This week, Aebhric O’Kelly catches up with Dmytro following his graduation from CoROM’s BSc in Remote Paramedic Practice and his successful registration as a paramedic with the UK Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Dmytro describes his current work providing medical care on a remote Caribbean island and reflects on previous roles in humanitarian and military medicine in sub-Saharan Africa. He explains why working remotely requires a different clinical mindset—particularly when weather, geography or resources prevent evacuation, and a patient may remain in your care for hours or even days.
Chapters
00:00 – Welcome Back, Dmytro: From CoROM graduate to HCPC-registered paramedic.
00:33 – Remote Medicine in the Caribbean: Providing healthcare for thousands of guests and staff on a private island.
01:30 – An ICU on a Remote Island: Ventilation, capnography, laboratory diagnostics, POCUS and advanced monitoring.
02:58 – Paramedics Doing Radiography: The expanding role of the remote paramedic.
03:18 – From Africa to the Caribbean: Humanitarian medicine, military medicine and remote clinic operations.
04:40 – Qualifications for Remote Paramedic Work: How education and operational experience helped Dmytro secure his current position.
05:33 – Why CoROM?: Why one year of paramedic education wasn't enough and why Dmytro continued through the full BSc.
07:20 – Becoming a UK-Registered Paramedic: Starting the HCPC international registration process.
09:27 – HCPC Standards of Proficiency: Demonstrating education, experience, autonomy and clinical competence.
11:36 – Lessons from the HCPC Application: Documentation mistakes that can add weeks or months to the process.
13:58 – AI, Plagiarism and HCPC Applications: Why applicants need to ensure their submission is genuinely their own work.
14:15 – The First HCPC Assessment: Where additional evidence was required.
15:58 – Preparing for the Test of Competence: UK clinical guidance, common conditions and targeted preparation.
18:17 – UK Law and Paramedic Practice: Consent, safeguarding, mental capacity, resuscitation and verification of death.
18:50 – What Happens During the Test of Competence?: Clinical scenarios and assessment by practising NHS paramedics.
20:38 – Finally Registered: Completing an eight-month HCPC journey.
21:31 – What This Means for CoROM Graduates: Dmytro's pathway as a BSc Remote Paramedic Practice graduate.
22:03 – Graduation and the People Behind the Degree: Recognising the instructors and clinicians who shape a paramedic.
23:21 – Advice for Future BSc Students: Patience, practical training and making the most of KCMC.
25:09 – What Comes After the BSc?: MSc Austere Critical Care, offshore medicine and diving medicine.
26:19 – Does Austere Training Change How You Practise?: Why remote medicine requires a different professional perspective.
26:39 – Hospital Skills vs Remote Skills: Lessons from military medicine in sub-Saharan Africa.
28:29 – When You Cannot Evacuate: Managing patients for hours or days aboard ships and in remote locations.
29:40 – What Would Dmytro Do Differently?: More pharmacology, more KCMC and more exposure to ICU practice.
30:46 – Hurricanes, No Helicopter and No Boat: Why remote clinicians need critical care skills when evacuation fails.
31:40 – Advice for New Austere Clinicians: Learn remote medicine from people who actually work in resource-limited environments.
32:45 – Looking Back on the Journey: From student to degree-qualified, HCPC-registered remote paramedic.
32:56 – Acknowledgements: Dmytro thanks the CoROM faculty, colleagues and organisations that supported his journey.
34:20 – Closing Remarks: Continuing the journey in austere and remote medicine.
