Wellbeing

The Royal College of Paramedics and NHS England recognise that there are many challenges and sources of stress for student paramedics. We have compiled a list of resources to offer wellbeing support. Whilst your university will be able to offer a variety of services to support you in your studies and with other issues outside of academic life, there are a number of additional organisations which can support you, and your family and friends with any concerns or problems you may have.

We admire our student paramedics. You continue to learn with enthusiasm and passion for the career ahead of you and we want you to know that there are resources out there to help you if things start to feel too much. We know that it can feel isolating whilst out on placement as a student, but please know that you are not alone.

Your first line of accessing advice and resources should be your university. Your academic mentor should be able to signpost you to the most relevant place for your current situation, and the university should also have a student wellbeing support hub, however you may want to talk to someone who understands the ambulance service.

Your cohort peers are also likely to be one of the best sources of informal advice, and those most likely to understand what you’re going through. We would encourage you to reach out to those in your cohort regularly and aim to stay well connected to each other during placement blocks. If you are worried about someone in your peer group, please reach out to your university staff.

Select one of the pages below to learn more about each topic.

Physical health

Mental health

Sexual safety

Dealing with distressing situations

Menopause

WRAPT

WRAPT is a wellbeing support tool to support you whilst on clinical placement, please watch the video below to find out more information about WRAPT and how to access it.

Independent resources

The following resources have been identified as available for students, though this list is not exhaustive. The resource title, when clicked, takes you to the relevant website.

WRAP tool (Reflective Practice)

This tool has been developed by the Royal College of Paramedics in collaboration with student paramedics, specifically to enable students and new paramedics in clinical practice to share how they are feeling with friends and family or university staff. The tool allows users to collect and record their thoughts around challenging situations and share them, if desired, with family, university tutors or supervisors. This enables friends and family to help you talk through how you are feeling, without breaking the confidentiality of patient care. Please be aware that although this tool is available for use at any time, the responses are not monitored and therefore this is not an avenue to receive immediate support. You can send your reflections to any email address after completion, however, please be aware that university lecturers work a typical working day and therefore will not be responsive out of working hours or during the holiday period. There are links within the tool to signpost to any crisis support if needed.

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The Ambulance Staff Charity (TASC)

There is a 24-hour support line for anyone in crisis 0300 373 0898. For non-urgent assistance, you can contact TASC by phone on 02477 987922, or by email support: @theasc.org.uk. The Ambulance Staff Charity provide a range of services to support the mental health, physical rehabilitation, and financial wellbeing of the UK’s ambulance staff, their family members, students, and ambulance service volunteers. There are a variety of resources available, including bitesize information around mental health, drug and alcohol use and gambling. TASC also provide Cognitive Behavioural Therapy modules that can be completed at your own pace and convenience. TASC also produce a ‘Family Handbook’ which you may wish to share with friends and family, particularly those who may be supporting you over the holiday period.

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Every Mind Matters

This is an NHS website, providing tips and advice on looking after your mental health and wellbeing. As it is available to everyone, it can also be shared with others you may know who would appreciate some information in this area. It also has a section on supporting others.

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Samaritans

You can access confidential support from Samaritans if you work or volunteer for NHS Services – this includes students. Our Frontline offers round-the-clock one-to-one support, by call or text, from trained volunteers, plus resources, tips and ideas to look after your mental health. If you are not quite feeling okay, but can’t put your finger on it, Samaritans can provide advice. You do not need to be suicidal to call the Samaritans, they provide support in a variety of circumstances. You can call at any time on 116 123. If you prefer to write your feelings down, you can email jo@samaritans.org but the time taken to respond may be longer.

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Royal College of Paramedics Wellbeing App

The mental health and wellbeing of paramedics is one of the five key strategic aims in the Royal College of Paramedics 2019/24 Strategy. This is accessible via smartphone and tablet. There are also many sources of support signposted from our website which provides links which are accessible and appropriate to paramedics, including students and apprentices.

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Blue Light Together

Blue Light Together is provided by the mental health charity Mind and is the place for UK emergency services staff, volunteers, retirees and friends and family to find information, ideas and support to help look after your mental health. It’s all in confidence. There are a wide range of resources on this site, tackling all different topics which you may find useful.

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Student Minds

Student Minds is the UK’s student mental health charity. Their website provides a number of resources aimed at supporting students with their wellbeing. Their Student Space service provides advice and information specifically for students. You can access it 24-hours a day by texting STUDENT to 85258.

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Freedom to Speak Up Guardian

There are over 800 Freedom to Speak Up Guardians in NHS and independent sector organisations, national bodies and elsewhere. They support workers to speak up when they are unable to in other ways. Anyone can speak up about anything that gets in the way of doing a great job. You can find your Freedom to Speak up Guardian via this map.

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National Bullying Helpline

Bullying can come from sources including the workplace and online and advice for employees, including spotting the signs of bullying. The helpline can be contacted on 0300 323 0169. Need Help Urgently? If you need help immediately, please dial 999 or attend an Emergency Department. 111 can also provide out of hours support. You may also access help via your GP. The TASC crisis line is available 24-hours a day, 365 days a year on 0300 373 0898. Please do not hesitate to contact these, or other organisations. There are many sources of help and support available to you, as ambulance workers, as students and as individuals. Your health, safety and wellbeing is important, and you do not need to face problems alone.

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Student listening practice

The Royal College of Paramedics takes learner safety, well-being and experience incredibly seriously. In light of the recent press activity and in a bid to demonstrate our support of paramedic learners and our commitment to continue to improve the experiences of our learners in practice, we organise listening events to enable paramedic learners to share experiences with us.

These events will offer a safe and confidential space for learners to share their experiences.

The next free session is taking place on xxxx and is exclusively for paramedic learners. Please note that due to the nature of these events they will not be recorded.

The Royal College of Paramedics is committed to fulfilling the aims of our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy which includes the need to understand the diverse needs of our members. In order to ensure that we are supporting you through our events, health and wellbeing provision, CPD and representation, we need to know about you. Please do complete the ‘equality’ monitoring questions found on your profile page when you sign in to the College’s website. Please also check your contact details including email address, telephone number, home address and bank details are all up to date and help us to help you (all information provided is kept in the strictest confidence in-line with current GDPR requirements).