RN/full time firefighter

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Hey,

I am applying to UBC nursing for sept 2012 (accelerated program). I am currently a forest firefighter and am just completing up alot of fire/rescue/EMR etc courses to be able to apply for a city department (dream would be Vancouver). I would like to do both (ff full time with the 4 on 4 off) and work part time as a ICU/ER/CCU nurse.

Anybody know anybody that is/has done this? just trying to see if there is a way of this working. I know there are tons of nurses where its their primary career and they volunteer with their local fire hall but I would be keen on getting a job in the Vancouver area on one of the fire departments and work part time on my days off. I think both careers would complement each other quite well and scheduling would be only moderately difficult as you know both scheds so far in advance.

Thanks for your advice guys.

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Sounds like an exciting career path. Maybe you could be a flight nurse who work with national forests--if there's even such a thing. Sorry I'm not much help.

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.

I actually knew a guy that did this. He started out as a firefighter full-time, but when all the firefighters were getting laid off he went to nursing school. Sometime around the time he finished nursing school he got called back to his firefighting job, but had just started a full-tme RN job. My understanding was he was doing RN full-time and firefighter part-time. He said it was easy to do both because with being a firefighter he could sleep during downtime.

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Exciting career! I did volunteer FF/EMT for years and now a full time EMT with ambulance. I work 48-60 hrs a week, 3-4 on with 3-4 off! I've been advised that while in an excelled program (LVN private school) it would be very hard to have enough study time with little home/family/personal time! I guess it all depends on the city your in and the ems call volume, were I work there is NO down time for sleep/study, we run the whole 12 or 24 hour shift! When my program starts Monday thru Friday I would only be able to work weekends and when would I study? Huge dilemma for me! But nursing is my goal therefor, I'll have to sacrifice somewere! Like iv been told.. It all sounds and looks good on Paper, a well planned out schedule of classes, work schedule, study schedule all back to back, but doing it all in time frames without thoughts of unplanned events, illness, life...will eventually take it's toll! Only you know how much you can handle with dual careers/educations. Also, trained as an EMT/Firefighter is so different than nursing, I now have to Learn how to treat the whole patient and recovery etc., vs acute illness/injury with my patient for max of half hour to an

hour. Both fields are similiar but so different :) wish you luck in both fields and want to hear your outcome!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Flight.
Exciting career! I did volunteer FF/EMT for years and now a full time EMT with ambulance. I work 48-60 hrs a week, 3-4 on with 3-4 off! I've been advised that while in an excelled program (LVN private school) it would be very hard to have enough study time with little home/family/personal time! I guess it all depends on the city your in and the ems call volume, were I work there is NO down time for sleep/study, we run the whole 12 or 24 hour shift! When my program starts Monday thru Friday I would only be able to work weekends and when would I study? Huge dilemma for me! But nursing is my goal therefor, I'll have to sacrifice somewere! Like iv been told.. It all sounds and looks good on Paper, a well planned out schedule of classes, work schedule, study schedule all back to back, but doing it all in time frames without thoughts of unplanned events, illness, life...will eventually take it's toll! Only you know how much you can handle with dual careers/educations. Also, trained as an EMT/Firefighter is so different than nursing, I now have to Learn how to treat the whole patient and recovery etc., vs acute illness/injury with my patient for max of half hour to an

hour. Both fields are similiar but so different :) wish you luck in both fields and want to hear your outcome!

i do vol fire/ems right now while im finishing nursing school, but i would love to have my FF2 & be a RN at the same time... but i gotta make it to graduation first haha :)

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That's awsome! I'm sure you'll do great! I start a crash course of prereqs in 3 wks and program in January! So excited and researching as much as possible about nursing process etc.. Would like to go into class knowing some vital info besides EMS! Improvise adapt & overcome! You know!! :)

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My dad's a firefighter and we were just talking about this the other day! He knows someone that was a firefighter, went to nursing school, and now works both! It's perfect. The hard part for him was the schooling. He had to take a leave of absence to complete his final semester because it was too much BUT HE DID IT!

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Where I'm from the city fire department was the city ambulance service. All firefighters had to be basic EMT's, but all ambulances were paramedic-level rigs so they had to be staffed with paramedics as well. The fire department would pay for all the schooling needed to become paramedics and beyond that to get any education related to fire or EMS. It wasn't unusual to find their paramedics quitting the FD, going back to school to become RN's because they already had their nursing school prereqs, had enough inside knowledge of healthcare to making nursing school not so difficult, and the skill to get enough part-time paramedic jobs to work and earn a living while in nursing school. A couple eventually went back to work for the FD, that I'm aware of, and picked up per diem RN jobs. Also, these kind of guys were the hand select hirees for the ED and ICU.

I just hope me being an old cop and once upon a time paramedic is enough to get me that kind of favor in the hiring pool, lol.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Flight.
Where I'm from the city fire department was the city ambulance service. All firefighters had to be basic EMT's, but all ambulances were paramedic-level rigs so they had to be staffed with paramedics as well. The fire department would pay for all the schooling needed to become paramedics and beyond that to get any education related to fire or EMS. It wasn't unusual to find their paramedics quitting the FD, going back to school to become RN's because they already had their nursing school prereqs, had enough inside knowledge of healthcare to making nursing school not so difficult, and the skill to get enough part-time paramedic jobs to work and earn a living while in nursing school. A couple eventually went back to work for the FD, that I'm aware of, and picked up per diem RN jobs. Also, these kind of guys were the hand select hirees for the ED and ICU.

I just hope me being an old cop and once upon a time paramedic is enough to get me that kind of favor in the hiring pool, lol.

i think you'll be just fine :), previous experience + male (minority) in Nursing..they'll be calling YOU before you even think about it lol

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