What are my options?

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Hello,

I am in a somewhat difficult situation. It's about time that I start pursuing a career in nursing but I don't seem to have many, if any, options. I am active duty in the military, I work 9-5 Mon - Fri, and I live in Alamogordo, NM (the middle of nowhere with one school). With my job in the military, I will be stuck here for years so i've been racking my brain trying to come up with a way I can still become a nurse.

Let me know if this is a crazy idea: I would start off by getting my EMT basic certification online and then i'd find another online program to become a certified paramedic. I have found programs where the tuition includes flying out to the location for hands on training.

Next, I would apply to Excelsior and hopefully be accepted. It is the only online paramedic - adn program I could find.

From there, I would find an online adn - bsn program. I have completed my B.S. degree and all prerequisites but I might have to retake some classes that were taken in 2010.

Finally, I would apply for a direct commission as a nurse in the military.

This seems pretty crazy, time consuming, and costly so I am nervous and excited about the whole thing. Any advice? Thank you in advance for your time!

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Is that even a thing? You can become a paramedic online? Scary.

I wouldn't want anyone with no clinical experience taking care of me.

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As i mentioned, i would have to fly out to a different state for the hands on portion. I would be there for several weeks. Thank you for your input.

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even for the ADN portion, won't you need to attend clinicals?

And you don't have to be a EMT/paramedic before attending... is there no nursing night/weekend class options for you nearby?

how many years do you think you will be there? because you can work on taking your pre-reqs online/community college during the night and then apply for nursing school when the time is right.

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Specializes in ICU.

I'm confused on the no clinical thing. I know you said you would fly out somewhere for the EMT clinical. How expensive is this school and is it accredited? But you have to do clinical for the nursing program. You have so many clinical hours required to sit for the NCLEX. And those hours are when they decide them. I would look for an evening LPN program than transition to the RN.

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Specializes in NICU, telemetry.

I would skip the paramedic part and just go straight for nursing. Becoming a paramedic first just delays you getting into the nursing program, which looks like your ultimate goal? I don't feel like becoming a paramedic first is going to help your chances of getting in. It'll cost you more money, waste time, and may even make things more difficult for you, as they are often two different mindsets.

Does the small school near you not have a nursing program?

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Please look into the AECP program.

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Again, thank you for the replies. I have already completed my pre-requisites. There are no night/evening courses nearby. I wouldn't be allowed to drive over an hour to go to school every night/weekend because of rules of how many hours I have to sleep & being a certain distance from the base when i'm on call. I signed for 6 years and I have no idea when i'll be get to move but it will be several years.

I am doing the paramedic route first because it's required for excelsior. That or being an lpn. There aren't any lpn programs near me. If you're confused about the clinical portion of the adn program, that information is on the excelsior website.

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I would skip the paramedic part and just go straight for nursing. Becoming a paramedic first just delays you getting into the nursing program, which looks like your ultimate goal? I don't feel like becoming a paramedic first is going to help your chances of getting in. It'll cost you more money, waste time, and may even make things more difficult for you, as they are often two different mindsets.

Does the small school near you not have a nursing program?

The small school near does not have a nursing program.

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I don't qualify for AECP because I already have a B.S. degree

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Do not rely on Excelsior. There are states that will not grant you an RN license if they are your nursing program, even if you passed NCLEX and got licensed in a state that accepts them. And they cost a lot.

I know you want to feel as if you are making progress towards your goal of being an RN, but this is not an effective way to think about it. EMS is not on the same career ladder; nursing is its own thing.

Try this: save as much money as you can against the time when you can move out of Alamagordo and enroll in a nursing program with little to no debt. You'll reach your endpoint at about the same time without wasting money on certification you can't apply to nursing, and have far less debt when you start practice. And if you save enough, you won't have to work while you're in the nursing program, a huge plus that allows you to study and sleep now and then. :)

Remember my friend who applied to med school at 32. People said, "You'll be 40 by the time you finish." She said, "I'll be 40 anyway." Don't be afraid to wait and prepare if it puts you in a better place.

Good luck.

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Specializes in ICU.
Again, thank you for the replies. I have already completed my pre-requisites. There are no night/evening courses nearby. I wouldn't be allowed to drive over an hour to go to school every night/weekend because of rules of how many hours I have to sleep & being a certain distance from the base when i'm on call. I signed for 6 years and I have no idea when i'll be get to move but it will be several years.

I am doing the paramedic route first because it's required for excelsior. That or being an lpn. There aren't any lpn programs near me. If you're confused about the clinical portion of the adn program, that information is on the excelsior website.

Really? I know it's probably on their website. Since I have no interest in Excelsior, I won't be visiting that website. My point to you was, you need to have clinical hours to sit for the NCLEX. There is no way around that. Also, as GrnTea pointed out, they are a shady school and not many places will even let you sit for the NCLEX much less get hired from a school like that. And they are expensive. So when you are all said and done with your "degree", it really is worthless. Check and see where the military wants their nurses from. I'm pretty sure they want it from an accredited, reputable school.

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