Which if any level of EMT close to LPN nursing?

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wbaldwin80

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I am an EMT Basic now, when the EMT-I course opens up I am going to take that as well. Which if any EMT level is most like a LPN course? Or going to prepair me for that course/ translates etc?
 
E: None of the above.


That's like comparing Paramedic and RN... while both are in the health field, they have different purposes and different ideals.
 
I'm not following this question actually. I know that an EMT-B here can technically work as a school or camp nurse.
 
wbaldwin80 said:
I am an EMT Basic now, when the EMT-I course opens up I am going to take that as well. Which if any EMT level is most like a LPN course? Or going to prepare me for that course/ translates etc?
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Try Navy Corpsman... Oh wait. That's not an EMT level...
 
wbaldwin80 said:
I am an EMT Basic now, when the EMT-I course opens up I am going to take that as well. Which if any EMT level is most like a LPN course? Or going to prepair me for that course/ translates etc?
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The truth is, you are comparing apples and oranges. Nurses and Emergency Medical Technicians possess different types of training based on the environments they will be working in. While it is true that an EMT or Paramedic can work in an ER as a tech, they do not function in the full capacity of nursing staff. If you are interested in Licensed Practical Nursing, then by all means pursue just that. You can find a plethora of accredited schools by visiting the NLNAC website here:

http://nlnac.org/Forms/directory_search.htm

Good luck in all your endeavors.
 
Dont forget that the LPN is also going by the wayside. There may be some holdouts in nursing homes and home health, but clinical lpns are becoming a thing of the past. Dont invest your time in education that will be obsolete in the near future.
 
LPNs can also vary quite a bit from state to state. For example, in some states they can start IVs and in others they can't.

I second what the person above said. I knew an LPN a few years ago who was working as a medical assistant in a family practice clinic. The hospitals didn't hire LPNs, and the only other place she could find a job was at a nursing home. We run into LPNs a lot, usually in one of a couples of roles. 1. At assisted living homes, where the residents aren't there for high level medical care (ie they get their vitals checked once a week, and the staff help with their meds). or 2. Working under a RN at a SNF. I've noticed too that some of the SNFs have RNs on during the day, and LPNs on at night.
 
I think medicRob is right on the money.

Your comparing an EMT of any level with mostly specialized training and technical skills for Emergency situations(specifically outside of hospitals)

Nursing (especially outside of the ER) appears to me to be a whole other world.
 
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I know quite a few LPNs who work in private practices. Most have had training beyond their title, and work alongside RNs, MDs, etc. As they tell me, their skills share very little with EMS training. As private practice nurses they do a lot of phone triage, charting, and patient education.

One LPN stated that they hired EMT-Paramedics as the closest equivalent.
 
The thing is those duties are also often carried out by Medical Assistants, which is it's own recognized certification (and degree).

Comparing LPNs to EMTs or Paramedics is hard because they have more knowledge than any EMT, but they don't perform as many interventions as Paramedics.
 
Nurses know a little about a lot, whereas paramedics know a lot about a little. What I mean by this is that as nurses, we are given a basic body of knowledge that allows us to pursue various fields and specialties within nursing, be it OB nursing, emergency nursing, critical care nursing, cardiac nursing, med/surg, etc and to expand upon that knowledge through clinical experience and continuing education. Paramedics focus on emergency medicine and some critical care, this is where all the energy is focused. Given the right education (notice I used the word education and not training), paramedics could be utilized in a lot more areas than just emergency medicine and critical care, however I doubt this will happen any time soon.
 
Sassafras said:
I'm not following this question actually. I know that an EMT-B here can technically work as a school or camp nurse.
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That's scary, but a paramedic would probably make a great school "nurse."

I had this discussion with my father a few months ago. He is the finance superintendent for a school system and is having a lot of problems with nurses complaining about hours, pay, etc. I found out how much they were paid for a 190 day a year work schedule and nearly peed myself. I told him that if he could find a way to get it approved, I knew of tons of paramedics that would do that job in a heartbeat and NEVER complain.

Aside from giving out medications, the primary role of the school nurse is to essentially triage and treat (within scope) sick and injured kids. That job sounds familiar.

I think a good paramedic with a solid education could do that job without any problems.
 
JPINFV said:
That's kinda of scary...
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Nah, what does a school nurse do that a paramedic isn't overqualified to do?

Give bandaids, occasionally an epipen and a call to ems. If its a medical problem and it isn't emergent, a nurse is probably just going to refer parents to a specialist anyways. Kid has pain in his ear, refer to ENT. Kid has pain in his knee, give tylenol and have him go see his primary doc for a referral. Nothing terribly complicated here. Even if you get into kids taking more medications, medics are probably going to be familiar with them, and if they aren't they can read up. A nurse is probably going to have to do the same.
 
In almost every school I've worked at nurses almost exclusively did student care/health plans and training. They carried around big binders and are most often found behind a desk doing paperwork.

Teachers were responsible for band-aids, Epi, Insulin, Glucagon, and AED/CPR. If students had additional health needs that required regular one-on-one treatment they would have a health aide that made rounds to all of the schools.

EMS has always been called for broken bones, sprains, seizures, etc.

EMT-Basics and Paramedics often can work at summer camps alongside nurses and medical staff. I'd say that's a great spot for them.
 
jjesusfreak01 said:
Nah, what does a school nurse do that a paramedic isn't overqualified to do?

Give bandaids, occasionally an epipen and a call to ems. If its a medical problem and it isn't emergent, a nurse is probably just going to refer parents to a specialist anyways. Kid has pain in his ear, refer to ENT. Kid has pain in his knee, give tylenol and have him go see his primary doc for a referral. Nothing terribly complicated here. Even if you get into kids taking more medications, medics are probably going to be familiar with them, and if they aren't they can read up. A nurse is probably going to have to do the same.
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EMT's dont receive enough education about insulin. I don't know why, but they dont. There would definitely be a need for more education for them to fill this role.
 
jjesusfreak01 said:
Nah, what does a school nurse do that a paramedic isn't overqualified to do?

Give bandaids, occasionally an epipen and a call to ems. If its a medical problem and it isn't emergent, a nurse is probably just going to refer parents to a specialist anyways. Kid has pain in his ear, refer to ENT. Kid has pain in his knee, give tylenol and have him go see his primary doc for a referral. Nothing terribly complicated here. Even if you get into kids taking more medications, medics are probably going to be familiar with them, and if they aren't they can read up. A nurse is probably going to have to do the same.
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I'm thinking he means an EMT-B as a school nurse is scary. The have neither the skills nor the education to even attempt to play that role
 
Anyone here actually work as a school nurse?

An EMT of any degree working as a "nurse" is asking for some bad things to happen. Ditto a nurse working as an EMT. Now, if you ave the skills set to do first aid you can be a "first-aider" or something, but "EMT" and "nurse" are specific to sets of legal and professional responsibilities.

Today's economy, at least in CA.... hospitals require more RN's, non-hospitals are not hiring RN's and using MA's and LVN's. Since I got into the dodge (1983), they have announced that RN's without degrees, LVN's, and Nursing Assistants are all on the way out. Uh HUH...

MedicRob has it on the head. EMT will give you some grounding in anatomy and working with patients, but not a gateway to nursing. I was told to forget my EMT stuff until I finished nursing college.
 
EMS49393 said:
That's scary, but a paramedic would probably make a great school "nurse."
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Aside from working sporting event stand by's, I do something sort of like that now part time. In fact as I write this I am in my office at a facility with over 10,000 people in it today. I work alone and see people for all sorts of things during a shift. I have employees and customers walk in with everything. I dispense a good variety of medications and I also respond to emergencies at the facility with a decent crash cart.

I will say as a Paramedic most of our education and training is related to emergencies. It took me a while to get use to educating patients that walk in with questions and concerns about everything from STD's, to there pregnancy, managing there diabetes, injury follow ups, and everything else under the sun. I also have pretty easy stuff like people coming to me with stomach aches, head aches, minor cuts and scrapes, burns, insect stings, seasonal allergies, cold and flu, ect ect. Most shifts I only average 1 or 2 emergency calls that I have 911 transported.
 
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