What else?

[exit96]

I love my new position in the ED! Just did my ACLS yesterday, it was a great class, and it has me fired up to dig in more. I have my associates RN. The training facility that I did ACLS at trains medics. They were excellent instructors, and I am now wondering if there is a path I can take as an RN to do EMT work and possibly move on to Paramedic???? Or whether this is even a good move. My thinking was that that may be the only way I can get experience incubating and some other things...no disrespect intended, but I don't believe that going through all the EMT classes would be advantageous, but may be required to get that cert and Licensure...

[exit96]

Lol!!!....I would actually like to intubate, NOT incubate

[Aliakey]

There's been a few threads in the past about an RN to EMT or paramedic... unfortunately, I remember at least one getting kind of debated badly enough that I stopped reading. I hope this one doesn't go that way.

I am a paramedic and an RN (paramedic earned first). I love the EMS side of the world, and yes, you'll have an abundance of knowledge as an emergency department RN that would be redundant in a lot of material covered by lecture. However, in all honesty, there are some things that cannot be taught by a lecturer or by books. The ambulance rotations are important, and on the paramedic level in our area, require many hours of your unpaid time (at LEAST 240 hours for our college). ACLS can be a beautiful sight in a hospital setting; it gets a little less perfect when working a cardiac arrest in a roach-infested crowded hotel room surrounded by burnt spoons, well-intentioned police yelling at the crazed meth-head, other "friends" getting in the way or adding to the chaos, poor lighting, intubating on that nasty floor with a cervical collar in place, and so on. On wrecks, I love having nurses on a scene if they happened to be a bystander when the wreck occurred and offer help, but like other bystanders on scene, their safety must be monitored. It's a bit of a different world.

We have RNs in our area that need to at least earn their EMT-Basic (and preferably their paramedic) in order to work on a flight service, since they are considered as "air ambulances". Some really scoffed at the clinical requirements initially, but then after completing their hours noted that they saw it in a whole new light.

Clinicals aside, you'll also have to consider the state's educational requirements as well as National Registry's, if your state uses it for initial and/or continued certification. The National Registry (NREMT-P) exam for the paramedic level is not easy; in my opinion, it was more challenging than the NCLEX-RN. I renew my NREMT-P by taking the exam every two years (you have other options as well, such as 48 hours of a refresher course, etc. instead of the exam), and that tacks on over $100 in test fees alone to my expenses. That doesn't include the state recertification fees I also have to pay every four years in addition to the exam fees. Also consider that you'll need to earn Continuing Education to maintain your EMT certification or licensure, which may be independent of your RN continuing education courses. However, we have a number of conferences that allow you to earn both in our area, which makes it easier. And finally, Liability Insurance. As a paramedic with no dings on my record, I paid HPSO $170 per year for coverage. As an RN and Paramedic, I now nearly double that payment to cover both professions.

Not trying to scare you off from pursuing certification or licensure in the EMT field, but just wanted to shed some light on why I feel some areas of the education should never be shortchanged and also the extra financial and time obligations you'll incur with this profession, whether you're working as an EMT/paramedic or not.

Hope it helps!

[exit96]

Nice reply, useful. THANK YOU! Lots to think about :-)