Student Stories
Rob Michel
Rob is currently working as an upskilled Paramedic for St John Ambulance in Auckland, New Zealand.
“St John Ambulance provide front line ambulance services for the majority of New Zealand. I am currently based in Central Auckland however have worked in other cities including Tauranga (a beach side city of 150,000), Hamilton (a Central North Island city of 200,000 people) and in rural areas across the central North Island.
“My job as a frontline Paramedic is fairly varied. My primary role is to respond to 111 emergencies (NZ equivalent to 999) across the city. Day to day we say a wide variety of medical and trauma emergencies ranging from asthma attacks, chest pain to falls from buildings and car crashes. My job as an Upskilled Paramedic is to rapidly assess and treat these patients using a wide range of drugs and equipment and deliver them rapidly to the appropriate hospital. It certainly is not an easy job but it is varied, interesting and rewarding which makes it ideal for me. “