Not a CNA or EMT....can i still be a good nurse?

[Gannon1qb]

Hello all....I keep thinking that becasue im not a CNA or im not an EMT that i will not do good in nursing school or be a good nurse when im out.

For some reason im thinking that i have to be a CNA first..i dotn know why. I do work in a nursing home but not as a CNA. I order and stock all of the medical supplies, i do some transporting, & i do some medical billing. But i feel like i should be a CNA or EMT before i enter nursing school. Is this true?

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Hello all....I keep thinking that becasue im not a CNA or im not an EMT that i will not do good in nursing school or be a good nurse when im out.

For some reason im thinking that i have to be a CNA first..i dotn know why. I do work in a nursing home but not as a CNA. I order and stock all of the medical supplies, i do some transporting, & i do some medical billing. But i feel like i should be a CNA or EMT before i enter nursing school. Is this true?

Nope - it is not necessary. There are many here who went straight into the nursing program with no medical experience. Including me.

You will be fine.

I'd focus on becoming a nurse. Good luck!

steph

[webguy]

Hi,

CNA is better than EMT and both courses are small duration courses.

that will really help you in getting jobs. BS nursing is another good option for you. You can visit following websites for more information and job related options:

Wyoming Board of Nursing

Hospital Nursing Jobs

[mom24boys]

Hi,

CNA is better than EMT and both courses are small duration courses.

that will really help you in getting jobs. BS nursing is another good option for you. You can visit following websites for more information and job related options:

Wyoming Board of Nursing

Hospital Nursing Jobs

While I do not feel that you need to be an EMT or a CNA to make a good nurse, I do not agree with the poster above that says a CNA is better than an EMT. An EMT course is longer by a few months and the pay is about $2-3 an hour higher where I live. We cant live w/o either and neither one is better.

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

While I do not feel that you need to be an EMT or a CNA to make a good nurse, I do not agree with the poster above that says a CNA is better than an EMT. An EMT course is longer by a few months and the pay is about $2-3 an hour higher where I live. We cant live w/o either and neither one is better.

I agree that neither is better than the other, just different.

CNA - learn (upclose & personal) about ADL's, see how RN's work, know how the floor functions, have consistent pt interaction, check vitals, knows when abnormal and notifies RN. Class is 1 month.

EMT (B - basic level) - have foundation of A&P, assess (emergent not urgent) and perform interventions at BCLS level, check vitals, knows when abnormal and perform in-scope interventions, gets experience talking to and managing pt in stressful situations, gets experience working with other medical professionals (EMT-P, RN, MD) in stressful situations, learns about prioritization (again emergent not urgent), does documentation (you didn't document it, you didn't do it). Class is 3 months.

Again, neither is better than the other. Just different jobs.

And no, you don't have to be a CNA or EMT to be a good nurse.

[neenja]

why would you "have to" be a cna first to do well? i almost took a cna class a couple semesters ago. the syllabus said it was stuff like washing hands, vital signs, making beds, bathing, stuff like that. no offense to cnas but this is not the stuff of rocket science. needless to say i dropped the class. i heard the first few weeks of nursing school covers this stuff anyway. but i guess it might be good practice for pt interaction and routine stuff like bedmaking, as well as observing nurses at work. i havent started nursing school yet but i'm not at all worried about my lack of cna experience.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I worked in a Pizza Hut prior to nursing school. Nursing school taught me everything I needed to know.

Good luck.