Paramedic Vs Registered Nurse: knowledge

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It seems that Most paramedics or at least many of the ones I have encountered feel they are more competent in knowledge and procedures when compared to RNs. I'm not trying to start a war here, but who do you think has more medical knowledge? I feel and think RNs do but why do some medics feel this way?

Specializes in Emergency, pediatrics.

Was this post revived from the dead? I see a date back to January. I would like to comment because I am both, but don't know if the person asking got his answer already half a year ago😁pls advise?

Specializes in Telemetry.

Actually the OP is from 2010. This is like a zombie thread that just keeps coming back. :)

Specializes in Emergency, pediatrics.

Hahaha thanks

Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

The topic is still valid 5 years later, but some of the comments were very disrespectful and unnecessary.

The thread can remain open only if the discussion abides by TOS regarding friendly debate. Otherwise, we will have no choice but to close the thread.

Carry on ...

I am a paramedic and a Registered Nurse . Being a paramedic helped you understand nursing better but nurses know a lot more than a paramedic . Paramedics think they know a lot but the reality is that they have no clue on how to take care of a patient. All they know is how to put patients on a scretcher, start an IV , apply O2 and transport . You ask them what a beta blocker is or an ace inhibitor they do not have a clue on what the medication is and how it works . Paramedics like to think that they know more just because they are out on the street but all they know is transport. I am a paramedic and I can say that . As a matter of fact , I would tell people to not be paramedics , be a nurse instead . It's is a much better profession and a lot more respectable .

I dont know what kind of paramedic class you took but I'm sorry you are wrong. I'm expected to know the drug, the class it falls under the doses for adult and peds, indications, contraindications, adverse reactions, other names that drug goes by and the mechanism of action. In my class we are expected to know a heck of a lot more than getting the patient on the stretcher, starting and IV and giving O2.

Like everyone has said nursing and paramedic is not something you can compare they both have their areas where they will know more than one another but neither job is beneath the other.

I worked as a RN for 23 years and frequently was told by EMT persons and even EDT students on my unit to work a "clinical" who told me the same thing. I politely informed them that they had this attitude because they did not know all of the things an RN was responsible to know. I don't think than an EMT tech has even 1/100 the knowledge that a competent medical surgical RN with 5 years of experience knows.

One time I was working as a Charge RN on a psych. unit in a hospital that had no ER or med. Surg. units. I called the paramedics and ordered the Hospital doctor up to see the patient that was brought by ambulance to be admitted to my unit. by ambulance who was conscious but very grey in color. The doctor arrived first, ordered an EKG, and determined that the patient was in the middle of a myocardial infarction! When the paramedics arrived, they would not listen to me or the doctor and would not look at the EKG strip that we had run. They also had trouble getting their own EKG and spent a long time at that. Finally they accepted that the man was having an M.I. and transferred to the ER of an acute care hospital and I'm glad that the patient didn't die while the EMT's delayed his transfer to where the patient needed to be. This is only one illustration of what I have seen numerous times.

First it was not right of students to act like they are better than a nurse, they are students have a lot to learn. I agree an EMT dosent have the same amount of knowledge as a nurse but a nurse also has more school. But I do not think nurses are better or smarter than EMTs or paramedics.

As as for the incident you described can we clarify did EMTs show up or paramedics because you changed it from paramedics in the middle of the story to EMTs at the end. If EMTs showed up they are not taught how to do 12 leads or to read EKGs.

Also i so I think we can all agree there are some bad medics AND some bad nurses out there so it is unfair to judge medics as a whole based one or a few incidents.

at the end of the day there is not better or smarter when it comes to nurse Vs EMT/ medics.

Nurses are under doctor's orders

Common misconception, which you will learn when you get into the meat of your NURSING education. Nurses are obligated by law and licensure to implement parts of the medical plan of care (not all of it-- think therapy, dietary, lab, diagnostics, surgery...). We are also obligated by law and licensure NOT to implement any physician prescription (mmmm, we don't like to see a whole new generation internalizing that archaic term "orders," because we are soooo not in the military) that we know would be harmful.

Furthermore, the very largest part of what we do, in every patient-related situation, is autonomously nursing's purview. It does not depend on or need approval by a physician because the nursing plan of care is based on nursing assessment (compare to physical therapy assessment and plan of care, nutritionist assessment and plan of care, speech-language assessment and plan of care...).

This is a hard concept for many students and other non-nurses, and even some RNs, to wrap their heads around. Doing so, however, confers an understanding of the great power we would be giving up if we don't.

Specializes in Emergency, pediatrics.

I didn't want to comment on an old post, but since I already opened a can of worms I guess here it goes...as a paramedic in the fire dept we are responsible for finding problems and reacting to such. I have done intubations, central lines, chest tubes, thoracitomy, a needle decompression, intraosseous access, and just did my first tracheostomy(was awesome by the way). As a nurse I feel the care is more long term care and monitoring then reporting it to the puppet master but does require a DIFFERENT education than the paramedic, one that the paramedic does not acquire. In all, my nursing education was very detailed and broad from maternity to psych then Ned/rug and pretty hard( 7/10). In the contrary my paramedic focused on the medical side(yes a lot less than my nursing) but focused a lot more on emergency procedures and independency on self decisions. Unlike my nursing, the paramedic consist a national registry which is like NCLEX which seemed harder, but for our skills portion you have a state health department wiz testing you on those skills, something I didn't do with my RN. Guys, they are different animals and are incomparable. I hear more as a paramedic " oh you saved my dad" compared to what I hear as a nurse " you took care of my dad".

Oh boy - you are opening an old can of worms. Probably don't want to go there - lol.

Ok from my opinion: (I'm an advanced practice nurse with 10 years as an RN in a level one trauma center. I'm also a volunteer pre-hospital RN on my rural fire dept for over 11 years)

They know two separate knowledge bases:

1. The medic on the streets knows who is sick, what to do (per protocol) and when to do it. They make short work of pt care because they are there for care and TRANSPORT, not to definitively treat.

2. RNs have a more in-depth knowledge base that allows them to do a more thorough assessment. They have more knowledge of meds/vents/technical aspects of medical care. They are also more concerned with long term care of the pt.

Both are equal and needed - one is not higher/lower/in-between, etc...

I agree, I think both are important, Im in respiratory therapy school and Im always impressed with the knowledge I see coming from both paramedics and nurses when I work at clinicals. I hear much talk about how nurses and RRT don't get along, I haven't come across that as of yet. I do think its funny when I hear that RRT do nothing but breathing treatments. We specialize in depth with vents and pulmonary and have been educated not just in respiratory medication but most emergency medicine drugs that I've seen in codes so far along with ekg different types of pathology and much more. I guess it comes down to we all have to be a team player and its all about the patient, not who knows more than someone. Oh one more thing in my opinion we should never assume what one knows because of a title, sometimes one can be more erudite than we think, with all the teachings and resources, books and so on, on the internet highway.

I am a paramedic and a Registered Nurse . Being a paramedic helped you understand nursing better but nurses know a lot more than a paramedic . Paramedics think they know a lot but the reality is that they have no clue on how to take care of a patient. All they know is how to put patients on a scretcher, start an IV , apply O2 and transport . You ask them what a beta blocker is or an ace inhibitor they do not have a clue on what the medication is and how it works . Paramedics like to think that they know more just because they are out on the street but all they know is transport. I am a paramedic and I can say that . As a matter of fact , I would tell people to not be paramedics , be a nurse instead . It's is a much better profession and a lot more respectable .

It sounds like you was an EMT-B. Anybody who has taken pharmacology can tell you what a beta blocker is. You can't be a paramedic and not know what a beta blocker is. I wouldn't expect an EMT-B to know what it is because they don't give very many drugs. However, the paramedic gives many drugs I.V, and some of them are cardiac drugs. In fact, they have almost every drug that's used in the ER on their trucks and work in a fraction of the space and an even smaller fraction of staff to patient. Paramedics are more knowledgable in emergency care than any other health-care professional outside of doctors/PAs/NPs who specializes in that area. The real downside to being a medic vs an RN is that nurses make more money and they work in a more comfortable environment. I personally would be a nurse if I wasn't a male (too much stigma attached to male nursing for me, people automatically assume you are gay or bi, and I don't like dealing with that.) Plus, I don't like taking orders and waiting to be told what to do or answering to others. I like to just be able to figure it all out on my own and go from there.

I got an email that someone posted in this thread. It made me laugh that this posted was going on so I decided to make another comment. I am now further into my nursing education and will to be graduating soon (I tell that to myself to make me feel better). This ongoing battle of RN vs Medics and who is better is ridiculous. I still maintain my paramedic license as it is still my passion. My knowledge as a paramedic has put me a head of my peers and I am constantly being told by my clinical instructors that I have quick critical thinking skills. I have yet to see the disparity or gap in my lack of knowledge as a paramedic when I study for my nursing exams. My nursing education has padded my past clinical knowledge and made it stronger. I have a newfound respect for some of the struggles that RN face. When I gain my license, I will show respect for both sides of the fence and the struggles they face. The difference in the profession is the way nurses and paramedics approach care

Sorry for the rambling lol.

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