Firefighting and Nursing

loriangel14, RN · Jan 13, 2014

I work with a woman who is both a nurse and a volunteer firefighter.She has a husband and three kids, She seems to be doing just fine. Go for it if that is what you want. She was a firefighter first then pursued nursing.

2bmedicnurse.rudy · Jan 13, 2014

Any idea on how long she was a firefighter for?

TraumaSurfer · Jan 13, 2014

Volunteer means you don't get paid. Volunteers usually have an established career or job to support themselves and still find time to do their part for the community. There are nurses, accountants, business managers and bartenders who are volunteer FFs and EMTs.

Some things to consider include:

Are there any paid FF jobs in your area?

Being a career FF and being volunteer are two very different things. As a volunteer you are afforded may more freedoms because you don't have to be there. Some don't even answer the page if the call does not sound exciting enough. This will not be an option when you work for a paid service. Some volunteer FDs even allow you to drink alcohol at the station or while on call. This will also be frowned upon when working for a paid service.

How often do they hire? Some departments only open their hiring process 1x per year and then only for a very few positions. In some departments there might be anywhere from 100 to 10,000 applicants for just a couple of FF positions. Realistically there are 1000s of applicants who also hold the Paramedic cert who don't get hired. With the popularity of so many silly hero worship TV shows, there seems to be an endless supply of applicants who are wannabe life savers.

Are there any paid Paramedic jobs for you while you are waiting for a FF opening to apply for? Many places are Fire EMS based. You might work for a private transport ambulance company and be the FF/Paramedic's b*h fetching stuff.

You also need to get a more realistic handle on the life saving thing which is more Hollywood than reality. It also makes you sound like a genuine whacker to professionals in both EMS and nursing.

But, if you can afford to go the FF route, go for it. Step aside and allow someone who really wants to be a nurse take your spot since the wait to get into RN school can be a long one. It also sounds like you don't have much of an investment tied up in nursing school.

loriangel14, RN · Jan 13, 2014

She was a firefighter for about three years.She does get paid. The "volunteer" part of the title is a misnomer. Her husband is one as well.You could pursue firefighting after you finish nursing school.

Flare, ASN, BSN · Jan 13, 2014

I've been a volunteer firefighter and a nurse for 14 years. I went through both at the same time. I literally took the NCLEX a week before I finished my firefighter 1 class. Ah - youth!! I did look into pursuing a career firefighting position, even took the exam, but was not offered any positions close enough to my house - many in my area have residency requirements before they will consider you and the ones that don't are pretty far from me and at the time were actually working in 8 hour shifts. It didn't seem worth uprooting myself for an 8 hour 5 day a week job when i was just really getting myself settled in with my nursing job. And besides - I was just as happy fighting fires as a volunteer -it's not like the fires burn hotter for the career ffs. I have served my town all the way through the ranks up through department chief and back down to black hat again and it's all just fine by me. Then a few years into nursing, I got to talking to a friend of mine who was an EMT instructor who told me that all I needed to be an EMT was the core 13 and to pass the exam - I thought "why not?" and I did that for a few years.

Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Jan 13, 2014

Are you trying to decide between nursing and firefighting or firefighting and paramedic?

There are several nurses I work with who do both: they are full time firefighter/paramedics and work PRN RN when off duty.

I was a professional firefighter prior to a career change to nursing. If that's what you want to do, then you should pursue it. I would look at the departments in your area and research what they require for testing. You have to not only possess the certifications, but also be in great physical shape to pass the PAT. It's difficult to get hired as Traumasurfer stated, but not impossible. You need perseverance to keep testing if you don't get hired right away.

Good luck!

2bmedicnurse.rudy · Jan 13, 2014

Thank you so much everyone!

Medic2RN: That nurse that you work with, how is that persons schedule like during the week?