the uniform policy.

Placement Badge

On placement you will be required to wear a placement badge, which will have your course title and preferred first name. This placement badge is provided to you free of charge. You will be supplied with your placement badge once you have started your course. Please note, this is not your student ID badge.

You will receive an email from the Uniform Team regarding important tasks that you will need to action prior to your Welcome Week. If you have any questions about your uniform or placement badge, please email health.uniform@canterbury.ac.uk.

Specialist Equipment Requirements

Your Course

The Paramedic Science course has some unique selling points that help us stand out from other programmes. We pride ourselves on the team-based delivery approach to our curriculum, which utilises a broad range of experiences and expertise. We are committed to enhancing learning through meaningful simulation and unique practice placement experiences. Our top priorities are the student experience and innovative teaching through currency in clinical practice, feedback and research.

• Your course provides a variety of practical and University-based learning experiences to prepare you to qualify and register. We are eager to support you and enable you to make the most of your studies.
• Paramedicine is a dynamic, diverse and evolving profession. As a student paramedic you will be working with health care service users in a myriad of situations including primary care, community settings and emergency medicine, alongside the wider multidisciplinary team.
• The role and remit of the paramedic is ever changing and expanding in the UK and graduates need to be ready to embrace new ways of working, in terms of delivery of pre-hospital services. There has been a reduction in the number of 999 calls for life-threatening illnesses or injuries. It is apparent that a larger number of patients access pre-hospital care with lower acuity presentations. As well as advanced life support, paramedics now need to be skilled in managing long-term conditions, acute presentations of mental ill-health, social-care assessments, and a range of urgent care presentations.
• This course has been developed to meet all professional requirements to enable you to be eligible to apply for registration with the Health & Care Professions Council. You will engage in series of theoretical and practice modules throughout the course, in profession specific and interprofessional learning environments and there is an equal split between classroom-based learning and practice learning. Further, you will have the opportunity to engage in blended learning approaches.

We would encourage you to review the course structure and module options via your course page before you arrive.

Unfortunately, there is no single textbook covering the whole of paramedic education. Texts are very specific, and you will consult numerous books and journals during your course. Our students come from a wide variety of educational backgrounds and so it is advisable to start reading, at a fairly fundamental level, the subjects with which you are least familiar. Pre-arrival reading is always advised and there are many online resources available.

For example:

• If you are just finishing school or college, and you have specialised in science subjects, then read basic texts on sociology, psychology, anatomy & physiology, patient care etc.
• If you have not studied science recently, look out for the GCSE combined science textbooks and read those. Read to gain a grasp of the broad concepts of the field such as simple human anatomy, academic study skills and Pre-hospital patient care. Don’t be too concerned about the detail.

We do not require you to purchase any textbooks during your time with us, but certainly a range are useful and are recommended within each of our modules. A medical dictionary would be a good purchase, as in effect you will be learning a new language. You will develop critical reading skills and will consider the impact of your reading on your study.

If you are eager to start right away, the following texts are relatively easy and are certainly useful across the course and beyond:

• Burns T. & Sinfield S. (2012) Essential Study Skills. 3rd Edition. London. Sage Publications
• Cottrell, S.(2019) The Study Skills Handbook. Bloomsbury Publishing (UK).
• Pilbury, R. Lethbridge, K. (2019) Ambulance Care Essentials. Class Professional Publishing

In addition a great basic resource to support you would be to read the NHS Constitution. NHS England aim to build a Culture of Compassionate Care, which underpin what we do so having an understanding of the basic principles of the 6C’s will stand you in great stead. Before starting your course, it is essential that you access these links and read the information about the culture of care.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/compassion-in-practice.pdf

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/about/Pages/nhscoreprinciples.aspx