Nurse to Firefighter

[McStudMuffin]

Hello all!

I have a question about becoming a firefighter after nursing school. Prior to going to school I worked as an EMT-B. I'm going into my third semester of nursing school and while I like it, I would like to work as both a nurse and firefighter when I'm done. My plan is to work my into ER nursing, start volunteering at a fire department, obtain my EMT-P, then continue to work full time as a nurse until I eventually get hired on as a career firefighter (I know is crazy competitive). I know it sounds crazy. Why go to nursing school in the first place right? Well as it turns out I do like nursing, but I like firefighting/EMS more. Eventually I'd like to do full time firefighter and part-time nursing. Does that sound like it might work? Any advice from anybody about how to go about this?

[FiremedicMike, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

_firely said:

Working in hospital nursing part time is, in my experience, extremely difficult and typically reserved for those semi-retiring nurses. Hospitals want to ensure nurses are available and specifically available two weekends a month. Since firefighters are called out of town to assist with out of town fires, or expected to work overtime when there are shortages, this seems like a nearly impossible juggling act to do both. Also, that is a lot of time and money dedicated to getting an RN just to vary your experiences or have more options. I think most firefighters just opt to work overtime for the big money, rather then get regular pay at a second job. Another strange fact that perhaps others can verify is that it seems that the experienced firefighters no longer are hands-on with medical calls. They may go to the calls, but they act as backup support for the younger medics. 

I can't really speak for the floors, but I think more than half of the ED nurses in my department are part-time.  Gives them the flexibility to pick up extra shifts or not depending on their schedule.

I'm super part-time, scheduled 2 days per pay, but I pick up a third because there's an incentive program to do so which pays $500 bonus on top of hourly wage.

There are not a lot of us full time firefighters working part time in nursing but my perspective on nursing vs overtime is this

1. The overall steady income of my nursing job is SIGNIFICANTLY higher than the sporadic income from overtime.

2. Spending too much time in the firehouse can lead to burn out.  I'd rather do something different on my off days.

[Tt_]

AnnieOaklyRN said:

Hi,

I know of a handful of nurses that are also FFs! It does work because as a FF you can work 24 hour shifts, depending on the department of course. Give it a try.

I work full time as a medic on a 911 truck, I work two 24 hour shifts a week and one 8 hour nursing shift a week. I am finishing my BSN and will possible switch that around if I can get a job in a NICU. I love the ambulance though, it is a blast!

Oh and I love the screen name ?

Good luck!

HPRN

This is old but I think this is amazing.. did you you ever finish these 2 careers

[ERArmyRNND]

Tt_ said:

This is old but I think this is amazing.. did you you ever finish these 2 careers

Hi, thanks for the response. I got relicensed as an EMT and I'm looking to do an RN to Paramedic program soon and then wil apply to Fire. 

[ERArmyRNND]

FiremedicMike said:

What department has that DREAM schedule??????

everyone here is 24/48, a few have Kelly days.. 

Thanks for the info and advice. I'm in the Army Nat Guard. Do they give points for current military or just veterans? 

[Tt_]

ERArmyRNND said:

Hi, thanks for the response. I got relicensed as an EMT and I'm looking to do an RN to Paramedic program soon and then wil apply to Fire. 

You are so inspiring and amazing