Critical Care Paramedic
What the work is
Provides specialised health care to critically ill or critically injured persons in an out-of-hospital environment.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Attends accidents, emergencies and requests for medical assistance when there is an immediate risk to life
- Assesses health of critically ill patients, need for assistance, specialised needs, and factors affecting patients' conditions
- Conducts diagnostic tests and interprets results to aid in patient assessment
- Administers emergency medical treatment and life support interventions to stabilise patients
- Monitors and manages critically ill patients' vital signs and responses to treatment
- Resuscitates and defibrillates patients and operates life-support equipment
- Prepares written reports on the state of critically ill patients' injuries and treatment
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in an ambulance crew on a day shift in a fictional mid-sized country town. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A frightened patient trusts you, and you get them to the right hospital in good shape
- A call with a happy ending, like a baby arriving safely with the crew there
- A crew that finishes a long shift still laughing together
Hard days
- A shift that runs hours over because the hospital is full and you cannot hand over
- A call-out where family members are frightened and angry
- Turning up to the same address again and again for someone who needs more help than you can give
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 269431, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.