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Where is it?
Become an ambulance driver in France
What is it?
The ambulance driver ensures the transport of the wounded and the sick by means of an adapted vehicle. They must have a good knowledge of the main routes to take to reach a care center quickly. In public hospitals, they must also ensure the keeping of administrative documents.
In France, people with an ambulance diploma outside the European Union must resume their studies at a specialized institute to obtain the state ambulance diploma.
To do so, a beneficiary of international protection will be able to undertake work-study training for a period of 6 months. That means the person can take courses and work as a paramedic at the same time. The training is free and allows you to have the state diploma of ambulance driver.
The three pathways to this training are:
- Option 1: Initial training (for students who have just had their baccalaureate or an equivalent diploma), with the possibility of doing work-study training (apprenticeship or professionalization contract).
- Option 2: Continuous professional training (for people already engaged in professional life and in this sector),
- Option 3: Validation, partial or total, of acquired experience (VAE). To obtain a VAE, you must have worked in the field, fill out a file and pass an interview.
How to do it?
Preparation for the state ambulance technician diploma is provided by centers approved by the Ministry of Health. Training is provided free of charge by the French Red Cross Training Institutes.
To register for the selection process, you must submit an application directly to the training institute of your choice.
The selection of candidates is then done in two stages:
1 - admissibility on file (pre-selection)
2 - admission interview
Here are the essential documents to include in your eligibility file:
- An ID
- Driver's license, excluding probationary period (more than 3 years or 2 years if accompanied driving)
To read: the Refugees.info sheets "Take the driving license as a free candidate" , "Passing the driving license with a driving school" - The prefectural certificate of fitness to drive an ambulance after medical examination
- A medical certificate of non-contraindication to the profession of ambulance delivered by a certified doctor. You can consult the list of approved doctors on the website of your prefecture.
You can find the full list of all requested documents by clicking here.
All supporting documents to add to your file must be written in French or translated by a certified translator.
> To read: the Refugees.info sheet "Obtain an official translation of a document"
To be declared admissible and to be able to pass the admission interview, you must obtain a mark greater than or equal to 10/20.
If your application is accepted, you must then attebd an admission interview. The purpose of this interview is to assess your motivation, your professional project and your abilities.
Please note that a score of less than 8/20 in this test is eliminatory.
The training lasts 801 hours, including:
- 556 hours of practical and theoretical training,
- 245 hours of training in the workplace (7 weeks of 35 hours).
Follow the work-study program
It is possible to follow the training to get the State Ambulance diploma on a work-study basis for a maximum of 24 months.
The alternation allows you to be employed by a hospital or a medical transport company which will finance your studies. In exchange, you have to commit to working for the employer outside of training time. You will be paid.
To do a work-study program, you must sign a work-study contract with a hospital service responsible for medical transport or with a medical transport company.
What happens next?
- If you are 25 years old or younger, you can apply for a scholarship from the local Mission.
- In addition, if you have already worked in France, you can obtain assistance from Pôle Emploi.
- The Region can also fund a monthly grant for paramedical professions. For Île-de-France, you will find the necessary information here .
It is possible to work directly as an ambulance driver in a hospital or medical transport company.
Ambulance driver can evolve within the profession and move up in rank according to seniority and performance.
There are 3 grades: 2nd category ambulance drivers, 1st category and out of category.
Do short studies to become a caregiver or stretcher bearer:
- As a ambulance driver, it is possible to integrate a nursing assistant training without passing the school entrance examination and to be exempted from certain training modules. The training lasts about 33 weeks (9 weeks of theoretical teaching and 6 internships of 4 weeks each).
> To read: the Réfugiés.info sheet "Becoming a caregiver in France" - For hospital paramedics who have worked or are working in SMUR and/or in an emergency department, it is also possible to try to become a caregiver through a VAE.
- It is also possible to take a short training course to become a stretcher-bearer .
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