SHEPPARTON’S ambulance services have some fresh faces to support the delivery of its crucial service.
More than 150 paramedics have joined crews in regional Victoria and the addition of a further 64 recruits bring the number of new paramedics recruited so far this year to 404, 157 of them in regional Victoria.
Nine recruits will be stationed in Shepparton, with a total of 50 recruits rolled out to the Hume region – the largest increase under the graduate program. We met with three bright young women who are among them.
“One of the biggest challenges moving out somewhere rural is that you don’t have a friend support system if you’re not from the area,” said 24-year-old graduate paramedic Bree Behrsin.
“We’ve been pretty lucky to come to Shepparton, especially Brigitte and I because we did induction together. Having our induction group locally has helped overcome that.”
Brigitte Bertolus, 21-years, is a paramedic graduate born and raised in Shepparton. She said, “Even though I was coming back to where I grew up, a lot of my friends have moved away to go to uni and start lives in other places.”
“Every day is different as a paramedic, which is a big part of what drew me to the job. I’m enjoying being in Shepparton and the mix of time here – there are big jobs, but we also have enough time for meal breaks,” said Sarah Dalton, 33-years, who is qualified interstate paramedic recruit from Melbourne.
Graduate paramedics are fully credentialed after one year, after which they continue professional development and education throughout their careers to provide care to the community and to stay safe while doing so.
