Hey pj2,
Sorry to bump this
but as you may already be aware (at least according to the Herald Sun), the VU program has been yanked due to funding. I may be a student from another uni but I 100% agree with the withdrawal of the program, not for AV's sake, not for the Government's sake, not for the patient's sake but for the student's sake.
The only way the program could work is by if you were sent to a rural branch with the least amount of cases per week so you would be in essence sitting at the branch being paid to sudy. It is already hard enough for Qualified Ambulance Paramedics to work full time and burn out is rife among them (unfortunately) but for a Student Paramedic to work full time and study part time with minimum rest time, it's not an easy thing and it shows, with my sources (not from uni but from paramedics I know from outside my uni) telling me it's a shame because a whole heap are being performanced managed with the threat that if they don't do 100% in the job and don't pass the degree, they will be terminated. That being said, if it were still offered, it would be the best option to not do it because of the reasons above.
This was not the first year it was run, it was running for 2-3 years before 2010, I believe.
All the best
feel free to pm me or reply with more questions