RN to Paramedic Bridge Course

Interesting, I thought an RN was far above a Paramedic,

but wouldnt an RN who has ER and ICU experience be well qualified enough?

Hehehe...you would be surprised if new medics were hitting the streets with fewer than 10 intubations?

Medic09...you and I both know that there are programs that simply don't have access to inhospital training, so the possibility of a medic who only has experience with Fred the Head is indeed possible, albeit less so today than 16 years ago when we were all learning skills.

All great points.

I have logged a bit of time as a basic EMT. I also ski patrol at a busy mountain. I have boarded and collared people out of MVC's and various wilderness conditions- including our of streams in the winters. I teach pre-hospital assesment and packaging.

The intimidating part is advanced airway management.

hherrn

had[/b] intubated a patient, but there are a few times when I wish that I hadn't.

"Should you get a chance" ???

Please don't tell me there are ANY programs graduating medics without at least a week and ten or fifteen tubes in the OR. That's just to start getting a feel for it! Instruction under the watchful tutelage of an anesthesiologist in controlled conditions is essential to start, and needs to be repeated every year to stay sharp! Where we do yearly rotations, the docs also make sure that we're simply proficient with basic management. Good bagging technique isn't always so simple to accomplish, yet it is the most important of all our skills.

I train on mannikins for scenarios pretty often. It doesn't compare to a real airway. It doesn't look the same and it doesn't feel the same and it doesn't barf the same.

You can take short-cuts on almost any other clinicals (OB is kind of hard to get an idea without 'being there'), but a program that doesn't put students through the OR is irresponsible.

That's my .