Right track?

[kvromero11]

Hey Everybody,

My ultimate goal is to become a flight nurse. Right out of highschool I recieved my CNA and EMT-B certification. I currently work at a level II trauma center, 250 bed hospital in the float-pool, where I feel like I have been able to network myself pretty well.

I am currently enrolled at our university for a BSN and minor is business. I have a couple more prereqs to go before I start my clinical stuff. I decided to enroll part-time and take an 18 month paramedic program this year (most people think I am crazy... I think I am crazy).

There is a local university here that has a Medic to RN bridge course, where you challenge your first clinical rotations in nursing. It is only a Associates degree though. My first question is- stay in the bachelors or take the associates degree and bridge later?

My second question is, is there anybody out there that works part-time ICU nurse and part-time medic?

My third is CCRN vs. CCEMT, is it worth pursing both, does one weigh in more than the other.

I live in Maine if anyone was wondering, and am 20 y/o.

[TraumaSurfer]

1. Maine Flight Protocols says that a medic has to be on board.

2. I think that if I work part time as a medic and part time as a nurse it would suffice as me at being profiecient in two job. My original question was not asking if that is okay. It was whether or not to stick through and get my bachelors.

3. I have a couple undergrad classes to go before I do my 2 year clinical rotation. Which is why I am getting my medic to work as a medic for those 2 years.

4. As I said before, Here flight medics and nurses are expected to perform at the same level. There is no descripency on who can give what meds and who can do what procedure.

5. Reading an EKG is an art- It's not just another skill comparing it to just another skill is ignorant. Cardiac is where EMTs and Medics truly make a difference.

6. My goal is to just get on the flight scene, nurse/medic whatever. My goal is to make it on, and be THE BEST.

7. You guys are so black and white. You can be both, I know people that do operate as a street medic and a nurse. There is NOTHING wrong with it. Pulling 2-24s and a 16 and 8 is very do able.

1. That depends upon the team. Specialty teams which flight do not require a Paramedic since their services require more expertise in a certain area such as ECMO, Neonatal or Pediatric.

Throughout the US other crew configurations are used. RN/RN is very popular. There are also a few RN/RT teams which do scene response.

You should also read the link posted by Esme12 about the regulations and what the Paramedic can not do by limitations in their scope of practice which is why an RN and/or RT is needed as a team member.

2. If you can't find a job with just the ADN, then the working part as an RN is a moot point.

3. No clue why you are stalling on the classes for nursing.

4. That would also depend on the service and maybe the limitations of the service. Not all HEMS are created equal especially if they only do scene response and no critical care IFT.

5.

Reading an EKG is an art- It's not just another skill comparing it to just another skill is ignorant. Cardiac is where EMTs and Medics truly make a difference.

This one you need to explain yourself. Did you know that almost 50% of the ALS trucks in the US do not do 12 lead EKGs? 12 Leads are not taught in EMT curriculums. Many in EMS view this as just another "skill". Except for doing one, what are you going to do to treat the patient. You could transmit the EKG to a physician but not all ambulances are equipped to do this.

Why is doing an EKG different than how you have perceived intubation to be? You have already done an intubation but you have only started your Paramedic class. You still have a lot to learn about intubation and intubated patients. I will argue that EKG is not an art. It does takes some education and experience to master this skill.

Early CPR makes a difference and this includes bystanders. The reason Seattle is so successful is because of the large effort to educate the public about CPR.

Do you believe that nurses who do work with EKG monitors (telemetry) and perform EKGs don't make a difference? EMTs and Paramedics are reporting their findings also directly to a physician. EMTs and Paramedics activate the cath lab only if the physician is in agreement.

6. To be the best at something you need to get experience with it. Since you were an EMT in the ER, you probably have very little ambulance time. You are torn between two professions which have very different scopes of practice and goals. You are having a difficult time separating these two in your posts. Unless you fully understand one, this blending will continue and you will have a difficult time as a newbie in both professions.

7. It is called burn out. You also don't know how many times you will be mandated to do OT on an ambulance at the end of a shift. You can not just walk away from a patient in an ambulance. This might put you with very little sleep. Mistakes at this level of responsibility (RN or Paramedic) kill patients. If you work for a very slow EMS service, the advantage is you will sleep but you also will not be getting much experience as a Paramedic.

You should listen to those who have been both even if they work as RNs.

This all might sound harsh but it is pretty obvious that you are leaning more toward EMS and are dismissing any value RNs have. Again I have to ask why you want to be an RN? You seem to not want to know what they can do and have argued they can not do it as well as an EMT or Paramedic throughout much of this discussion. Links have even been provided to show you the differences RNs make in MAINE on a flight team and the state regulations which go along with it. You again seem to be hearing only one side.

[TraumaSurfer]

I am going to give you another piece of advice. Educators and employers (present and future) browse through these forums.

Attitudes towards classmates, educators and preceptors may noted be noted. This can play a significant role in the application/interview process. Anything can be fair game in an interview for either school or work. Consider any form of social media your new "permanent record".

Since we now know information about where you work and your school, you need to remember this is a very small world. You are still doing your nursing school prerequisites which means you have not gotten accepted into the actual nursing program. Be careful of what you post on the internet. Acceptance into a nursing program is competitive and can be a difficult process especially if there are many candidates competing for only a few spots. The same process will be there at the community college level also. In fact, it might be more competitive. You have made it known you going to be very divided between two professions right from the start while you are learning both. Your attitude towards nurses is also evident although I believe that is largely due to some misinformed information you have been receiving from just one side of the equation. Nursing schools want students to be successful. I would hope Paramedics schools would want that also.

[JenRN30, BSN]

If I were you, I'd listen carefully to the advice of those who are doing, or did, what I wanted to do. Whether or not you take the advice is your choice, but calling people that are trying to help you ignorant is probably not the best decision.

[Call me sparky]

Your arrogance is going to kill someone and get you fired or worse. Trust me when I say this. I have been there! I was young and cocky and female in a male world. Paramedic training does not teach you critical thinking skills the same as nursing does. I have found out that nursing is much more than giving APAP under a doctor's nose. As a nurse, you are the absolute last defense to protect these patients and you must know what you are doing. You are right though that you can be both an RN and a paramedic. I have friends who have done it and some that still do that and others who are PA's and NP's. I will tell you a story about me. Ridicule me if you want. I learned from it though. I had a pt who had a burn to his torso and face from a fire that shifted with the wind. I put the EKG electrodes on him in the correct spots (do you know where those are?) and my supervisor said "you shouldn't have done that". I looked at him like he was nuts but he was right. Once we got to the burn unit they took off our electrodes....and the guys skin. I had caused this guy more pain. I had caused this guy a greater chance of infection. I had also made myself look like the rookie I was. You may not want to hear what these people are saying and that is fine, that is your choice BUT if you choose to come to a NURSING site and basically bash nurses and future nurses with very little knowledge of WHAT nursing is, you get what you deserve. This site has been tremendously helpful to a whole bunch of folks and one day, perhaps after you hurt someone and find yourself in hot water, you will reflect back on what was said here to you. Check out MedicTests.com on Facebook and see the questions they have posed there. How would you handle those? Whatever you decide to do, drop the cockiness and arrogance. It serves no purpose other than showing everyone here that you are insecure in your self and your decisions.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

Finish your EMT course. You obviously need the "street smarts" it will supposedly give you to know that you don't ask someone how to become what they are/have been while insulting them at the same time.

[ktliz]

2. I think that if I work part time as a medic and part time as a nurse it would suffice as me at being profiecient in two job. My original question was not asking if that is okay. It was whether or not to stick through and get my bachelors.

7. You guys are so black and white. You can be both, I know people that do operate as a street medic and a nurse. There is NOTHING wrong with it. Pulling 2-24s and a 16 and 8 is very do able.

I don't know of any ICU that will accept a new grad nurse into a part-time position. There is no way you would become a "proficient" critical care nurse in that situation. And a flight RN isn't just proficient, he/she is an EXPERT. It takes 5-7+ years of working full-time as a critical care nurse to reach the level of "expert"

Sure, there are individuals who are both RN and medic, and they may even be "experts" in both fields. However, I suggest you take a look at how they got there. It was certainly over the course of a career that spans many years--probably decades.

As previous posters have mentioned, you're not doing yourself any favors by overloading your plate at this time. Focus on kicking butt in your BSN program, since you're already halfway through. Plus, your college course load will likely get heavier as you enter upper-level courses. Once you start feeling comfortable as an RN, do the medic bridge. (Or in my state, they do PHRN, pre-hospital RN). Until then, run as an EMT-B, part-time.

I totally understand and respect your desire to be "THE BEST." I think the part that you're missing is that it takes thousands and thousands of hours to become the best. There is no point in squashing all your education in at the beginning of your career. In fact, your learning will suffer. Give yourself a couple years of practice as a critical care RN and you will benefit so much more from further education.

[fltRNKen]

As you can tell from others that have commented on your behalf reaching the level of flight nurse is a gradual road of milestones towards reaching one of the highest levels of nursing care in the profession. Focus on each milestone learning all you can during the journey. You just can't learn it all at once and expect to be at the level of competency that flight nursing demands. It can't be emphasized enough that if you have little to no patient care experience prior to obtaining your RN license you definitly need to work in a non-critical setting to build upon your basic nursing knowledge, skills, organizational and patient management skills. The real learning develops when you actually start working as a nurse. Unless you already have some EMT experience you should consider getting at least one focused year of nursing practice under your belt before adding a part time job with pre-hospital care. Set out your road map and stay the course always keep learning!!