Next step on the ladder for ACA Mario
ERS Medical’s Compliments Award winner, Mario Kawao, is mid way through his IHCD Technician Course. The course was presented to him as a prize after gaining an impressive amount of patient praise through survey feedback.
We caught up with Mario to see how the course was going, he said:
“I am so thrilled to have won this prize, the Technician course was the next step I was working towards but it just wasn’t possible due to the cost so to have won this is a blessing. I feel I have learnt so much already, I love that the course is so hands on as the theoretical and textbook side can scare me a little. On just the second day for example we were straight into the practical side and we were tasked with dissecting a lung.”
Based in ERS Medical’s new training facilities in its head quarters, Hetton Court, in Leeds, the IHCD Technician Course starts with eight weeks of classroom learning. Once this has been completed the students will then work on shifts with a qualified IHCD Ambulance Technician or HCPC registered Paramedic undertaking emergency shifts to complete supervised hours. These hours are mandatory to become a qualified IHCD Technician. The role of the IHCD Ambulance Technician is a professional, autonomous role. Once qualified the Technician will be responsible for decision making and diagnosing illnesses as well as taking control of the patients well being.
Mario added: “The training room and equipment are fantastic, it’s great that ERS Medical has this modern facility dedicated to training. I really like that the trainers have ‘on the job’ experience too, while teaching us the theory they can use real life stories to illustrate a point which I find invaluable.”
Mario has been working for ERS Medical as an Ambulance Care Assistant (ACA) at its Plymouth base since October. Overall he has been working in the medical profession for seven years, including five years in patient transport services. This course will allow him to take another step on the career ladder towards his ultimate goal of becoming a Paramedic.
ERS Medical will initially run two IHCD Ambulance Technician courses a year, with the next starting in May, but plans to offer them more frequently in the future.
