Province offering bursaries to keep new paramedics in Saskatchewan

The Saskatchewan government is looking to bolster the ranks of paramedics in the province.

The government announced Tuesday that 58 training bursaries worth $530,000 will be available to students and new graduates of paramedic programs who agree to join Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Saskatchewan.

The bursaries, which will be administered by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), will range from $5,000 to $10,000.

“These bursaries demonstrate a strong commitment to the development of our health-care workforce and the provision of high-quality emergency medical services,” Rod Mackenzie, the executive director of the SHA’s provincial clinical and support services-community care, said in a media release.

“Paramedics are a crucial component to the health-care system and by investing in the education and training of paramedics, we are nurturing the next generation of dedicated health-care professionals who will play a vital role in delivering critical care to our communities.”

Training for paramedics in Saskatchewan is offered through Saskatchewan Polytechnic and Saskatchewan’s regional colleges. Medavie HealthEd also provides an Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP) program.

Primary Care Paramedic (PCP) training seats at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and the regional colleges were recently increased to 252. All of those training seats will be available this coming fall.

To qualify for the bursaries, candidates must meet criteria including:

• Being accepted into, or a new graduate of, a PCP and ACP program;
• Passing a pre-employment screening process through the SHA or a contracted EMS provider;
• Signing a return for service agreement for a minimum of two years employment with ground EMS in Saskatchewan, operated by the SHA or a contracted EMS provider; and
• ACP candidates will need to sign the agreement with services currently designated as, or prioritized for, future Advanced Life Support designation.

More details are available here.