EMT Training ?

I think gaining experience as an EMT before being a nurse is a plus point to your resume.

Right now, I am beginning work with American Medical Response as an EMT Basic here in Alabama and I am also a newly Registered Nurse (Just a week ago) fielding applications to different hospitals in California.

Are you already an EMT trying to become an RN?

I'm an EMT and nursing student - I can tell you that no training is wasted training as far as that goes - but as far as the experience you will get - that will depend entirely on what sort of EMS system is in your area that you get involved with. In many areas, they run ALS trucks - translation - the paramedic gets all the "good calls" - the very sick and injured patient - as an EMT Basic or even EMT-IV / Intermediate, you will be driving the ambulance while the paramedic works with the patient. Yes, you get to help in the on-scene prep and assessment but the sicker and more injured they are, the less you do.

Also some areas ONLY run a double paramedic truck so you will be stuck on transport EMS - take grandma to dialysis and back to her nursing home. Not much experience points there.

EMT school is not a brush off school either - not as involved as nursing to be sure, but you have to do "clinicals" of a sort - ride times in the truck and sometimes in the ER - so be sure you can handle class time, study time and ride times along with nursing school times and clinicals.

A lot of EMS folks work 12-hour shifts and many PRN positions require a certain number of shifts per week - its rare (but possible) to find a place that will let you volunteer on your own schedule.

If you are flat new to the field but want to jump in and especially like the emergency scene, another option would be to get a First Responder class (that's about 40 hours or so depending on the program) and then hook up with a rescue squad or fire department so that you can sprint out with them on the scene - you can help with the initial assessment/interventions until EMS gets there - less time for you to commit but still the opportunity to be exposed to different situations. They are usually more forgiving and flexible with hours plus if you hook up with them, you are part of their team and get exposed to other areas of training.

I'm not saying EMT/EMS isn't a good experience builder - it is but I was lucky to be one well BEFORE I started NS - remembering what it was like to be a new EMT and now a new NS I'm not sure that blending the two at the onset is the best way to go about getting your experience.

Thanks for the replies Gran and MisHart.

Didn't consider the First Responder, but I will look into this. My Uncle just retired as the Capt of the Fire Dept, so I am sure he can help get me in there.

I am a career changer. I am due to submit my application for the Nursing program (ASN) in October. I live in NJ and have been in the financial industry for a little over 16yrs. So this will be my second degree. I have 2 Psy courses and 1 Chem course left to satisfy. But I am getting a little anxious and saw that the EMT training programs are like 2-3months....and I am thinking about giving this a shot.

A friend that is a LPN suggested CNA over the EMT......but I like the more critical care environment......and EMT seems a little more of the direction I wanted to pursue.

I did my EMT-B, but never really did anything with it. Really enjoyed the training, which sort of lead me to nursing! The material you cover in the EMT training will assist you as a nurse. More hands on training the better. Just don't be on of those Nursing students, when asking a questions,they say" well in my EMT training, or as an EMT we.do it this way......." We have 1 gal in our class that constantly does that, its very annoying,lol

also some areas only run a double paramedic truck so you will be stuck on transport ems - take grandma to dialysis and back to her nursing home. not much experience points there.

don't be so quick to discount those "taking grandma to dialysis" trips. i can tell you that i did non emergency transport for 6 years. the experience in assessing patients and being able to interact with people is invaluable. it may not be a medical emergency, but those patients are being transported by ambulance for a reason. things still can go wrong.

being an emt for 10 years total has helped me as a new nurse. my preceptors have told me that i have much more confidence in doing skills-type things and in communicating with/being able to understand my patients. i would not have traded my years on the ambulance for anything and in fact still volunteer in my community.

if it is something you decide to do you will not regret it.

DaddyO - you are a little further out from starting than I had assumed - thought you wanted to start both programs at the very same time - so absolutely it might make sense to do the EMT training - uncle with FD?!? Man you will be in like Flynn - but depending if Fire rolls on medical calls, FR may be all you need.

Yes, CNA is more applicable for traditional floor nursing but check out local hospitals to see if they have ER techs - sometimes they use CNA's in the ER - sometimes they use EMT's as the ER techs so that could be an awesome opportunity, too.

You are welcome bro.

If you would also prefer being a paramedic too before entering the nursing degree, they will offer you a paramedic-to-nursing bridge program...just check out in your area if there schools offering it...and take note also what kind of nursing you wanna do...BSN, AAS, LPN-to-RN? or what? The bottom line is that whatever health-related programs you do before nursing, these will surely help you a lot. But if you prefer doing both the Nursing and EMT program at the same time, you should balance your time well. I suggest you do the EMT program first so that you can gradually build up your knowledge. Okay?

Good luck and I hope you could follow us into the EMT and Nursing profession. My thoughts are with you.

you are very quick to discount those "taking grandma to dialysis" trips. i can tell you that i did non emergency transport for 6 years. the experience in assessing patients and being able to interact with people is invaluable.

i understand what you are saying - didn't mean to dis non emergency transport - but having spent a couple years in both transport and running 911, there is a huge difference - i was just advising op to check out what he might be getting into - not all ems services are alike - i know a lot of emt's who thought they were going to be the siren blazin' life savin' road warriors be quickly burned out after a 12 hour shift with 30+ transports. i had many friends though who just loved their "regulars" and had wonderful rapports with their patients and couldn't imagine working 911.

it probably didn't help that our non-emergent transport gigs were at the longest, maybe 5 miles door to door and often - i mean often literally across a driveway (it honestly would have been quicker to just freakin' push the patient across the driveway in the stretcher rather than load them up and drive 100 ft!) not a whole heckofalotov opportunity for assessments, there!! :chuckle

Wow....and thanks for ALL the replies. Definitely got more info than I was expecting and the post is not even 2hrs old.

Granola, Mishart, Flames, Jenny.....thanks to you all. Can I ask why did you even consider the EMT route.........was it to also gain exposure before going further ? One person told me they wanted to consider CRNA.....and thought the critcal care exposure/experience would be helpful.

Flames,

Why haven't you done anything with your EMT ? Little Opportunities in your area...or just to busy ?

If you have ANY more suggestions, comments or things for me to consider....Please let me know.

I ran on two services for a year and half while in college for my first degree. I LOVED it. It's actually what made me decide to pursue nursing.

Most of our calls were for university kids with the flu, or abdominal pains, or who broke their nose/arm etc. playing sports or falling on our ever-present ice. But in those 100+ calls I also experienced a cardiac arrest and a broken back from a fall, both of whom only survived bc we were there.

We were a basic crew with one intermediate who came sometimes, but we called medics when we needed them (ie. the cardiac arrest). The training was invaluable; sometimes just observing others work was invaluable. By the time I graduated I was fully comfortable running calls with teams that were just me and a couple brand new EMTs.

I say go for it. :)

I only WISH that I had thought to go for my EMT or CNA while I was waiting to get into NS. Now it is kind of too late for me to do either because I won't have the time necessary. I think go for it!

Wow....and thanks for ALL the replies. Definitely got more info than I was expecting and the post is not even 2hrs old.

Granola, Mishart, Flames, Jenny.....thanks to you all. Can I ask why did you even consider the EMT route.........was it to also gain exposure before going further ? One person told me they wanted to consider CRNA.....and thought the critcal care exposure/experience would be helpful.

Flames,

Why haven't you done anything with your EMT ? Little Opportunities in your area...or just to busy ?

If you have ANY more suggestions, comments or things for me to consider....Please let me know.

I came to the USA from Canada (to be with my wife) I spent nearly 15 yrs in the Canadian Armed Forces. So I was starting at square 1! I took the EMT B program more or less because I always enjoyed the First Aid training,lol Part of the EMT-B rotation was at a few hospitals, where I got to see first hand what nurses did and found that interesting, so thats how I switched plans from going the Paramedic route to the RN route!

So why not do something with my Emt-B? Mainly because I focused on going back to school to do my pre-reqs and any of the other nursing courses I could complete, thus now all I have is the nursing courses! AND i didn't feel like running Bingos!! Some of the other students did the voluntary EMT thing, and many of them didnt actually get to do much training! The new people ran the Bingos,lol At first i asked BINGO?? Like in the game, they said yep!! I'm sorry, but Im far too old to be doing Bingos,lol I realize these services have to be paid for, but I think that $$$ should come from the govt, but thats just me!! Dont get me wrong I like to volunteer and have and still do!! Another reason for the RN route was there are far more jobs and the job is very portable.

I say go for the EMT program, its a blast. Our program had a fair bit of hands on time and our instructor was gung ho!! And like others have stated, if you do become a full fledged paramedic, some schools offer a bridge program--Paramedic to RN. If not, you have learned some very valuable skills, both hands on and theory!! Body functions remain the same,lol