An Ambulance Officer’s role is to administer pre hospital emergency care from the time the ambulance locates a patient, to the time that patient arrives at the hospital or treatment centre. They form relationships with Doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

Ambulance Officers are required to provide a high level of professional medical care to patients under all circumstances.

An Ambulance Officer will:

• Attend accidents and emergencies
• Treat sick and injured people
• Stabilise the patient's condition by treating shock and injuries
• Transport patients and accident victims to medical facilities
• Liaise with other emergency services, such as fire and police, at the scene of an emergency
• Ensure the ambulance and equipment is kept clean and in good working condition
• Ensure that patient paperwork is complete and kept confidential
• Transfer non emergency patients to and from medical facilities
• Work a roster pattern with day and night shifts
• Provide a high level of professional medical care to patients under all circumstances

The term ambulance officer is a general term, to describe people who work in the ambulance service. In reality, ambulances officers hold different qualifications depending on how much study they have successfully completed.

St John provides training for all of its members up to the Paramedic level of practice. To reach the Advanced Paramedic level, members complete a Degree at either Victoria University of Technology (VUT), or Auckland University of Technology (AUT).

Ambulance Officer remuneration varies depending on their qualification, and the Region they work in. Typically, a recruit who holds a Primary Care Certificate will start on around $35,000 per annum. This increases as the Officer moves up the qualification scale to the Advanced Paramedic level of practice, which can earn over $50,000 per annum. Many Ambulance Officers progress into Management and this moves them into the Management remuneration scale.