In a welcome boost to our workforce, nearly 130 paramedic interns hit the road last month following a graduation ceremony held at Sydney Olympic Park.
The smiles on their faces say it all.
Last month, following four weeks of training, nearly 130 new – and eager – NSW Ambulance paramedic interns graduated at Sydney Olympic Park.
Held on the freshly-cut grass at Cathy Freeman Park, the graduation included several speeches before the ceremony culminated in the interns tossing their hats in the air to celebrate the start of their journey with the NSW Ambulance family.
The paramedic interns have since hit the road, which comes as a welcome boost to our workforce considering existing paramedics have been working tirelessly on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Graduate Jemara Imrie, who has begun her career at Northmead Superstation, gave a passionate speech to her fellow graduates about what it means to join the service.
Following the ceremony, she said she was “proud” to have the opportunity to speak and pursue her dream career.
“It’s really exciting and it’s surreal,” she said.
“A lot of us have waited a long time and studied really hard to get here.
“I’m looking forward to working with people in the community that need help.
“People call us because they are having perhaps one of the worst days of their lives. I’m looking forward to being able to serve them and be there for them.”
Paramedic Intern Gabriella Dunn, who was deployed to Avalon Station, heaped praise on the educators for their efforts following the graduation ceremony.
“The educators have been amazing and they shared so much wisdom,” she said.
“We are so lucky to have people that care about us so much to make that difficult training a lot easier than it would have been without them.”
Educator Mike de Beer, Program Director of the Surge Induction Course, said he was impressed with how the graduates conducted themselves during training.
“It’s incredible when you get a bunch of people together who are committed to a goal,” he said.
“I’m extremely proud of the educators and everyone who pulled it off together, but especially the students.
“It was a tough four weeks but they took in their stride and that’s a testament to the nearly 130 of them who are on road now, supporting our paramedics.
“We got them out there trained, safe, qualified and ready to assist the community.”
Several dignitaries were in attendance at the ceremony, including NSW Ambulance Chief Executive Dominic Morgan and NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard.
