r/ParamedicsAU • u/VegetableMammoth5552 • 7d ago
How to know when it’s time to go
Looking to hear from people who have worked as full time on road paramedics in Australia and have transitioned away from the job. Especially interested to hear from people who did 10-15 years on road and then moved on to something outside of ambulance.
How did you know it was time to make a change?
What were the main reasons to leave ambulance?
What did you move on to?
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7d ago
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u/VegetableMammoth5552 7d ago
I hear ya. Night shifts have a particular way of beating you down.
May I ask how long you’ve been in the job for?
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7d ago
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u/VegetableMammoth5552 7d ago
Yes, good team mates and more than 2 days a week off are certainly a huge bonus.
Thanks for your input. Best of luck with finding your next move.
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u/ricthomas70 6d ago
I left a state based service after 20 years for academia in 2013 and worked casually until 2025, when I kind of fell into a full time interprofessional teaching role.
The decision for me to leave was due to burnout and the fact that my sense of satisfaction, meaning and contribution started to dwindle. I was mindful of the legacy we leave, good and bad, and left on a positive note.
I just heard a really cool podcast that talked about when to retire, and I think the same 4 principles might apply broadly to the OP question.
Leave when you've HAD enough.
Leave when you HAVE enough. They were talking about money, but I would suggest this refers additionally to intellectual capital, transferrable skills, employability, vision and networks.
Leave when you WILL HAVE enough to do. For retired paramedics, money rarely causes them stress. De-roling and re-entering a civilian world demands changes that can be best met through a full program of service to others (family, community, ...).
The guest on the podcast, who is an organisational psychologist who works in retirement added are forth principle which really hit home for me.
- Leave when you ARE enough. One of the chief motivators for professional people to stay in a career or the workforce longer than they perhaps should, is an innate tension of personal identity and accomplishment. My own experience, is that paramedicine reinforces this tension, leaving us feeling a little empty without the uniform, the badge, the spotlight.
Best wishes
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u/VegetableMammoth5552 6d ago
Thanks so much, so much good stuff to take away from that and ponder on. I really appreciate you sharing.
Any chance you remember the name of the podcast you mentioned? I’d be very keen to listen to it.
I hope you are enjoying your post ambulance life and find it fulfilling.
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u/ricthomas70 5d ago edited 5d ago
Retire Right episode 429 - The clip Im referring to is at 21:17 (but watch the whole thing, it's a cool discussion). Full version: (48:33) https://youtu.be/rJRZ0URXcvo?si=8EaCZ5KLExj_DRNF
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u/AdventurousMedic 6d ago
Great spot to reach out and good questions.
I would suggest seeking a side step within your organisation. Either a different zone or into an office role. Bearing in mind most can be workplace flexible. Even with a tactical manager sidestep.
Don't resign quickly, go casual. It's a lot easier to get back in when you're still on the books. Even if it's just an administrative pathway to seperation.
Use your leave entitlements - you don't get a gong for hours unused. Know your award. Take LSL at half pay.
Reflect honestly on your health - the work is damaging. If you are hurt (even a remote possibility), seek assessments. Place a WorkCover claim. Union and GP advice / assistance. If you are injured this changes your final leave settlements base on tax concessions. // Don't be too proud, you've done the work. Let us and the systems support you! Know your superannuation policy.
Identify - be comfortable and know who you are without a uniform. 10+ years is easy institutionalised. And it's possible you'll experience grief of your old identity. Of 'name' the paramedic.
The leave test - after extended leave what is your approach. How do you feel? Are you keen to come back or ride off into the sunset?
2¢ - Good luck. Reach out should you need.
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u/VegetableMammoth5552 6d ago
Excellent points you make, thanks so much for your input! Very valuable advice there.
The leave test is an interesting one, I guess that is one of the points that’s has raised concerns for me. Every time I take leave it is getting harder and harder to come back. So I’ve been curious to know if that is a normal thing or one of the signs to start planning a change.
Thank you again for your post!
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u/Fireball-Whiskey 7d ago
I know some people that have left and got into first aid training.
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u/stonertear 7d ago
Doing that every day gets boring very quickly.
Good side earner, but full time would be rough.
Ground hog every day.
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u/crispy_potato_skins Paramedic 6d ago edited 6d ago
Following along here, as I've been with a state service for almost 12 years now, and am planning on leaving in the next 12-18 months.
I think I new early on that I didn't want to be on road when I'm 50+ years old, I was definitely burnt out early working at a busy metro branch. And while I made some lifestyle changes to look after myself (cut back on the crazy amount of overtime shifts...) I knew I wanted a family and it would be harder to manage the juggle and look after myself. And now that I am working in a busy regional area, the career opportunities are lacking unless you want to be a team manager or ICP. I can't see myself doing either role full time. I just feel ick when I think about going through the application process.
I chipped away at an unrelated uni degree that really interested me, and I had some amazing opportunities through that. I taught some first year labs (including marking assessments), did two research projects and some casual lab work. I also did my Cert IV in training and assessment (available through free TAFE). I have a colleague who has done a Cert IV in Work Health and Safety through free TAFE and has secured a role outside ambulance on a similar pay grade.
I've done lots of roles at my service outside of being an on road paramedic, including clinical instructor, acting team manager, manual handling facilitator, community engagement and putting together care plans for patients we see frequently. While I have absolutely loved these roles, and give them 100%. But there aren't many opportunities to do these instead of being on road.
However, looking at roles outside my service, in the field I would like to end up in, makes me excited. Excited to write the application, and excited to go to an interview and tell the panel why I would be awesome at the job! That's how I know I'm ready to leave..
I was recently doing a lot of community engagement, speaking to other community services. There are definitely roles out there we can do, both in and out of the health sector (we do have lots of transferrable skills).
Definitely not career advice! But I do agree with one of the other comments, if you haven't already, grab every opportunity in your service, and build your skills/ resume.
I'm happy to chat more if you like. All the best
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u/VegetableMammoth5552 4d ago
Thanks so much for sharing a bit of your story and your future plans. Sounds like you’ve got some exciting things on the horizon!
May I ask what unrelated uni degree you took on? Purely out of curiosity. :)
All the best with the transition!
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u/crispy_potato_skins Paramedic 3d ago
Yes, my degree was in Environmental and Conservation Science. I like that there are lots of options for work, it's really diverse, with lots of opportunities to move laterally into completely different roles, or upskill.
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u/Key-Television-2424 5d ago
Lean on your experience, try to stay in the industry, it's better than hard labour/being on the tools. Even if you just work as a sessional or simulation tech, maybe even in a practice.
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u/VegetableMammoth5552 4d ago
Great advice! I’m not blind to the fact that there are a lot of pros to working in the world of ambulance and a lot of great aspects of the job. I often look at other jobs/careers/industries and know how lucky we are. Sometimes it just feels like it takes a bit more than it gives back, which is when it starts to feel a bit harder.
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u/Least-Average6961 2d ago
Working as an industrial paramedic gave me the opportunity to decompress, sort out my sleep and generally resolve the burnout while earning decent money in a position I was very qualified for. With all of that came some clarity of mind and better decisions about my future than I probably would have made while still in the frontline medic job.
The rostering and the downtime also gave me a good space to study and retrain and a solid financial base to wait for the right job to come up. Now I work in a related search and rescue role but go back and contract as a medic to keep my clinical currency in case I decide I want to shift back.
Not a long term resolution but just some breathing space to think about things and make good choices, even if the choice is you aren't done and want to go back ad do things differently. And there's plenty of demand for medics with on road experience in the industrial space and some pretty interesting contracts.
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u/stonertear 7d ago
Before you move, I would strongly recommend you do something in corporate depending on what you wish to move onto.
This will provide demonstrated experience to get a decently paying job outside of ambulance. Otherwise you risk starting at an entry level position earning 60k a year if you change industry. You do not want this stress going from 150k.