seeking advice on paramedic certification after graduating with BSN

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Hi all,

I am a senior nursing student graduating with my BSN in December '15. I have always been interested in the adrenaline rush/excitement of being a first responder to a scene. I am debating about after graduation, using a little in between time to go back and get my paramedic certification. I want to be able to volunteer and give back to my community and i know our Fire Departments where I live are all maned by volunteers and they could always use extra bodies. Also, I feel since i'm interested in things like ER, and Flight nursing, the certification and experience would be very beneficial. I was just wondering, is it frowned upon for a nurse to be certified as a paramedic as well? I'm not doing it as a source of income, or to switch from nursing. It's more because I'm just interested in what it would offer. Any feedback or experiences would be great. Thanks to all in advance.

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Specializes in Home Health (PDN), Camp Nursing.

I appreciate your interest in EMS. As a bit of advice as someone who is a nurse and Emt. Be comfortable in one profession before starting another. EMS and nursing don't exactly blend and a provider who's trying to learn both may not have the expearence to discern where one begins and the other ends, it's tough to not nurse up some situations. Your local volunteer companies would love the help, but they are most likely BLS services and won't benefit from any paramedic skills you may bring to the table. If you don't fully understand the difference between a BLS and ALS service start there. My two cents, get your first job and push through your first year. Then take a EMT basic class and start up with your local volly company. See if you enjoy nursing or EMS before biting off more than any human can chew. Any nursing job that requires paramedic training generally is not open to new grads so you have a few years to figure it out.

also in regards to being in the action as a first responder, please enjoy my favorite EMS quote, it's from the movie bringing out the dead, classic. Frank Pierce: I realised that my training was useful in less than ten percent of the calls, and saving lives was rarer than that. After a while, I grew to understand that my role was less about saving lives than about bearing witness. I was a grief mop. It was enough that I simply turned up.

I wouldn't trade my last 10 years in volunteer EMS for anything. That said it has absoultly emotionally damaged me. There are a few nightmares I wish would stop, and I'm waiting for the day that I back the truck in and walk away forever because I'm full up of seeing this crap. I know it doesn't sound like it but I really love EMS, I just want to offer perspective. It's not a hobby, at one point I thought it was.

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Specializes in NICU.
Hi all,

I am debating about after graduation, using a little in between time to go back and get my paramedic certification.

First, you need your basic EMT certification before applying for a paramedic program. Basic EMT is a few months and Paramedic is 12-24 months. I am not sure what you mean by "a little in between time"?

I agree with Big Al, you need to work a year in nursing first before entering EMS. They are two different creatures and require different mindsets. If your goal is Paramedic, then getting a nursing position in an ER or ICU would be beneficial in learning the ALS drugs, patho-physiology, and stabilization of acutely ill patients and make the Paramedic program easier.

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Specializes in NICU.

I think your focus really needs to be on finding that first nursing job. If you peruse these boards much, you'll see that being an "old new grad" is one of the hardest places to find yourself after school.

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I live in Virginia and have done research on this. Here, you can take a basic EMS course and a RN to Paramedic Bridge Program is available. I would personally gain experience in the ICU first...about 5 years. I've never worked in the ER to give my opinion on working there but I have recently had 3 ER nurses come to the ICU and for them, learning to maintain patients and medical equipment and not having a physician on the unit were struggles for them. They said they never really ever had to truly think because the physician was always right there, so now they say they have to do a lot more critical thinking working in the ICU.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

do you realize that you are still liable as a nurse even if acting or working as EMS?

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do you realize that you are still liable as a nurse even if acting or working as EMS?

How so?

What is the Standard Of Care for a nurse on a rig with no authority to use advanced skills?

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I'm curious to know how too??? I have been made, on multiple occasions to work as a telemetry monitor tech when called off (and I'm an RN)....so am I still responsible if the nurse fails to put the monitor on the patient and I've told them many times and the patient codes or something else happens? Just curious for my own safety of my license. OR is this state specific?

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