Information for Candidates Attending Pre-Placement Medical and
Fitness Assessment
All applicants made an offer via UCAS, whether conditional or
unconditional for qualification purposes, must also undertake a
fitness test as part of the post-selection criteria. This is a
vigorous test that applicants must pass, along with a medical
assessment and Enhanced CRB Disclosure. In order that you give
yourself every opportunity to pass, we have outlined the tests that
you are required to perform at the end of this document. The pass
marks for each test are of a high standard due to the requirements
of the duties involved. Advice to Prospective Candidates The
fitness test is designed to assess your ability to carry out peak
demands of ambulance work. This is necessary to ensure that you
have sufficient physical ability to cope with extreme work demands
as and when these occur and to minimise the health / injury known
to exist within low fitness groups when regularly engaged in such
hard physical work. The fitness test is described at the end of
this sheet. If you feel that your current fitness level may impede
your ability to complete such a test, follow the advice given
below. In order to assist your preparation, it is recommended that
you start and follow a regular programme of fitness training, which
should commence at the earliest opportunity. Any exercise that is
continuous, rhythmical and engages the large muscle groups of the
body would be suitable. Typical activities are Walking, Jogging,
Cycling, Rowing, Swimming, Aerobic / Dance / Step. Exercise should
be brisk and vigorous, leaving you sweating and moderately
breathless. It should NOT cause exhaustion or leave you totally
breathless, or with aching muscles. Intensity levels should be
between 70% - 90% of your age predicted maximum heart rate,
calculated by subtracting your age from 220 and multiplying by 0.7
or 0.9. Start the programme at the lower intensity (70%) and
gradually progress over a period of weeks to the higher level as
your fitness level increases. A simple method of
determining your fitness level can be obtained by measuring your
resting heart rate. This is best taken immediately upon waking
after a good nights sleep. Allow five minutes relaxation if waking
to an alarm clock. The average resting heart rate for men and women
is between 60 and 80 beats per minute. Poorly trained, sedentary
individuals may have heart rates that exceed 100 beats per minute.
Resting heart rate levels can decrease as a result of undertaking
some form of physical activity, especially for people who do little
or no exercise. You should aim to complete 3-5 sessions per week at
this intensity, beginning with 15-30 minutes and progressing to
longer sessions as your fitness level increases. You will find as
you progress you can extend the duration of your exercise periods.
You may wish to mix exercise types for variety and include some
form of weight training for strength improvement. Always include a
gradual warm up before vigorous exercise and a cool down after
completion. These include gentle mobilisation of the muscles and
joints and some stretches for flexibility. If you have not been
following a regular systematic training programme similar to that
outlined above, you are unlikely to be able to complete the test
satisfactorily. NOTE: It is suggested you consult your GP before
starting any exercise programme, especially if:
You have not engaged in physical activity for some time.
You are not used to exercise. You suspect any problems (e.g.
heart, joint or muscle)
that may be made worse by exercise. Do not exercise if you have
or are recovering from colds, flu, fever, etc. If you require
further specific advice about types of exercise, intensities or
duration, seek the assistance of a reputable, qualified fitness
trainer or health club, explaining your requirements.
TESTS The pre-test conditions require that you do not eat, drink
or smoke for 2 hours prior to the appointment. In addition you are
advised not to take any aerobic exercise prior to the ap-pointment
on the day of the test. You should wear or bring with you clothing
which is appropriate, e.g. track suit and trainers. Grip Strength
You are required to squeeze a grip meter which records
measurements. This test is performed up to 3 times for each hand.
You will be expected to reach a score of 40-35 (men) and 40-32
(women) in dominant hand and 38-33 (men) and 38-30 (women) in the
subordinate hand over the three tests. The test is in place to
measure how strong the hand and arm muscles are and can be likened
to use of a nut cracker. Leg and Back Pull This test measures the
strength in your leg and back mus-cles. You will be asked to pull
against resistance in a standing po-sition. The measurement will be
recorded and should reach 150kg (men) and 140kg (women). Sit and
Reach This is like touching your toes. The test is performed
sitting on the floor and reaching towards a measurement board. You
will be expected to push the stretch indicator block 30cm beyond
your toes. Aerobic Stop Test This is performed in two phases. Phase
one involves a warm up test whilst your heart is be-ing monitored.
You will be stepping on and off a 30cm step in 3 incremental two
minute stages, increasing the rate of stepping as you progress.
Your heart rate will be recorded at the end of each two-minute
interval. The test will end if you are unable to complete any stage
or if your heart rises above 80% of the predicted maximum
value.
As well as the above EPS, candidates will be expected to
complete the following after a two-minute rest period, there is no
rest period between the following tests:
Stepping whilst carrying a 10kg weight (mock first response kit)
for two minutes on the 30cm step.
Resuscitation (heart compressions only) for two min-utes.
Stepping whilst carrying two 15kg weights (just less than half
the weight of the average human by stretcher) for 3 minutes on the
15cm and 30cm steps.
The rest will end if you are unable to complete any stage, or if
your heart rises above 90% of the predicted maximum value.
/ColorImageDict > /JPEG2000ColorACSImageDict >
/JPEG2000ColorImageDict > /AntiAliasGrayImages false
/CropGrayImages true /GrayImageMinResolution 300
/GrayImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleGrayImages true
/GrayImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /GrayImageResolution 300
/GrayImageDepth -1 /GrayImageMinDownsampleDepth 2
/GrayImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000 /EncodeGrayImages true
/GrayImageFilter /DCTEncode /AutoFilterGrayImages true
/GrayImageAutoFilterStrategy /JPEG /GrayACSImageDict >
/GrayImageDict > /JPEG2000GrayACSImageDict >
/JPEG2000GrayImageDict > /AntiAliasMonoImages false
/CropMonoImages true /MonoImageMinResolution 1200
/MonoImageMinResolutionPolicy /OK /DownsampleMonoImages true
/MonoImageDownsampleType /Bicubic /MonoImageResolution 1200
/MonoImageDepth -1 /MonoImageDownsampleThreshold 1.50000
/EncodeMonoImages true /MonoImageFilter /CCITTFaxEncode
/MonoImageDict > /AllowPSXObjects false /CheckCompliance [ /None
] /PDFX1aCheck false /PDFX3Check false /PDFXCompliantPDFOnly false
/PDFXNoTrimBoxError true /PDFXTrimBoxToMediaBoxOffset [ 0.00000
0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ] /PDFXSetBleedBoxToMediaBox true
/PDFXBleedBoxToTrimBoxOffset [ 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 ]
/PDFXOutputIntentProfile () /PDFXOutputConditionIdentifier ()
/PDFXOutputCondition () /PDFXRegistryName () /PDFXTrapped
/False
/Description > /Namespace [ (Adobe) (Common) (1.0) ]
/OtherNamespaces [ > /FormElements false /GenerateStructure
false /IncludeBookmarks false /IncludeHyperlinks false
/IncludeInteractive false /IncludeLayers false /IncludeProfiles
false /MultimediaHandling /UseObjectSettings /Namespace [ (Adobe)
(CreativeSuite) (2.0) ] /PDFXOutputIntentProfileSelector
/DocumentCMYK /PreserveEditing true /UntaggedCMYKHandling
/LeaveUntagged /UntaggedRGBHandling /UseDocumentProfile
/UseDocumentBleed false >> ]>> setdistillerparams>
setpagedevice