Help!! I have some questions about Excelsior!!!

moomoo111 · Jul 23, 2008

I don't know much about Excelsior but I am a former Paramedic with critical care experience for almost 15 years. I have worked with several services, 911, private, you name it. I have worked in big cities and small rural cities. I have seen just about everything and have been faced with some very difficult things in the middle of nowhere with no time to work with. I worked with a private service that had critical care paramedics for interfacility transports, mainly the ones that couldn't be flown for various reasons. Obesity, criteria, weather, ect. I worked with two services that had critical care units that were huge ambulances with everything including a balloon heart pump. I have transported patients from hospitals that had patients in cath labs that didn't have equipment to do surgery and had to be rushed to one that could handle the surgery. I can't count how many patients I took straight from cath labs to OR. I've had patients with critical trauma, cardiac, peds, ect. I've had patients that had so many drips hanging that were over two hour drives. I'm just giving you an idea of my experiences as a Paramedic before I get to my point. I am now two weeks away from taking boards for my LPN. I am going to transfer to another school to finish my RN and I eventually want to work in critical care again. But, here's the clicker. With all that experience and all that I have seen, nursing is totally different. I could have challenged the LPN here in my state as paramedic and probably passed the boards, but, the experience in working as a nurse is totally different. I would not suggest testing out on any of the classes. Take them all and get the instruction. It is not the same. Did you know that on one of my cardiac exams, about 3 of my questions were wrong because I answered them as I was working in the field. Example, patient who is having breathing problems and going down the tube fast. What is the first intervention? You would think Airway, right? Wrong. Give them 02? wrong, the answer was Get ABG's! Now in the real world, I'm gonna protect that airway, get some 02 on them, call respiratory, then get the labs. It's just a different world in nursing. I know many, many paramedics who have used Excelsior and they are great nurses so the school I think would be good. yep it's expensive but that way you don't have to worry about being in the classroom and they are highly recommended and are accepted in most states. When you start doing clinicals, you will see how it is different. Don't let that sway you away from it. I do know a lot of Paramedics who got their BSN's and then went right back to EMS. They didn't like the slower paced environment. I was ready for a change. I loved the fast work in the field and I saw so many diseases and conditions and critical things that most 911 medics never have exposure to. I worked with a private service, Rural Metro, that started critical care paramedic in our state as a pilot program and it grew. I didn't want to fly because I'm scared of heights and I saw two very close friends die in helicopters. I worked for two services that had critical care ambulances and one of them had a NICU transport ambulance and I worked with many of those patients too. So, you might think you have seen it all, and maybe you have, it's just a different thing in nursing. Don't rush through it, take your time and learn it. I love nursing and I love being a Paramedic, but I love nursing more. I like having more time with my patients and seeing their outcome. In EMS, you load, work, go, drop them off and don't see the rest of the process of getting them well. It's a neat thing. Good luck to you. :yeah:

Pmdc · Jul 24, 2008

FlightMedic2RN:

I sent you a PM with more detail than this post. I highly recommend EC. If you are comfortable with your clinical skills, then you'll be fine. You will learn something new every day. When I started my hospital orientation with all of the other new grads, I felt that I was ahead of them in most all areas. Many other EC grads that I know felt the same way.

I have been a paramedic for 20 years, and a RN for three. I am about to finish my BSN and have already applied to graduate school (both traditional schools) for the MSN-NP. I don't regret going the EC route one bit.