Paramedic vs. RN

[merrywhiterose]

WHY does a Paramedic get paid so little compared to an RN? They both require the same amount of college, experiences, testing, etc. Paramedics are able to do advanced procedures that RNs can't. Having a Paramedic in the family, and I'm going after my RN license, I just don't understand it the difference in pay.

[Boston.TacMedic]

Not true. The comparison is apples and oranges. Major differences here between pre-hospital and clinical work. The Paramedic education is not equivalent to a nursing program. In some states Medics can challenge LPN boards but without some clinical training they traditionally do very poor during boards. It's just not the same.

Name a state, I have a hard time Believing that.

[GilaRRT]

At one time, California allowed special cases such as independent duty medics (military) to sit for LVN licensure. I do not think this is the current case however? I think the biggest factor is the fact that nearly all RN programmes require specific sets of core pre-requisite courses such as two semesters of anatomy and physiology a semester of microbiology, psychology and so on. Unfortunately, many paramedic programmes are certificate type courses and do not have said core courses as part of their larger underlying curriculum.