Questions regarding becoming a paramedic before RN

RunBabyRN · Sep 18, 2014

I am not a paramedic, but I am a former Navy corpsman and new grad RN, so I can speak to having to shift approaches to patient care.

My corpsman (HM) experience has definitely helped me in nursing. I am very willing to put myself into challenging situations, and I take chances (within reason), which managers, so far, have LOVED about me. As a paramedic, you learn how to "make it work" in the field, and this skill serves you well as a nurse, where you just plain can't know everything. I learned a lot about assessments, airways, and other stuff as a first responder and HM that I never learned in nursing school, and of course, these are the things that serve you well in emergency medicine. Being an EMT or paramedic isn't all GSWs and MVAs. It's a lot of transports to and from SNFs, r/o MI, falls, and homeless people who want a ride across town. Is there a major trauma center in your area that you're looking to work in? It might be good to shadow a nurse or see if you can volunteer in the ER to get a real sense of what you'd see. A lot of people get into "trauma" nursing, thinking it's going to be this big adrenaline rush all the time, and that's just not reality. Time in the ER is a lot of kids bumping their heads, drunks proposing to you, vomiting, and cold symptoms. Occasionally you'll see a big trauma. I did some clinicals at a trauma center, and I have some good leads in emergency. In my clinicals, we did have one stabbing victim that was pretty serious, and several MVAs, but this was also in wine country, so LOTS of drunk drivers, sadly. A couple of miscarriages, one baby with apnea (and the nurse had NO idea how to handle that one), appendicitis, a bike accident, drug overdoses, psych hospital (correctional) and juvenile hall pts, allergic reactions... To give you a sense of what you see.

ETA: I meant to go into the different approaches to healthcare. Pre-hospital care is very different, and you're very focused on the medical "stuff". Nursing is more about the whole patient, and once you've been doing one awhile, it can be a hard shift getting into the other. Some people can't make the transition. It took me awhile, and I know there was a guy in the class above me that failed because of this. Just be open to new ways of thinking.

Tpowers7 · Sep 23, 2014

Yeah I'm currently volunteering in the trauma resuscitation unit at shock trauma and it's been such a great experience so far. I know I want to ultimately get my nursing license but I'm just not sure if I want to become a paramedic first

poojac91 · Sep 23, 2014

The article is highly informative and I too want to become paramedic first.

wilsonjay27 · Apr 14, 2015

hi i am currently am emt as well and in school for my associates in paramedic science my goal is to be a trauma nurse my question is would becoming and paramedic first then going back to school for my bachelors in nursing help my chances of becoming a trauma nurse faster

EmedRed · Apr 17, 2015

For new EMT students, I always encourage working at the BLS level and getting the hang of it before transitioning to ALS. A lot of EMT students I've taught and many field partners just wanted to go straight to ALS and start lines and intubate before strengthening their core BLS skills. I worked full time as an EMT before and while getting all my prerequisites out of the way for nursing school. Many schools don't treat this work experience any differently or place you higher than CNAs. Experience is experience, few schools weight it differently. I have yet to find a school that has a paramedic-RN bridge in any capacity, however every state is different in how it teaches and reveres its EMS workers, and it's good to know where your state stands in that discussion.

I personally have not felt the need to go ALS before BSN but that was because my experience was long and varied. Unless you work in a notoriously busy county, the reality of EMS is that 90% of your calls are medical (generally with ETOH, low BSL, and patients "being in pain") and the majority of your time is spent transporting. In four years working full time I saw 1 big MVA, 1 miscarriage, 1 anaphylactic reaction, and 1 major avulsion; the rest were cuts, intoxication, and sprains. For all of the bigger calls, the only difference in my scope of practice was the ability to push meds. I'm not trying to discourage you from getting your Paramedic license, I just think people jump into it before really getting their foundation set because you still have to be strong with your BLS skills. ALS is BLS with a few more bells and whistles.

In CA, ALS is 2 more years of school and thousands of dollars. Personally, I chose to spend my time on my RN first and if I want to challenge for Paramedic afterwards I will. Two birds one stone. If you have time or aren't sure if the bedside is where you want to end up, go for ALS.

I am a proponent of any medical/health experience before applying for RN programs. I think having some truly tangible idea of what you are getting into is great and the experience follows you as you learn. You recall old cases or patients and you can connect the dots in the bigger picture of their health and why they experienced the symptoms they did. I found my fieldwork and bedside experience as a CNA made my prereqs easier.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Apr 17, 2015

I'm a Paramedic and a new grad RN. I can honestly say that if I was going to do nursing a few years ago, I would have gone straight from EMT to nursing instead of doing Paramedic. That being said, having that Paramedic experience behind me is a good thing. I'm not afraid of getting into the mix of things nor am I afraid of walking into a room without knowing what's on the other side of the curtain. Now had I gone straight from Paramedic to RN, I would have at least kept my assessment speed up. Now I'm finally getting that back to where I was and starting to become proficient in doing IV starts (I was quite rusty).

Becoming a Paramedic in California can be done in less than 2 years... but it's expensive.

brandiep1982 · Apr 18, 2015

How long is that medic school going to take? I was in medic school for two years, going three days a week, and the second year I was in clinicals three or four days a week. I had to do extras to get all the skills and different types of contacts I had to make. Even after all that, the national exam scared the heck out of me (although I did pass on my first exam). I was also scared of my national skills exam (also passed on first attempt). I am curious how they are able to prepare their students for these exams with only one class a week, and one clinical a week. Then again, I have heard that different states can be very different in their requirements, so that could be a big part of it.

As far as whether to be a medic before you go to nursing school, there are pluses and minuses to going either way (medic to nurse, or just straight to nurse).

I am finding my medic experience to be extremely helpful with school. I know anatomy really well, and it gave me lots of bedside experience (coupled with my CNA experience). However, it is not uncommon for nursing schools to be a bit weary of medics that apply. This is because there have been enough medics out there who went to nursing school and were very hard to teach. They think they already know it all and even correct instructors or refuse to hear different ways of doing things because the way they learning as a medic was different. I have been told all about it and I have even seen it. So, this is a small stigma that you may have to overcome (by demonstrating humility and eagerness to learn and be taught despite your experience) if you choose to be a medic first.

I wouldn't go back and walk my own path any other way than I have. But your path is yours. What feels right for you right now?