The sky is the limit for Paramedic Student

A Glasgow Caledonian Paramedic student has completed a career-defining placement with Essex and Hertfordshire Air Ambulance Trust.

Final year student Gavin Keymer knew that he wanted more experience in pre-hospital critical care before leaving University. He was lucky enough to get the opportunity with an elective placement, which saw him spend October 2022 in the East of England.

He said: “This was the first year that GCU has given Paramedic Science students the chance to do an elective placement.

“An elective placement is normally for medical students where they can find a placement they particularly want to complete, usually abroad or within a special field of interest. If you are interested in palliative care then you might look for a placement in a hospice, or if you are interested in primary care then you would maybe look at a GP practice.

“I’m really interested in critical care and pre-hospital care. Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust have their own student elective programme and I basically just had to fill out an application form.

“I was initially unsuccessful because they had already allocated all their placements, but I then got a phone call one day saying someone had actually dropped out.”

Gavin didn’t give his big opportunity a second thought. He booked up an Airbnb, got his stuff together and was on his way for the experience of a lifetime.

He joined up with the Essex and Hertfordshire Air Ambulance Trust HEMS team (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services) and quickly found himself involved in attending calls as an observer, which saw him team up with two pilots, a critical care paramedic and a doctor.

Gavin explained: “I had absolutely no experience of helicopters. Day 1 of placement was very much around health and safety, and fitting me with my flight suit and helmet. The whole aviation side was a massive learning curve for me. The first job we went to I was fumbling around trying to get my straps on and absolutely shaking with the adrenaline.

“It was an incredible experience because of the range of incidents and vast area that the Essex and Hertfordshire Air Ambulance cover. It’s very different in that they go to both medical and trauma incidents. Quite often air ambulances only go to trauma jobs - things like falls from height, car-crashes, attackings. The medical side covers incidents like seizures, cardiac arrests or where someone is having difficulty managing their own airways.”

He added: “Being an observer meant that I was the only one facing backwards on the helicopter. The crew encouraged me to speak up if I saw anything, for example, any dangers around the area we were going to land or other aircraft nearby."

As an observer, Gavin was also able to develop himself by delving into the range of experience offered by his new colleagues.

He said: “Having this opportunity meant that I was allowed to do some clinical work but it was quite unique because I was able to step back and have that situational awareness of everything around me. When I’m on normal clinical placement, I really get stuck into things, so this was a different experience for me in actually getting to analyse everything.”

“When you work with a HEMS team, you’re getting that opportunity to speak with a doctor and critical care paramedic, so I was really keen to hear about their career and the route they had taken through their education.

“It was also really interesting to see the technical skills that the doctor and clinical care paramedic bring when they’re dealing with a patient; however, it’s equally beneficial seeing the non-technical skills in terms of crew resource management, leadership and how they are able to guide patient care through everything.”

Gavin also had the chance to develop his knowledge back down at ground level with involvement in a number of different activities at the air ambulance team’s base.

“I had the opportunity to get involved with the training and simulation that the crew were going through. I would practice as a paramedic attending, do the initial assessment and then the HEMS crew would come in as if they had just landed and I would do a handover. Everyone’s feedback was very positive and constructive, which is crucial for me at this point in my career.

“Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust are also starting their own Centre for Excellence. There will be four pillars to the Centre for Excellence – one of which is looking at head and traumatic brain injuries. I decided to complete an audit which basically looked at the gold standard for traumatic brain injury management. This was obviously beneficial to Essex and Herts but also to myself because I didn’t know much about it as a topic.

“I basically looked at how well Essex and Hertfordshire Air Ambulance Trust were doing at meeting that standard. I went through medical notes for all the traumatic brain injury cases and evaluated everything. There was lots of pie charts and excel spreadsheets but it was well worth it because I feel like it was important for me to leave something behind at the end of my placement.”

After an intense and rewarding four weeks, Gavin’s time in England was over. He insists that the experience has made him a better paramedic and left him in no doubt that he’s made the correct career choice.

He explained: “If you can immerse yourself around people that are doing good then you definitely buy into their energy. Observing people who have years of experience and continually want to better themselves has really inspired me.

“I might not be able to apply the technical skills I saw the doctors and clinical care paramedics doing, but I can take all the non-technical skills, like their leadership style, how they talk to patients relatives and even things like setting up all their equipment before they do a procedure. These are all things that help with patient safety and good teamwork.”

He added: “When I first applied to study at Glasgow Caledonian, I was definitely a bit naive to the different options available to me as a paramedic.

“We work in so many different settings: hospitals, cruise-ships, oil rigs, sporting events - to name just a few. Paramedics can almost go anywhere they want, which is an incredible thought.

“Your imagination is your only limitation and I’m very excited to see where my career takes me.”

Find our more about our BSc Paramedic Science course

By Ross Clark
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter