r/Paramedics • u/QueenB1633 • 3d ago

Applying for St Johns Ambulance Northern Territory in Australia

just wondering what its like working there and if any tips for the interview process

1 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

1 comment sorted by

1

u/bedubu10 9h ago

Been here 3 years: 1 as an intern para and 2 as a qualified. Like any service it's got a long list of pros and cons with most of the pros being work-quality, location, salary and lifestyle. The territory also has a pretty unique clientele compared to the rest of the country as the vast majority of patients are indigenous. Missed dialysis, heart disease, ETOH related presentations and trauma from road-accidents and/or assaults are all the most common cases we attend, so might be worth brushing up on your hyperk. Being a small service for a large catchment area too means you're guaranteed to get high-acuity work more regularly. We also very rarely have ramping.

Cons are sort of the other side of the same coin. Work is demanding and it's not uncommon to go overtime if you're working in Darwin or Alice. Our guidelines are outdated compared to other services but to be honest our overall scope is very decent, so it kinda works out. Station facilities (in Darwin at least) are pretty dismal with only a few recliners and chairs provided to rest for breaks/downtime. The internship program is also an absolute joke right now and wouldn't recommend to any fresh grads until it gets better.

Overall I've loved working here. Its close to kakadu, litchfield, uluru, the west macs and the kimberley which are super inconvenient places to visit unless you live here. Also fantastic for fishing and just outdoors stuff in general.

Regarding your interview, they are all very relaxed and nothing to stress about. The only advice I can give you is be very clear about where you want to work, and should they agree to facilitate this, make sure they offer it to you in writing before you sign the contract. The recruitment team are cheeky and will often try to post new staff in places where they simply need them instead of where the applicant wants to go.

Good luck