Paramedic Experience beneficial?

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Hi everyone!  Brand-new to the forum, but hoping I could get some input as I'm just starting a medical journey.

I have a tendency to write novels when asking questions, so here's the short question and I can elaborate on personal/professional context need be: if I get certified and work as a paramedic while attending an RN program, will that experience be beneficial once I start applying for nursing positions?  Obviously they are not the same job, but will the patient interaction experience and limited procedural/assessment skills assist me in a nursing future?

Thanks in advance for the help.  I'm trying to figure out my best academic/career track for the next few years of life.

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Edit/Addition: Sorry if I posted in the wrong forum thread.  Like I said, brand-new and just trying my best to find some information.

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Specializes in Retired.
24 minutes ago, Michael Cook said:

Edit/Addition: Sorry if I posted in the wrong forum thread.  Like I said, brand-new and just trying my best to find some information.

You are in the right forum.  Don't waste your time and effort on taking a paramedic course if your end want is an RN.  They are substantially different.  If you have money to spare, spend it on a BSN so you won't have to go back to school as soon as you start working as an RN. 

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Honestly I want the medic, but it's been an ongoing butting-of-heads between my wife and me.  I want the medic because I want to be out in the community helping people during their emergencies be them large or small (Wife thinks this is a naïve rose-colored-glasses view of the profession on my part).  She wants nursing for the higher earning/income potential and lateral & upward mobility; not be a "glorified taxi driver".  I guess I'm trying to find a way we can both get what we want out of the situation.  

While understanding that it's a lofty, long-term goal, my internet searching has me thinking that flight nurse might be a rational aspiration to make us both happy.  My thought process was that getting some experience in EMS could be beneficial to that in the long-run.

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In some states you can also be a PHRN (pre-hospital RN).

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Specializes in ER, Pre-Op, PACU.

I was a paramedic before I became a nurse. It was invaluable experience. However, at the time I never thought I would go into nursing. I sort of “fell” into it and have been there ever since. It’s two very different trains of thought, but helped me a great deal in the transition from paramedic to new grad ER nurse. I still keep my paramedic cert (inactive) up to date because I worked hard for it - just like I did my RN license.

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

I think that almost any experience in the healthcare field will be of some benefit to people that become nurses. If nothing else, the medics are great at placing IVs, not a skill that most learn in nursing school. (Nine years into my career it's probably still my weakest area of nursing) As someone that came from a non-nursing field into nursing at al older age, I recommend any experience to gain a level of comfort with patient care. That will help you immensely when starting clinicals. If it's going to derail your nursing plans it might not be worth it, but if you're starting out and still considering options, I don't think there's a big reason not to pursue it. Good luck!

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17 minutes ago, speedynurse said:

I was a paramedic before I became a nurse. It was invaluable experience. However, at the time I never thought I would go into nursing. I sort of “fell” into it and have been there ever since. It’s two very different trains of thought, but helped me a great deal in the transition from paramedic to new grad ER nurse. I still keep my paramedic cert (inactive) up to date because I worked hard for it - just like I did my RN license.

Not to pick-and-choose the answers I want to hear, but this makes me feel better.  I see here you listed an ADN.  Most of what I read online is saying that BSN is becoming the new standard.  Has an ADN prevented you from anything you've wanted to do?  (As a side note: I have an AA, BA, and MA already; a nurse during my EMT clinical told me that those degrees in conjunction with any nursing associate's would be more than enough to get me in the door).

4 minutes ago, JBMmom said:

I think that almost any experience in the healthcare field will be of some benefit to people that become nurses. If nothing else, the medics are great at placing IVs, not a skill that most learn in nursing school. (Nine years into my career it's probably still my weakest area of nursing) As someone that came from a non-nursing field into nursing at al older age, I recommend any experience to gain a level of comfort with patient care. That will help you immensely when starting clinicals. If it's going to derail your nursing plans it might not be worth it, but if you're starting out and still considering options, I don't think there's a big reason not to pursue it. Good luck!

Thank you, especially as I am an older student myself (relatively speaking; don't feel old yet ?).  As far as what I've planned, the paramedic wouldn't really derail nursing school more than a semester since I messed up completing my final nursing pre-req's anyway.  My original plan was to do an accelerated BSN during 2022, but my university only admits once cycle per year and I'm not eligible for this upcoming cohort.  I could finish the prereq's and start at the community college next fall, but my thought was that by postponing for one semester and completing the paramedic I could have a decent job gaining medical experience while in nursing school.  Could I ask for any follow-up thoughts you have to that?

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.
1 minute ago, Michael Cook said:

I could have a decent job gaining medical experience while in nursing school.  Could I ask for any follow-up thoughts you have to that?

Students in my class that worked in the medical field had an easier time maintaining employment while in school because of the potential for flexible schedules. I think your plan sounds quite reasonable. I know that I worked 40 hours a week all through my ADN program (I had a very flexible non-medical field job).

I saw your other question about ADN vs BSN. I came into the field with another BS and MS, so I went from ADN to MSN. There were a couple hospitals I was ineligible to apply because I didn't already hold my MSN (or BSN), but most of the hospitals in my area will accept ADN students with the understanding that they will complete a BSN within five years. 

Good luck!

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Specializes in Emergency Room, CEN, TCRN.

Beneficial if you did an paramedic to RN bridge program. Some skills transfer over to the ER but paramedicine and in pt nursing have very different priorities and workflow

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Specializes in ER, Pre-Op, PACU.

No it hasn’t prevented me from jobs at all. I have undergrad and grad degrees, but am required to get a BSN at the facility I am at. I am taking my time taking the classes. Most facilities do require a BSN but will generally allow plenty of time for it. 

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Specializes in Physiology, CM, consulting, nsg edu, LNC, COB.
On 7/2/2021 at 4:11 PM, Michael Cook said:

Honestly I want the medic, but it's been an ongoing butting-of-heads between my wife and me.  I want the medic because I want to be out in the community helping people during their emergencies be them large or small (Wife thinks this is a naïve rose-colored-glasses view of the profession on my part).  She wants nursing for the higher earning/income potential and lateral & upward mobility; not be a "glorified taxi driver".  I guess I'm trying to find a way we can both get what we want out of the situation.  

While understanding that it's a lofty, long-term goal, my internet searching has me thinking that flight nurse might be a rational aspiration to make us both happy.  My thought process was that getting some experience in EMS could be beneficial to that in the long-run.

Your wife is right, you know. EMS is not the glamorous (or even semi-glamorous) helping-people-with-their-emergencies you see on TV. It will also not necessarily be helpful for your long-term goal of flight nursing. The operative word there is “nursing.” You can both have what you want with following a direct path in nursing.

I did flight nursing for years and was never EMS, although when I lived in CA I could get a “mobile ICU nurse” state certification based on several years as an ICU nurse (there’s that word again) during which I took a week of rides-alongs, had ACLS, and passed a written exam. EMS will confer no particular benefit in either short or long run. 

Totally agree with the advice to save time and money and go direct to the BSN, which will also be a required qualification for all kinds of out-of-hospital roles, including public health nursing and flight nursing. If you can’t start in the next cohort, take some of the prerequisites at a local CC (make sure they’ll be accepted in transfer, and get that in writing); this will give you more time to study the core nursing curriculum, and you can thank me for that later, LOL.

Get critical care experience as a nurse and so many doors will open for you. Don’t waste your time and educational $$ on EMS first. You’ll get to wear that hotshot jumpsuit soon enough as a nurse. 
 

 

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