What Position Should I be?

[allygraceb]

I would like to work in Emergency Medicine, but I don't know which "type" of position I should be trained for: Nurse, EMT, Paramedic, PA, NP, Doctor...I don't know.

I would like to be able to address any basic emergency situation with enough expertise and knowledge to actually be able to do something (ie. if I need to do simple surgery, fix bones, be able to prescribe the right medicine). Although I would work in the US, I would also like to work worldwide (ie. the Hati Earthquake), so I would like to be prepared for anything. I also would like to accomplish this with as little debt and time as possible. What do y'all think I am describing?

Thanks!!

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

I think you need to sit down and spend some time researching each of those fields- look into the education that is required; look into local schools to see what entry requirements are, tuition rates, etc.; explore the scope of practice of those roles. If you are a high school student, you may wish to sit down with a guidance counselor.

If you wish to do surgery, fix bones, and prescribe medications, that is a role of a provider. Surgery is going to pretty much be limited to physicians who have completed a surgical residency (which is very different from an emergency medicine residency), although there are many NPs and PAs who fill the role of first assistant.