What Paramedic jobs are available in Ontario?

Part 1 of the "Becoming a Paramedic in Ontario" Blog Series

Are you aspiring to become employed as a Paramedic in Ontario? Curious about the job prospects during school or after graduation? Think you're up for a rewarding challenge, living the life of a Paramedic?

Look no further! In this article, the team at Para-Mentors has painstakingly assembled a variety of career opportunities for those looking at becoming Paramedics in Ontario. 

Paramedics in Ontario work in a wide variety of situations. Many aspects of the job can change based on the work environment that they find themselves in. Choosing where to work is a critical decision in a Paramedic’s career.

Start looking now! Even before becoming a Paramedic, it is possible to gain experience in related jobs, such as obtaining CPR certification which may be looked upon favorably when applying for Paramedic jobs in the future.

Here are the Paramedic jobs that we’ll touch on in the article:

What are the main types of Paramedic Jobs in Ontario?

• Certified Land Paramedics 
• Certified Flight Paramedics - Ornge

What are other medical jobs related to Paramedics in Ontario?

• Event / Standby Medical 
• Patient Transfer Service
• Flight Transfer Service
• Other Medical Roles 

What are non-frontline Paramedic jobs in Ontario?

• Paramedic Educators
• Paramedic Management

What are non-medical jobs related to Paramedics in Ontario?

• Logistics
• First Aid / CPR Instructors
• Dispatch
• Volunteering

Below are the various Paramedic and Paramedic-related jobs, sorted by category.

The Main Types of Paramedic Jobs in Ontario

There are two main types of Paramedics in Ontario, land paramedics and flight paramedics. Let's explore both.

Certified Paramedics

The term “Paramedic” is protected in Ontario by the Ambulance Act, meaning that only those working for a certified ambulance service and certified by a Base Hospital medical director (see paramedic certification) can be called “Paramedics”. Certified Paramedics respond to emergency (911) calls by land or air, and are what most people think of as a typical “Paramedic” role.

Land Paramedic

• Land-based paramedics are the hallmark of emergency pre-hospital care in Ontario.
• There are over 50 certified ambulance services in Ontario that you could be employed in, each having unique attributes.
• There's a wide variety of locations that you could serve, from Northern Ontario remote communities like WAHA to high density urban centres like Peel or Hamilton.
• Some benefits of working in a frontline paramedic surface are a unionized work environment, pension, benefits, competitive pay, and the dynamic duty of responding to 911 calls.
• As a front line paramedic, you would be certified to perform delegated medical acts through your local base hospital program.

Work environment

• Typically, paramedics would work on an ambulance in pairs, or solo on another type of vehicle like an SUV.
• Paramedics respond to 911 calls and provide emergency treatment before transporting a patient to hospital.
• Paramedics can also provide emergency interfacility transport services or standby medical coverage for events or fires.
• Hours of work are highly dependent on the service, but frontline paramedics in land services typically work 12-hour shifts. 
• Most shifts start between 5am and 8pm and last for 12 hours.
• Different services have different shift rotations and locations that their full-time paramedics follow. These are generally assigned by seniority.
• Many services hire paramedics part-time initially. As a part-time paramedic, generally, you submit availability and are assigned shifts based on that. You may also be able to move into a full-time spot temporarily to replace a full-time worker.

Pay 

• Primary Care Paramedics in Ontario are generally paid at least $35 / hour, with some making around $45 / hour
• Advanced Care Paramedics in Ontario can be paid around $50 / hour
• Full-time paramedics are generally entitled to various vacation and benefit packages, while part-time paramedics may be paid additional hourly wages in lieu of such benefits
• Paramedics may be eligible to work overtime, which can be paid at 1.5x their normal hourly rate
• It is common for a certified land paramedic to earn over $100,000 gross wages annually

Opportunities

• Certified land paramedics can be eligible for a variety of other opportunities to advance their careers.
• Here are some career growth opportunities for Paramedics in Ontario:
• Community Paramedicine - these teams work in the community with a variety of mandates including injury prevention, system navigation, addiction services, and long-term care waiting list support
• Precepting - field training is a critical piece of paramedic training. It can be highly rewarding to help support future paramedics
• Tactical medicine - these teams pair with the police forces to provide safe emergency medical care in hostile situations
• Health & safety
• Union positions
• Education
• Management

Flight Paramedic - Ornge

• Ornge is the only provider of emergency, base-hospital certified flight paramedics in Ontario. 
• Ornge employs paramedics up to the Critical Care Paramedic level
• Ornge paramedics are certified by Ornge Base Hospital, which certifies all air ambulance and critical care paramedics in Ontario.
• Ornge assists hospitals with Critical Care interfacility transfers
• Ornge also responds to scenes to assist other paramedics with critically ill or injured patients
• Ornge operates a fleet of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to transport patients
• Ornge also operates land ambulances out of some bases

Medical Jobs related to Paramedics

There are many other medical opportunities available outside of certified ambulance services. The requirements, responsibilities, and scope of practice  vary based on the position. Some positions only require first aid training and CPR certification, some may require more advanced medical training or enrollment in a Primary Care Paramedic program, and some may require you to hold an A-EMCA.

Event / Standby Medical

• Many gatherings such as festivals, concerts, and sporting events hire medical personnel to standby in case of emergency.
• Depending on the event, it may be staffed by the local Paramedic service or by a private company such as First Response Ontario.
• Depending on the private company, scope of practice could be limited to Standard First Aid, or go all the way up to the equivalent of Advanced Care Paramedics in some cases.
• Private event medical companies are not generally certified through a base hospital, and may rely on an independent physician to delegate medical acts to staff in accordance with their own protocols. These protocols might be similar to, or different from Ministry of Health practice documents.
• It can be highly rewarding to work at a special event while developing acute patient care skills.

Patient Transfer Service

• Patients who need transportation between healthcare facilities, or back home after a hospital stay, rely on private medical transportation companies.
• These “transfer” companies generally use ambulance-type vehicles or large vans with a stretcher to transport patients.
• Staff at these companies generally need to have experience with paramedic lifting equipment, ambulance operations, and medical assessments.
• The ideal transfer company worker is a Primary Care Paramedic student or graduate.

Flight Transfer Service

• Some transfer companies, such as SkyCare, operate by air instead of land.
• These air companies specialize in transferring patients long distances or repatriating Ontario patients from abroad.

Other Medical Roles

• Hospital externs
• Technicians for ECGs, blood draws
• Vaccinators

Non-frontline Paramedic jobs

These positions are not directly related to working with patients, but still support paramedics in various ways. These 2 categories generally require workers to have frontline paramedic experience.

Paramedic Education

Many positions are available educating current or future paramedics. Generally these positions require you to have experience working as a paramedic already.

Responsibilities of a paramedic educator:

• Educating students or paramedics in-person or virtually
• Designing education materials
• Assisting with hiring and certification of paramedics

Examples of employers for paramedic educators include:

• Colleges (both public and private)
• Base hospitals
• Paramedic services

Paramedic Management

Management is a broad term that includes all of the staff who support the smooth operation of Paramedic services:

• Supervisors or superintendents manage a group of Paramedics, ensuring that they have everything they need to do their jobs well. They may attend high acuity calls, deal with HR tasks, work on projects, and communicate with partners such as hospitals, CACCs (dispatch centres), and allied agencies.
• Upper-level management can include commanders, deputy chiefs, and chiefs. This team works to allocate funding, manage projects, and improve services over a longer period of time.
• Specialized management roles can include project managers, clinical auditors, and compliance specialists.

Non-medical jobs related to Paramedics

Logistics

Many Paramedic services have specialized logistics teams who ensure that paramedics have the equipment necessary to carry out their work.

Logistics technicians perform tasks such as:

• Cleaning and restocking ambulances for deployment
• Moving vehicles between stations or service centres
• Inventory management
• Restocking response bags and equipment
• Assisting with decontamination
• Issuing uniforms

First Aid / CPR Instructors

• Teaching First Aid and CPR can be very rewarding and help solidify a paramedic’s knowledge base
• First Aid / CPR instructors generally do not need to be certified Paramedics, or even enrolled in the college program

What agencies provide First Aid and CPR Training in Ontario?

Multiple agencies employ First Aid training and CPR training instructors such as:

• EMT: Emergency Medical Training Canada, Canadian Red Cross, Heart and Stroke Foundation, St John’s Ambulance, etc.
• For a full list of accredited providers, visit the WSIB website

For those with medical experience, more advanced courses can be taught such as:

• First Responder
• Wilderness First Aid
• ACLS: Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support
• PALS: Paediatric Advanced Life Support

Dispatch

• Ambulance Communication Officers (ACOs) work in Central Ambulance Communication Centres (CACCs) to receive calls for paramedic service and deploy paramedic resources to those calls. They work with paramedic services to maintain adequate coverage levels throughout their area of operation
• ACOs must have exceptional communication skills and be able to operate under pressure
• For more information, visit: https://www.ontario.ca/page/ambulance-communications-officer-recruitment-and-certification

Volunteering

• There are many volunteer opportunities that paramedics, students, or those interested in the profession can explore.
• One major avenue is volunteering at a hospital. There are also organizations like GlobalMedic, which provides disaster relief services locally and abroad.