EMT Training before Nursing School?

[chudson958]

Hi all! I'm 26 and a CNA who recently went from working full time in LTC and PRN at a hospital to working as a Residential Tech in assisted living (a huge and welcome difference for now,the clients I have are almost fully independent and just require cooking assistance and help with money management) for 2 24 hour shifts a week. I have monday-friday off now,and while I've always wanted to go to nursing school my gpa from when I did attend college is pretty abysmal thanks to various dumb decisions in my youth. I will not be able to start school full time until next fall,in the meantime I feel like I'm wasting the time I have free during the week and I really don't like the idea of picking up another job for now unless I have to. There's an EMT school about an hour away from me offering a night program a couple of days a week,would it be a good idea to complete the program in the meantime and possibly work part-time/volunteer as an EMT until I get the ball rolling on an ADN program/work while I'm in school in that field? I don't want to necessarily take the EMT/Paramedic career path at this moment,but I feel like it would help to keep my direct care senses a little more sharp and help me be less petrified when it comes time for clinicals.

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

Do you live in an area where you can volunteer? If you have volunteer fire departments, some will pay for EMT school. As for working as an EMT, it's kind of overrated. It looks good if you want to get into an ER as an ER tech though.

[AliNajaCat]

Hi all! I'm 26 and a CNA who recently went from working full time in LTC and PRN at a hospital to working as a Residential Tech in assisted living (a huge and welcome difference for now,the clients I have are almost fully independent and just require cooking assistance and help with money management) for 2 24 hour shifts a week. I have monday-friday off now,and while I've always wanted to go to nursing school my gpa from when I did attend college is pretty abysmal thanks to various dumb decisions in my youth. I will not be able to start school full time until next fall,in the meantime I feel like I'm wasting the time I have free during the week and I really don't like the idea of picking up another job for now unless I have to. There's an EMT school about an hour away from me offering a night program a couple of days a week,would it be a good idea to complete the program in the meantime and possibly work part-time/volunteer as an EMT until I get the ball rolling on an ADN program/work while I'm in school in that field? I don't want to necessarily take the EMT/Paramedic career path at this moment,but I feel like it would help to keep my direct care senses a little more sharp and help me be less petrified when it comes time for clinicals.

You will not get useful "direct patient care experience" in this. EMT and RN are completely different career paths. You would be much better advised to spend that time knocking down (and acing) a couple of your nursing school prerequisites at a local community college or evening program at a university. This might also help the admissions deciders see you are no longer the same person who screwed around in college before you grew up. Ask at the academic advising office at a couple of your target nursing programs about what would be accepted in transfer.