Robb911

Thank you for all the kind words. I'm really looking forward to this. Have a meeting with the nursing school this coming Tuesday so hopefully will be able to start during the summermester or this coming fall. Definitely plan on keeping my mouth shut in school. One thing I've been told by all my colleagues that have gone on to nursing school is "they don't give a rat's ass about your war stories or how you did it in the field." I also don't want to continue doing things the same way, I want I further my education and build a good reputation and group of contacts than be "that old medic". Reassuring to know that I'm not the only medic who's jumped ship and that there are others out there enjoying the new roll. Not being the final say is going I be a culture shock since in my EMS system I'm generally the sole paramedic on scene and am the medical authority even if there is a fire medic there. Unfortunately I had a traumatic dislocation if my left shoulder in the beginning of December and have been out since then. Sounds like I'm going to be on no lifting for upwards of 3 months so I think a lateral to dispatch for a year may be what comes next in order to protect my spot in the company seeing as my FMLA leave is going to run out before I'll be cleared to work. After that year commitment though hopefully I can get right back out there. This may be a blessing in disguise seeing as I'd be on a 4/3/3/4 schedule rather than just straight 4/3. Extra day off every week with no loss in income due to the higher hourly is pretty appealing when it comes to keeping a full time job and be going to school as well. I will definitely keep y'all updated. I'm all ears for more advice as well. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions once school starts!

I think step down or tele would definitely be easier to transition to and without causing anyone on here offense, to bear. ER is definitely an option too. I'd probably have a decent chance of getting into the ER right off the bat considering I've already built a good rapport with the nursing staff, physicians and managers. The Level II TC would be my first choice and is also where I've made the most contacts. Maybe it's just me but it seems like lots of ICU nurses transfer to the ER here. Not sure why. Doesn't seen like many go the other way though. It seems like ER experience alone isn't widely, if at all, accepted by CRNA schools since they specify Critical Care rather than Acute Care however a combination of ER and ICU experience combined with my prehospital experience seems like it would show a good diversity and experience, all in the acute or critical care setting. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm assuming I'll need more than one year of ER and one year of ICU to be competitive. One thing I will ask is does flight experience count for anything? Both in a medic and RN roll? I'd have to get really lucky but if I play my cards right I'll be able to lateral from ground to PRN flight as a medic when I finish nursing school. I may have missed it but I never saw an answer. Is it common for NPs to have a dual specialty such as CRNA and ACNP? I would think the second specialty would be easier to add with the graduate level sciences already completed but then again the schools are ao specialized, from what I've read, that would anything transfer. Only post masters ACNP program I found was USF's.

I definitely know all about book smarts not equally ability to apply the knowledge. I'm still a very new medic, although from the system I've worked in I've got more patient contacts than many people with twice my experience. I'm not gods gift to this planet but I'm very gm confident I will be able to properly apply the concepts from both nursing and CRNA school during direct patient care. There are definitely things in EMS that are done "by the book" and things that are not. I think that rings true for any profession though. I'd rather be told that I'm more than likely going to be doing med/surg before being able to get into the ICU than have people telling me GNs in the ICU is a sealed deal and "happen regularly" and get my hopes up. I have no problem paying my dues although it'll be tough going from the too half of seniority and being the one that people ask questions to going back to the bottom and not having a clue what I'm doing. One thing I do have on my side is the hospitals here love grads from the school I'm shooting for. Again thanks for all the responses!!

Thank you!! How are you liking school so far? Is it really as terrifyingly difficult and intensive as everyone says? Everyone told me medic school was a pain in the ass and I didn't really have any trouble with it, graduated valedictorian, so I'm always hesitant on what people say about classes and schools. I'm assuming I'm probably going to have to take some extra sciences on the side to make my app for school competitive. I'll have a two semester A&P with lab component as well as micro with a lab and two pharm class in my ADN program. I'm guessing I'm going to need a regular bio class in order to take the O chem/biochem it seems like I'm going to need, which I'm not looking forward to...lol are there any other sciences that I'm missing that are required or you'd recommend to boost my app, help my practice or just make school easier? Thanks again!!! I think it's funny how gung-ho I am on this then I realize I'm not going to even start thinking about applying to grad school for at least 4 more years.

Greetings from a new member. I'm looking forward to learning lots from all of you on here. Quick blurb about myself and my plans. I'm 24 years old and a full time paramedic in a high volume, relatively progressive EMS service. Been doing it for a year plus some EMT-Intermediate experience in the same system before that. I love my job but no matter how much I tell myself this is my career I can't spend my life sitting on street corners for zero pay in an environment which is NOT conducive to evidence based practice, except for those select few programs, and has providers that are the "good 'ol boys" and stuck in the 90s no matter what is said or shown to them. I absolutely love my job, don't get me wrong, but there's a lot more out there for me. I'll have at least three years of medic experience and a year of Intermediate experience by the time I'm finished with school. Currently working on getting into an ADN program here locally through a private college. Hopefully can jump right into an RN to BSN directly after that and hopefully get myself into an ICU right off the bat. The plan after that is CRNA whether it be by way of MSN or DNP/DNAP. I have every intention of progressing all the way to the DNP level however if the opportunity is still there I'd like to do a Masters program and start working while I do my DNP. I'd like to potentially do a dual specialty in ACNP as well but my friend brought up a good point being, "at that point you might as well have gone to medical school." I'm planning on busting my ass for a 4.0 so I can pick my school rather than the school picking me. I've got a handful of schools in mind, most in my area. I'm not completely opposed to moving for school but I'd ultimately like to end up back here for the simple fact that I love the area. I'd rather love where I live and find work that I enjoy to make it happen rather than have that job that's a dream but hate every other aspect about my life. I don't have an issue commuting. I'd love to do everything in Nevada, Northern California, Oregon, Utah or Colorado. Preferably NV and Northern CA if I had my way. During medic clinicals I fell in love with Anesthesia and the OR in general. I could never get over how cool it was to bring someone into the hospital, put them under, operate on them, emerge them then in some cases send them home in the same day. I'm also very tactile. I love using my hands, I love working with patients. I'd rather be at the bedside, hands on with the patient giving drugs and doing procedures than standing back and writing orders. Alright, I'm done ranting. Don't be too harsh on me please, I know there's a lot of friction between medics and nurses in some cases. I have nothing but respect for what you all do and look forward to learning the practice of nursing! Lots have asked why no bridge program. I'm not even going to go near opening that can of worms.