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In Austria, it is arranged such that adult men, provided they are classified as medically fit, have the choice between a six-month military service or a nine-month service in the healthcare sector. Since medicine and health topics have always fascinated me, and I wanted to learn something meaningful during these months, I chose healthcare service in emergency medical service. In this blog post, I want to share with you how the emergency medical service operates in Austria, or at least how it was for me.

Training as a Paramedic and Emergency Driver

Initially, one undergoes a multi-week theoretical training to become a paramedic. The main topics include anatomy, equipment instruction, emergency care, disaster control, and much more. I was somewhat perplexed that the training for civilian servants was so extensive. Until then, I did not know that this was a complete training to become a paramedic, and that one could even work professionally in this field afterward.

After the theoretical training, you ride along as an auxiliary paramedic and third person in the ambulance to collect practical hours. You learn how to deal with patients during medical transports and how to respond correctly in emergencies. Additionally, you acquire knowledge about where the different departments in the nearby hospitals are located, and other relevant information concerning the local healthcare structure.

Following the theoretical and practical training, the examination comes next. Upon passing the examination, you are then a fully trained paramedic.

In Austria, paramedics are obligated by the Sanitary Law to renew their qualifications every two years. As part of the recertification, paramedics must have their knowledge and skills in the area of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including the use of semi-automatic defibrillation devices, reviewed by a qualified physician, among other things.

After training as a paramedic, there is also the opportunity to train as an emergency and operational driver. Upon passing this examination and a traffic psychological assessment, you are then allowed to drive the ambulance and use the blue light and siren if the situation requires it.

The Emergency Service

The services for civilian servants last either 8 or 12 hours daily, sometimes longer if a mission comes in during the service handover. Breaks can be taken when time permits. It was crucial which vehicle you were assigned to. With an ambulance for patient transport, you spend most of the time with patient transports. For instance, you transport sick or injured persons to the hospital, to the doctor, or to physiotherapy. Here, emergency deployments are rather rare. However, with a rescue ambulance, the main activity is to drive to emergencies, provide medical care to accident victims or individuals with health emergencies, and then transport them to the hospital. Here, regular patient transports are rather the exception.

Both emergency deployments and patient transports were always instructive and exciting. With each deployment, my understanding of medical emergencies expanded, which is necessary to react effectively and keep a cool head in stressful situations. Especially in the interpersonal area, which personally is one of my weaknesses, I was able to gain valuable experience.

Volunteer Work as a Paramedic

After completing civil service or if you have completed the training as a paramedic independently, you can decide to continue working as a paramedic on a voluntary basis. I will continue to pursue this passion in my spare time.

However, I am also aware that volunteering can be exploited by organizations after a certain period of time. This was also the case with other organizations I was involved in. If you have to justify why you don't have time on a weekend, for example, the purpose of volunteer work is missed. As long as I have time and enjoy it, I will continue to work in the emergency service and carry out these tasks.

Emergency Aid Guide

Would you like to deepen your knowledge of first aid and related topics? I've created a separate page where I delve into it more extensively.
Take a look: Health Management

Closing Words

Working in the emergency service is definitely a life-changing experience. I hope I was able to give you some insight into the process, at least as it is designed in Austria.