Realistically how much work is out there if you don't know someone on the rigs (Medic

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PaulE

Full Registered User
Hi All,
Looking to book BOSIET and HSE course next month but worried that I might be leaving a full-time job to find that I have lengthy spells of unemployment. I am a State Registered Paramedic with over 18 years of experience both on the road and in a teaching capacity. I have an First class degree in pre-hospital care as well as other relevant educational Diplomas and certificates. I have been accepted by Capita to do the courses due to previous Prison Service experience. Would anyone recommend them for the afore said courses? Recommendations appreciated.

Would anyone care to comment as to the supply of work out there for offshore Medics? Wife is concerned rightly so that it might be too high a risk to take bearing in mind that I don't know anyone offshore and whilst reading several posts both on here and other forums it would appear a distinct advantage to know someone..

The daily rate of pay seems to be guarded information if anyone would be willing to take the time to pm me I would be very grateful if they didn't want to post for publice viewing. £3-4k for the courses is a considerable investment and I don't want to make an expensive mistake.

Thanks in advance for any advice or information
 
Captia and Abermed will charge a client/operator about £800.00 GBP a "day" from that you will get £235.00-£275.00 approximately before tax and N.I.In effect shit.If on a salary about 40-45K which may seem a lot coming from the NHS and Military but you soon realise that other individuals with a considerable less skill set get paid more in other professions in the oil&gas industry.Both of the providers afore mentioned charge the earth because they have a spread of 'gucci offices' and having doctors on their books means they have to get the money from somewhere.That is sadly reflected in what the medic working offshore gets at the coal face.

A rigger working on the deck off a DSV and the drilling team member working on the drill floor will get more invariably than the medic.You may in fact be multifaceted and not remunerated for it at all.If you decide that you wish to do a NEBOSH qualification then you often as not will not get extra for it.That goes with a plethora of other quals that they seem to think you rock up with as a standard.

It is a lot of money in the initial outlay.If you have any doubts then hedge your bets.This time of year there is a lot of downtime with vessels and equipment which may mean that the vessels/mobiles may not require a medic onboard.Really only the fixed installations will be manned all the time.Another clown affair is some of the industry wants only "RGN' personnel which i have to say i found to be a litany of comedy errors in terms of what they think they can do compared to a paramedic or a military medic.Some of the handovers i have had have made me cringe ( i had a very experienced nurse who had never seen a traction splint used in anger).Quite something considering she was the focal point of care on a massive drill ship.That same company are currently recruiting for a nurse on this very forum... they are more interested in some one who is au faiz with water sampling and handing out company polo shirts for no lost time incidents than the pre hospital care process.Just my ten pence on the subject and i know that is not the case with them all

A lot to think over.Bon chance and hope all goes well.

Best.
 
Thanks for the reply to be honest with my basic salary and overtime I could earn that in the job I am in without taking the risk of downtime like you say.... then there is the question of pension and I'm not getting any younger... Did think that the adverts so far seem to be requesting NEBOSH and didn't seem to be compensating for the dual role aspect either :0( seems a lot that these agencies are creaming off and to be honest £275 isn't a great daily rate either I thought I would be looking at the £300 - £350 so might need to reconsider....

Grateful for any other comments suggestions and advice any other forum member has to offer

Thanks
 
Hi , with modern day practice as a Paramedic I would be tempted to just go for it !!! The way legislation is going and only registered professionals dishing out drugs etc your recognized skill set will be sought after. All these non registered medics will soon get swept off to the flank as most offshore & security companies realize that sooner or later they will need some form of top cover when a gash hand medic with no governing body tops someone up with the wrong drug or intubates incorrectly. Its probably happened already and will again.
If you're a Paramedic well trauma is reasonably easy yes? Its the minor medical stuff and the fact that you're more likely to be treating an overweight 55 yr old male with chest pains or similar makes you stand out! ECG, thrombolytics, and basic primary care etc are what will make you your money. Go for it bud!
 
Thanks CP for the reply... I have a considerable amount of time in the Prison Service setting which also helps me to deal with first consultations, run of the mill clinic presentations and what we used to call Sick Parades. I have read some comments on various forums which, really don't give Paramedics the due respect they deserve and it's a bit gauling to be honest. I believe that if most people were given the choice between a medic that has no emergency care experience nor advanced medical skills such as, ALS, PHTLS not to mention the First class Honours Degree in pre hospital care the person might have who is treating them whether it be administration of drugs or other procedures because lets face it it's not all blood and gore. I know which one I would choose, whether I was the man in the street or the man on the Oil rig/ship.. It's the old scenario of sometimes not what you know but who you know.
The down time is a big concern for me and although I am prepared to finance the certificates required it's the end product which has me hesitant no job at the end of it..
 
CPParamedic said:
Hi , with modern day practice as a Paramedic I would be tempted to just go for it !!! The way legislation is going and only registered professionals dishing out drugs etc your recognized skill set will be sought after. All these non registered medics will soon get swept off to the flank as most offshore & security companies realize that sooner or later they will need some form of top cover when a gash hand medic with no governing body tops someone up with the wrong drug or intubates incorrectly. Its probably happened already and will again.
If you're a Paramedic well trauma is reasonably easy yes? Its the minor medical stuff and the fact that you're more likely to be treating an overweight 55 yr old male with chest pains or similar makes you stand out! ECG, thrombolytics, and basic primary care etc are what will make you your money. Go for it bud!
Click to expand...

In countenance i have encountered loads of gash hand medics that are health care registered and are totally wank both offshore and on land working in places,for instance such as Africa.

As well i have found there are lots of tier one medical spanners working in the security industry,who love to large it.Some have watched too many movies and think they can walk the walk as well as talk it.These being as fit for purpose...as a stick in Fig 11.

The above mentioned statement that one and all are gash,is a little sweeping fella...i am a registered paramedic but watch what varying analogues i make of personnel.

Just a point in kind and if the cap fits wear it etc.


TTFN. :)
 
I suppose that's a fair point, I'm not into slagging all off, I,ve seen the same as you I'm sure in terms of suitability and professionalism. The point I was trying to make was that the chap in question is on the edge of making the decision on which way to go on his chosen career path. He, in my opinion shouldn't sell himself short, He's well qualified and obviously worked hard and I'm sure is well employable.
I take your point however.
Cheers
 
Come on now share and share alike lol ... like all walks of life there are good and bad in all jobs just a pity that some of the good don't get the chance to shine.... I would take a career break but they won't let you these days to go and pursue an alternative career so that would have been my first option with a bit of a safety net to boot.. still undecided :0(
 
PaulE,

Remember that there is other work out there apart from just the offshore contracts. I've been looking for work since October and finally got a 3 month contract onshore as a UK registered paramedic. PM me if you want details of it as I know the post is coming free again in a few months! I don't have offshore tickets like BOSIET, just the HCPC registration, but am going to do the OSM course later in the year to be able to do more short contract onshore remote work hopefully.

Cheers, RL
 
PaulE said:
Come on now share and share alike lol ... like all walks of life there are good and bad in all jobs just a pity that some of the good don't get the chance to shine.... I would take a career break but they won't let you these days to go and pursue an alternative career so that would have been my first option with a bit of a safety net to boot.. still undecided :0(
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What i would do to be safe side is to 'hang fire until' the spring when things start to pick up in the industry and then when the sun (what is that) comes back you may have a fresh impetus in what you wish to do fella...just another thought process.

Best.
 
only problem waiting until the Spring is I want to use annual leave to do the courses that I need to do..... Sun is that the thing that glows every now and again
 
dazzler2439,

Isn't all offshore/remote work registered HCP only? AFAIK you have to be an ODP, Paramedic, RGN (and I guess military medics as well who aren't registered of course) to get on the course, so surely most/all would be already? Or are you saying a few employers will take people with other quals that aren't?

RL
 
No Robert it would appear not some course providers I have seen noted on other forums are allowing individuals on courses which they run who are not appropriately qualified bit worrying to be honest for the personnel on the rigs/ships..
 
dazzler2439 said:
The sooner it all goes registered HCP the better, especially for the patients
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Sweeping statement there Dazzler would you like to back it up with a few facts that influenced you to this opinion??

I am also an HCPC Paramedic as well but my Military medical career has been by far the most useful aspect of my Offshore work, in the time I have been outside and working offshore I have seen almost no trauma but I see daily amounts of Primary care stuff and a fair bit of medical stuff similar to the Fresh cases I spent many years doing in the Navy

There seems to be some inconsistencies going on here as well with reference to who is eligible for Offshore work, you mention ODP and Paramedic both of these are not necessarily considered suitable for Offshore work by some high profile training providers without extra training being undertaken such as the example of working in a primary care environment in the Prison Service!

The opinion that only Registered HCP's should be offshore is flawed and I reckon there are an whole lot of former CMT1's and RN MA's who are already doing the job and have been for a long time that would not agree with this
 
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Hi mark,
Sorry I missed your post. I stand by what I said with regard to registration. Im definately not saying who should be considered as suitable, simply that I believe it should be a registered profession regardless of your background
Daz
 
dazzler2439 said:
Hi mark,
Sorry I missed your post. I stand by what I said with regard to registration. Im definately not saying who should be considered as suitable, simply that I believe it should be a registered profession regardless of your background
Daz
Click to expand...

But you are saying who should be considered, what you are essentially saying is that Military medics should be banned from Offshore and Remote work and only Nurses should be allowed??

This is the only conceivable way your words can be construed, Military Medics who in the whole are probably the best suited to this role and who have been doing the job since the beginning are not suddenly going to get registration, it is not in the Army or Navy's interest to do this

As stated before Paramedics who have only done their own course and a normal Paramedic response job without extra training are not reckoned suitable for the job and some providers pretty much will not recognise them and the same goes for ODP's as well

As stated before I have both CMT and Paramedic qualification and for me the Paramedic stuff has been pretty much redundant, my job is almost all Primary Care mixed with the same administration and stores issues I have had throughout my time in the Navy and Marines pretty much money for old rope really

The Paramedic skills have brought me nothing extra to the table other than registration, I do not have any hesitation in saying that I could do this job to the same high standard without my Paramedic registration.

I am still very curious as to what has brought you to this opinion that only people with Registration are suitable for the job and specifically why you and the others who agreed with you state that it is in the Patients interest, have you seen something that I have not??.....
 
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