Paramedic to RN bridge program.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Sep 30, 2018

I know plenty of people who worked and were able to pay bills while in school - me included. Paramedic isn't a stepping stone to RN. If you want to be a paramedic, go to paramedic school. If you want to be an RN, go to nursing school. I would not recommend your current route, and bear in mind that I am both a paramedic and a nurse. Good luck.

CharleeFoxtrot, BSN, RN · Sep 30, 2018

That's the way I got my RN, I was a paramedic first. It did take a lot longer that way but I didn't start out wanting to be a nurse. I was happy as a medic. But the idea to bridge to RN evolved from my aging and honestly not wanting to carry my share of 300lbs of screaming humanity backwards down a narrow staircase at 0330am for $10.00/hour. Now I am glad I made that change.

I found my medic background to be a definite leg up to my achieving my RN and it was seen as great experience by employers. I worked as a medic while getting my pre reqs done-part time it took a lot of years. When I went into the program, I tried to work and go to school. Huge mistake. I blew a required math test and flunked out. Boom. Done.

Didn't study or sleep enough due to working. So, when the college let me back in that next class I quit working altogether, gave school 110% of my time and attention and graduated. I think it was a lot harder doing it that way, but as I said working the rig in an inner city gave me experience that allowed me to write my own ticket as far as working in acute care.

Bottom line though is that if I had it to do over, I'd eat ramen noodles and couch surf and go get the conventional ADN rather than take all the years I did to do it. The income differential for the years it took me, the cost of the medic classes etc were things I should have thought about.

NYCNative21 · Sep 30, 2018

I do appreciate your comment and advice. What I do not see plausible is the ability to work while in RN school. I am not sure how it is possible to be honest because for me to be able to live on my own and afford it I would need to be working two jobs which will take up atleast five days out of my week which will then prevent me from going to nursing school since the nursing school requires 3-5 days a week of attendance that is all day. This includes lecture and clincals. I understand that this is not the "ideal" route to take in getting ones RN but it seems doable while being able to work if I am to be honest. I would love to work full-time while attending nursing school so I can move out but I currently do not see how that is doable since majoriy of apartments require $950-1200 monthly and then I have to pay other billson top of that. I do respect you and understand your advice but I do not see how it is possible to attend nursing school while working full-time.

NYCNative21 · Sep 30, 2018

I understand that commitment and advice but unless I can find a way to work full-time whileattending nursing school, I just do not see another way. My parents are moving out of the state and I will need to move out and find myself a place to live while finishing up nursing school. I still havr to apply to nursing school after this semester and hope I even get in to be honest. I just don't see a way to get into nursing school and succeed while working full-time to be able to afford to live on my own.

Editorial Team / Moderator · Sep 30, 2018

Get a roommate, or be a roommate. How is it going to be any different working and going to paramedic school vs. working and going to nursing school?

NYCNative21 · Sep 30, 2018

I am not sure how it is personally in other states but I know here a paramedic program only requires one day a week during school. That seems more doable compared to a nursing program right now that requires basically half the week. Also I have taking the TEAS twice honestly and best score I have gotten is a 66. Its pretty pathetic on my part and just makes me want to hold off nursing so I can start working again. I can always look for a roomate but that seems unlikely due to me struggling to trust people in regards to finances.

rzyzzy · Sep 30, 2018

My Lpn-adn cohort was about 1/2 paramedics who had previously taken a "bridge" course and who could have (theoretically) have skipped the first two "blocks" or semesters of nursing school after taking that bridge course. To my knowledge, no one in the bridge course scored high enough on the hesi at the end of the bridge to actually get into block 3. So, effectively, they spent a semester in a bridge course instead of a semester of nursing school. The medics were all excellent with patient care and confident.. They did struggle with parts of the nursing process, and the switch between being almost completely autonomous as medics (with algorithms and pre approved protocols) vs nurses, who technically need an "order" for everything. On the other hand, in the cardiac module the medics got to teach the rest of class about heart rhythms.

I wouldn't discourage your path, but I wouldn't look at it as a shortcut - as in my program, the medics didn't actually save any time or coursework.

Another personal opinion, I'd think of any ADN program as an "accelerated" course. They're all cramming a boatload of information into a semester. Many people work some during nursing school, but you're starting at a disadvantage if you do.

Jobs that seemed most accommodating to students were in hospitals - unit coordinator (basically a cross between a secretary and a patient care tech), phlebotomist, pct, etc. I'm in dialysis now & my company will pay dialysis techs $4500 towards their first nursing degree & work with scheduling so they can both attend classes & get a decent check.

DowntheRiver · Sep 30, 2018

I worked nights and weekends during my entire ASN program as a medical assistant. My schedule was Friday 4:30-11:00, Saturday 12:30-11:00, Sunday 12:30-11:00, and Monday 4:30-11:00. It was not fun, and I was newly married, but I could have afforded a place with a roommate if I was not married. It is doable but other things, such as a social life, may need to be put on the back burner for a bit.

NYCNative21 · Sep 30, 2018

That is not surprising honestly regarding your statement that half of the LPN class was paramedics. Majority of paramedics I have talked too told me that when they bridge over it is majority paramedics compared to LPN. This is not to say that I do not respect LPN's or think they are any less compared to an RN or Paramedic. I just see that many people today are not pursing LPN due to the lack of jobs in hospitals after graduation and the lack of pay.

I do understand that this route would not make it any shorter long term and more likely would be a longer route but its just tough right now. I do appreciate your advice and I will consider it all!

Ddestiny, BSN, RN · Sep 30, 2018

I did an LPN and EMT to RN bridge program. Prior to that I didn't know that EMT to RN programs were a thing.... and I assume that they must be quite rare because my program had people flying in from all over the US. Clinicals were in-person in Kansas (except half of them the last semester could be done at an appropriate facility back closer to you) but coursework was online. It was a great program but it was fairly competitive for a Kansas RN program (they'd get over 200 applications for 40-50 spots). It was really cool having folks from Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, New Jersey and Kansas all around the same lunch table comparing their days at the clinical sites. The LPNs were better with careplans, long-term patient treatment and nursing interventions. The EMTs were more experienced with IV sticks and acute illness scenarios. I was able to do full time school and full time work (4 10-hr days at a clinic, plus about 1 clinical per week). Many of the folks that got together from out of state would rent a place together for a week, do 3 days of clinicals, take one off, do another 3 days of clinicals, then head out). I'm sure that the travel was tiring for them, but the program itself was quite inexpensive ($5,000 for tuition, NCLEX, background check all together) so it was all worth it in the end.

I don't know how long the Paramedic course is that you're looking at, but LPN programs are 9 months.

That being said....EMT and Paramedic is not a natural prerequisite to being an RN. And there are not a lot of EMT to RN programs around. Why not look at LPN schools? At least out my way, LPNs make more than EMTs and can have more pleasant hours. I was able to work in an office, so no holidays, weekends, etc which really helped with planning clinicals in advance. There are going to be a lot more options for LPN to RN, and it's fairly common for them to have their classwork done online, thus allowing for more flexibility for the student that needs to work fulltime.

NYCNative21 · Sep 30, 2018

Hello,

Thank you for commenting on my post and I do appreciate the advice. That sounds like you worked really hard and I applaud you for this! My current situation with applying to nursing programs is my lack of competitiveness when apply.

My current stats are as follows

AP1: B

AP1 Lab: B

AP2: B

AP2 Lab: A

English: B

Pysc: B

Math: B

Medical Term: A

Micro Lab: A

Micro Lecture: C

CNA Course: A

Overall GPA: 3.4

Competitive GPA: 3.0-3.1

Teas Exam: Current is a 66, still trying to test for a higher score

With these stats I have almost entirly no chance of getting into a nursing program without taking a class over again which I am most likely going to take my Psyc, English and Math over again. I would of had an A in those classes but during that semester my father had a stroke and it held me missing my final exam in those classes which lowered my grade to a B. Thats a long story.

The school I am planning on applying to is Southern Union state community college located in Alabama but I dont believe I will make it due to the lack of points I will accumlate. The lowest point total I heard that got in is a 39 and I would need to score a perfect 36 on the ACT just to get a 42-44 point total compared to someone else who can score a 22 on the ACT and get the same score as me. It really is discouraging honestly. I just wish I could get accepeted into a program because once I am in I know I would give it my all and pass. Don't get me wrong I gave it my all in the Pre-Reqs, just sadly my father had a stroke at a bad time.