Question for those ED nurses that were or still are paramedics

Editorial Team / Moderator · Aug 20, 2009

I felt like the majority of the CEN material was review. I've been a medic since 2003 (still active), and an EMT-B since 2001. I took the CEN when I'd been an ED RN for about 10 months. In short, the EMS background was a huge help, and I probably could have tested and passed sooner. Go test, seriously. Good luck!!

mwboswell · Aug 21, 2009

To all those in the community that were once or still are paramedics and have taken the CEN. I'm a new grad RN in the ED but have been a paramedic for 3 years and an EMT for 4 years before that. I want to take the CEN in a few months. How helpful was the ems background in answering questions on the exam. I have taken some practice questions from ENA and have consistently gotten above average score. What are ur opinions on what I should do? Thanks in advance for the input

Good question.

So you know where I'm coming from and my ability to answer let me give you a bit about my background, this way you'll know I'm credible.

I have been a staff RN in ED setting for 8years

Now as a NP in the ED for 8 years.

Have been and continue to be a paramedic working EMS part-time for 10+years

I'm CEN certified.

I have even researched, authored, published a CEN review manual and travel the country teaching CEN review classes.

As well, until just recently, I was currently involved in EMS education for paramedics.

All that being said...

The "short" answer; "NO"

I don't believe that the cognitive knowledge base of EMS/paramedic enhances the chances of success on the CEN "overall".

...BUT

Some areas, the prehospital experience may help.

One example is trauma care. The CEN exam uses questions taken from similar TNCC content. For prehospital pepople the ITLS and PHTLS courses are similar so there is some overlap.

The other area is your core ACLS knowledge base is similar between both.

Now on the surface it would appear that this would give you a leg up, but that is only because there is a fair amount of "trauma" questions and likewise a fair amount of ACLS-like questions.

However....

I don't believe the EMS background helps with various Emergency Nursing topics like:

UTI's

STD's

Pediatric illnesses (otitis media, nursemaid's elbow, measels etc)

Spinal cord injuries (Brown sequard, cord compression etc)

Respiratory (Pneumonia, Empyema etc)

General (Hemophillia, spider bites, iron toxicity etc)

Eye (ruptured globe, corneal abrasion etc)

and MANY others.

So my "modified" answer would be....(wait for it)

"MAYBE" your prehospital background "helps" some or gives a head start, but I don't believe it provides the wherewithall and endall to fully prepare someone.

I hope this helps.

And good luck!

PS: you can private email me here and we can discuss more off this webboard and I can give you some more resources!

-Mark Boswell

parablue · Aug 21, 2009

Lunah, I am a "old medic" new rn, I also want to take CEN, I work in a free-standing ER, I have the Gasparis DVD's, anything else to study with????

parablue · Aug 21, 2009

Mark, I would like to PM but do not have enough posts yet, can you PM me??? Would like to have more info on resources, I really want to pass this. Thanks

Editorial Team / Moderator · Aug 21, 2009

So my "modified" answer would be....(wait for it)
"MAYBE" your prehospital background "helps" some or gives a head start, but I don't believe it provides the wherewithall and endall to fully prepare someone.

LOL ... that was a long way to "maybe." Hee! But you're right. And I'm not a typical paramedic because I've also been working in-hospital (in an ED) since 2005, so I also had that knowledge base to draw on. Because I have such a mix of experience, it's hard to say what I learned where, I guess. But there are some things on your list that I did learn in paramedic school, like the respiratory illnesses and eye injuries. I also did an ED fellowship in the last year that had a lot of online learning modules using the Sheehy book, and that also covered a lot of CEN stuff. But I still feel that medics who are fresh out of nursing school and get some ED time under their belts will probably do very well on the CEN.

mwboswell · Aug 22, 2009

LOL ... that was a long way to "maybe." Hee! But you're right. And I'm not a typical paramedic because I've also been working in-hospital (in an ED) since 2005, so I also had that knowledge base to draw on. Because I have such a mix of experience, it's hard to say what I learned where, I guess. But there are some things on your list that I did learn in paramedic school, like the respiratory illnesses and eye injuries. I also did an ED fellowship in the last year that had a lot of online learning modules using the Sheehy book, and that also covered a lot of CEN stuff. But I still feel that medics who are fresh out of nursing school and get some ED time under their belts will probably do very well on the CEN.

Lisa,

I'm glad you picked up on that I wasn't implying that it was a "maybe" for everyone!

Yes, there definitely are exceptions (your experiences sound like one of the exceptions).

I think your last sentence was the best one, to build on the pre-hospital experiences by getting some real hands on ER experience too, probably the best advice.

mwboswell · Aug 22, 2009

Mark, I would like to PM but do not have enough posts yet, can you PM me??? Would like to have more info on resources, I really want to pass this. Thanks

Parablue,

Their terms of service don't allow us to publicly post our regular email addresses or other contact info...so I would say, just put up a few more posts until you qualify for PM's.

Sorry about that.

-Mark

SpaceCoastRN · Aug 22, 2009

Mark, excellent post and I will be picking up your study guide soon also. I am a new grad (June) working in a busy ED, after being in EMS since 1990. I will have to disagree with one point though, I have had numerous partners (work partners that is) that were quite familiar with STD's...damn uniform groupies...

siegolindo · Aug 23, 2009

thanks for the responces. i probably will wait another 6 months just as a buffer. heres another question. does the CEN focus on the more statiscally higher emergencies, ie., MI, Cardiac Arrest, arrythmias vs the one in a million, eye fell out of a socket dilema? what i got from my paramedic original was that we as medics were geared more for the cardiacs and respiratory emergencies over all others. with advances in medicine the way they are i wanna be well prepared

Editorial Team / Moderator · Aug 23, 2009

Lunah, I am a "old medic" new rn, I also want to take CEN, I work in a free-standing ER, I have the Gasparis DVD's, anything else to study with????

I'll send you a PM -- I know you might not be able to reply yet! I also working a freestanding ED -- good times!

Editorial Team / Moderator · Aug 23, 2009

Lisa,
I'm glad you picked up on that I wasn't implying that it was a "maybe" for everyone!
Yes, there definitely are exceptions (your experiences sound like one of the exceptions).
I think your last sentence was the best one, to build on the pre-hospital experiences by getting some real hands on ER experience too, probably the best advice.

Maybe it's also because I had a paramedic instructor who was passionate about A&P and pathophysiology -- we learned so much from her, probably more than is required for EMS.

But definitely, hands-on experience is so helpful ... with the CEN, I think we essentially validate what it is we do every day/shift, so having some experience will definitely equate to the exam material being second-nature, not so much review.