British Columbia Ambulance Service - Hiring Process

Hiring Process

The basic requirements to become employed by the BCAS as of August 15, 2007 are:

• A valid EMR, PCP, ITT, ACP or CCP license issued by the Emergency Medical Assistants Licensing Board;
• A valid Class 1, 2 or 4 BC Driver's License. If Class 4, then 'unrestricted' is preferred.
• Proof of a 'safe and competent' driving history as demonstrated by a Driver's Licence Abstract;
• A CPR Level 'C' (or HCP) certificate, valid within one year, also known as "BCLS";
• Legal entitlement to work in Canada;
• At least 19 years of age;
• Grade 12 Graduation diploma or equivalent;
• Satisfactory Criminal Record Search and Criminal Record Review Act Search;
• Fit to safely perform the duties of a paramedic as measured through a medical and physical pre-employment assessment;
• Be of good character;
• Be available on a regular basis for ambulance duty.

At this time, EMR-qualified staff are only permitted to work in remote and rural stations and must upgrade to PCP if they wish to further their career with the BCAS, including lateral transfers to an Urban or Metro-designated station on a part-time basis or application for a full-time posting. The exceptions to this rule include applications to one of the Dispatch Centres or to the Metro Vancouver Transfer Fleet, both of which require only an EMR qualification; these are internal applications for current BCAS employees only.

Prospective employees are required to pay for their own training. EMR courses currently cost around $1,410, and a $450 charge for an EMA licensing exam. PCP training costs approximately $6,000, as well as the EMA licensing exam fee. PCP training also requires 6 months of full-time classroom and on car practicum time, so applicants should be aware that they will also be out of work for 6 months while training, which could put total costs as high as $20,000 - $30,000.

If the above requirements are not able to be fully met, the applicant can still contact a Unit chief in their local community for further information on applying. For example, in cases of extreme staff shortages, an attendant may be hired as a "Driver Only" if he or she holds only a Level 3 Occupational First Aid (OFA 3) Certificate or equivalent (OFA 3 is not a prerequisite for an EMR license but it is the current industry standard in BC for remote or high-risk workplaces).

With the abolishment of mandatory retirement, paramedics may work past the age of 65 as part-time employees. Once they retire from full-time service, they must be off work for a period of one month after which they may reapply to become employed by the BCAS in a part-time capacity; it is the pension corporation that requires a formal severance of employment prior to the pension benefits being activated. The details of this process have yet to be fully fleshed out.

On average, it takes approximately 3 to 6 months before an applicant is granted an interview. The interview consists of a behavioural interview with a panel of two to three Unit chiefs (and may include a Regional Superintendent or HR personnel) and is approximately 1 hour long. It may be held at a regional Human Resources office or at a given ambulance station where the applicant is under consideration. The interview follows the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format. If the applicant has not yet completed a PCP program, there will also be a written exam based on OFA 3 knowledge of first aid and anatomy. After an applicant completes the interview he or she will not find out the results for another 1–3 months. If unsuccessful at the interview stage, the applicant may be told he or she cannot re-apply for a period of 6 months.

If the applicant passes the interview, they are entered into the hiring pool and ranked according to their score on the written exam and interview. From this point, the prospective employee may be contacted by a Unit chief that is hiring. After passing the interview stage, a physical fitness assessment, a medical assessment and two criminal record checks will be conducted. Assuming all goes well, the applicant is then hired into the service at a specific ambulance station, called a 'primary operator'. Once issued an employee number, they are deemed eligible to work and the employee enters into a six-month probationary period. If the applicant is hired as underqualified (i.e., hired without a Class 4 driver's license or other specific training), conditions of probation may be imposed such that the person must obtain certain qualifications before their probation is up or they may be released from the service. During probation, a paramedic may not move to another station (called a lateral transfer) or work at any other BCAS station (often called working at a 'secondary operator'). The probationary period may be extended at the discretion of the Executive Director; this requires both the signature of the Unit Chief and the District Superintendent, as well as notification to the individual prior to the extension.