‘You’re valued’: New Brunswick extends bursary program for paramedics, EMTs

New Brunswick is extending a program encouraging people to become paramedics.

Alyson Ward has only been a paramedic for five months, but she already loves her job.

Originally from Lamèque on the Acadian Peninsula, Ward now works in the Greater Moncton area.

“The feeling of being able to help people every day and making a difference in their lives is incredible. It is hard, but at the end of the day you’re valued and it’s really worth it,” said Ward.

The Province of New Brunswick is extending the tuition bursary program for paramedic and emergency medical technician students it started last June with the goal of recruiting and retaining more front-line health-care professionals.

Premier Susan Holt said the government is committed to improving the retention of health-care professionals and recruiting more.

“The province’s ambulance service is facing significant challenges and human resource shortages with 300 vacant positions today,” said Holt.

The program is open to graduates from six approved training programs who make the commitment to stay in the province and work for Ambulance New Brunswick.

Initially, the program was supposed to just be available between June 11, 2025, and March 31, 2026, but will now also include students who begin their studies after March of this year.

“We think the program was a success,” said Holt. “What we saw from the pilot last year was a number of increased enrolments and people getting into paramedic training and now moving into work with Ambulance New Brunswick.”

But it’s not an easy profession and both Holt and Health Minister John Dornan acknowledged that.

Dornan spoke about early retirement and burnout among paramedics.

“It’s a difficult job,” said Dornan. “If you’re in a workplace where you don’t have enough support you’re inclined to retire earlier. The more people we hire the more comfortable the workspace is.”

Holt said it’s both physically and mentally challenging.

“When you’re working in a system that’s short of resources the pressure to do the job you were trained to do is something that is really daunting,” said Holt.

Joel Mattatall is the co-founder of Omni Life Support Academy in Moncton which offers paramedic training programs.

He said the job is very rewarding, but paramedics need to prepare themselves for attending traumatic scenes.

“There are supports for paramedics,” said Mattatall. “The students that are graduating are prepared to meet those challenges, but we also ensure that they’re aware that they are human and they need to seek the help if they need it.”

Even though Ward is just a few months into her career she knows help and support is there if she needs it.

“The programs we take, they really prepare us for what real-life is going to be like and how stressful the situations can be, but luckily we have a lot of resources available to help us with mental health and the community is very supportive,” said Ward.

Bursary recipients taking primary care paramedic and advanced care paramedic programs must sign a two-year return-of-service agreement.

Emergency medical technicians are required to sign a one-year agreement.

The bursary will cover eligible tuition costs and will be paid in two instalments.

The first half when employment begins and the other part when the return-of-service agreement is completed.

A licence from the Paramedic Association of New Brunswick is also needed.

Students studying to become primary care paramedics or emergency medical technicians at Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick, Medavie HealthEd, Omni Life Support Training and Consulting, and Oulton College are eligible for the program.

It’s also available for those in advanced care paramedics programs at Holland College and Medavie HealthEd.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.