Anyone know what is involved to become a paramedic...not in Thailand, but the west somewhere....to a standard that would be suitable for Thailand though.

Suggest you do a Google for: paramedic training

There's a host of www sites on the subject, saw some in the UK, some in the U.S. Here's just one:

http://www.paramedic.com/

Mac

I prefer first hand information from someone that knows and/or has done it themselves, family or friends etc.

Thanks anyway.

Nawtier, I previously worked as a volunteer police officer in Thailand, and I investigated what would be required to work as a paramedic in Thailand, either employed or volunteer. This information could also be relevant to working outside of Thailand.

If you really want to work as a paramedic, then you need to obtain a relevant first degree qualification. There are many relevant degree courses, but an interesting one that I found was a distance-learning Paramedic degree from an Australian University. This degree required that you underwent practical training/work experience with your local hospital.

At that time, I was living in Phuket, and I was offered a place on this degree course, with local training/work experience at Phuket International Hospital, who agreed to provide this 'hands-on' training.

My intention was to use this experience in my volunteer work, because if you want to obtain salaried employment in Thailand as a paramedic, then you need to be able to qualify in Thailand, which means reading/writing/speaking fluent Thai.

There are other routes to obtaining the neccessary formal qualifications, such as progressing from Emergency First Responder through to Ambulance Technician/Medic. I think formal qualifications are an absolute requirement in whatever country you intend to work.

Simon

Thanks Simon, I do not wish to work here as a paramedic.....I want it for other reasons, one similar to what you mentioned, but to long to go into details.......I simply want to have the theory and practical from somewhere like Oz and have that knowledge here....I know it probably does not make sense to you, but does to me.

My Thai sucks, so rules that out in the near future anyway.

Do you need a formal paramedic qualification, or something of shorter study duration? There are several organisations in Singapore who provide training courses ranging from simple first aid through to ambulance technician/medic or Emergency First Responder. Some of the more senior level courses last 1-2 weeks.

Simon

No, not formal and emergancy first responder sounds ideal. Singapore also would be an ideal option.

Somewhat more than first aid is wanted, I did that in Oz many years ago.....my wife and a staff member did it at the red cross in Bkk a couple of years ago also.