I am going to be a Trauma nurse after high school but I have got some feedback suggesting that I get my EMT-B first then go to nursing school. What are the pro's and con's on that? Would the EMT training just be a waste of time or would it help me in my nursing? Feedback would be appreciated!
EMT training first?
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Shishkabob
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Waste of time? No. Smartest use if time? No.
Graduate highschool, get your nursing pre reqs, and apply to nursing school. If accepted, go in without your EMT. If not, and EMS interest you, get your Basic.
Dont do EMS if you have no interest in it.
Graduate highschool, get your nursing pre reqs, and apply to nursing school. If accepted, go in without your EMT. If not, and EMS interest you, get your Basic.
Dont do EMS if you have no interest in it.
8jimi8
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get your emt b first and work/volunteer while you go to RN school, yes, don't waste your time as an LVN
LucidResq
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The only advantage to having your EMT is that you may be able to get a job while you are getting your pre-requisites, and experience looks good when applying to nursing school.
HOWEVER... experience is much lower on the list of priorities for admissions boards than good grades. Focus on completing your pre-requisites and getting excellent grades in them. Learning another language, like Spanish, can also be very helpful.
I'd also encourage you to get your CNA instead of your EMT. You'll use more of the CNA skills in nursing school and as a nurse, and you'll be more likely to find a job in a hospital. Working in a hospital is more relevant to nursing, and many hospitals offer tuition assistance or reimbursement for nursing school.
This advice is from a CNA/EMT who recently finished all of her pre-reqs but didn't get accepted to her nursing school of choice because her GPA wasn't high enough (their stated minimum is 3.5, which I exceeded, but it's so competitive they haven't accepted anyone with anything below a 3.95 for years).
HOWEVER... experience is much lower on the list of priorities for admissions boards than good grades. Focus on completing your pre-requisites and getting excellent grades in them. Learning another language, like Spanish, can also be very helpful.
I'd also encourage you to get your CNA instead of your EMT. You'll use more of the CNA skills in nursing school and as a nurse, and you'll be more likely to find a job in a hospital. Working in a hospital is more relevant to nursing, and many hospitals offer tuition assistance or reimbursement for nursing school.
This advice is from a CNA/EMT who recently finished all of her pre-reqs but didn't get accepted to her nursing school of choice because her GPA wasn't high enough (their stated minimum is 3.5, which I exceeded, but it's so competitive they haven't accepted anyone with anything below a 3.95 for years).
8jimi8
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emt-basic skills are valuable in the in hospital setting. IMO every nurse should get basic training.
I am a sophomore in high school but this summer I am going to be volunteering at a hospital and also riding with a EMT that has been practicing for over 10 years. I have a passion for the ER and trauma department but I also thought about getting my emt liscense first. But would that really be neccessary? Would it help me later on?
im not to familur with the u.s school system, how old does being a sophomore make you and how long have you left in school? use that time to prepair for being a ''trauma nurse''
from what ive been reading and have observed, being an emt will have no benifit to you being a nurse.. just do everything needed to be a nurse and be good at it. if you want to be involved with ems then be an emt.
from what ive been reading and have observed, being an emt will have no benifit to you being a nurse.. just do everything needed to be a nurse and be good at it. if you want to be involved with ems then be an emt.
JPINFV
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Sophomores in high school are in the 15-16 y/o age range. it's 10th grade out of 12 grades in the primary/secondary education system.
ok so at that age id assume youd be old enough to do a ride along as you said above and volunteering at the hospital will give you a feel for that also. do both and decide what you like more. there very different skills between a nurse and an emt, one has the comforts of a nice hospital and a relitivly calm enviroment.. the other works on the side of the road or in a cramped ambulance in a hectic enviroment and mostly under stress(wells thats just my breif general opnion haha)
JPINFV
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Ride alongs might not be allowed due to liability issues. However most hosptials have some sort of junior axiliary or candy striper volunteer position.
LucidResq
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Local community colleges often offer them.
Talk to your school guidance counselor, they usually are knowledgeable about local vocational training programs. My school district paid for my EMT class while I was a senior in high school. Your school may have a similar program.
8jimi8
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This is advice coming from an RN who is also an emt. EMT basic skills are much more complimentary to nursing skills than CNA "skills." And you are just as likely to get a job as a patient care tech/ er or icu tech/ other unlicensed positions int he hospital with an EMT-B as a CNA. Anyone can learn how to make a bed, wash a patient, pass out trays, or d/c foleys on the job.
You aren't going to learn backboarding, c-spine precautions, solidification of knowledge concerning ambu-bagging, abcs, recognizing symptoms of shock and stroke, anaphylaxis etc. in a patient care tech class. These are basic skills that are emphasized for emts. The op also has a keen interest in trauma. This is a great way to get exposed to it. Maybe he'd rather be an ER tech than a cna passing trays and measuring urine on an ambulatory floor.
Being a nurses aid is not comparable to being an RN. We worry about so much more than the basic tech skills. EMT training actually does have some crossover, which you will see, once you start practicing as a nurse.
Being a cna is the worst way to get experience for nursing. Just my humble opinion, not calling anyone out, not trying to be mean, so hope that isn't conveyed in my tone.
Thanks! I live in Texas and I tried to do some ride alongs and a nurse here is trying to help me to be able to anyways. That is why I am moving to Arkansas for the summer so that I can do some things there since they will let me. Last week I had the experience of being on a school trip when we saw a girl's tire blow out and her car flipped several times. I was the first one on the scene to help her and since I have studied so much I was able to help her some, thankfully her condition wasn't too bad. I loved being there and seeing it happen and not freaking out while everybody else was. That is why I am questioning if I should be an EMT first. I still have 2 more years of high school but I don't want to waste them. I want to be preparing while I can ahead of time.
LucidResq
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It seems Jimi and I disagree on the relevance of training, but in my area CNA jobs are much more plentiful than EMT jobs. Also, many nursing schools are starting to require CNA as a pre-req. FYI.
8jimi8
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in Texas we do not require our techs / aides to be licensed. I can easily see it as a pre-req somewhere else.
Before our program, we were required to take a 6 week "nursing skills" class, which was our nurses aide training... where we learned to make beds, and give baths. They really didn't even teach us to take blood pressures in that class.
Before our program, we were required to take a 6 week "nursing skills" class, which was our nurses aide training... where we learned to make beds, and give baths. They really didn't even teach us to take blood pressures in that class.
dudemanguy
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I'm also an EMT and a CNA. Either one would probably be of some value, but as others stated not nearly as important as other factors.
Being a CNA would give you a better idea of what a nurse does than being an EMT, unless you could get in somewhere as an ER tech, which is highly doubtful.
If it's mainly about getting hired, go with the CNA, theres a shortage of them in most areas. Theres a surplus of EMTs in most areas, and getting hired as an EMT right out of high school would be extremely difficult.
EDIT: I'll add this in response to 8jimi8's last post. I guess CNA varies greatly from state to state, in Michigan you are required to take an 80 plus hour course, do clinicals, and pass a state practical and written exam. We spent more time practicing taking vitals in CNA class than we did in EMT class, scarey I know.
Overall EMT class was harder, no doubt, and I understand what you are saying about learning useful skills in EMT class that compliment some of what nurses learn.
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MonkeySquasher
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I'm from NY. I'm no where near you, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
In my area, Hospitals (especially in the ER) like people with BLS/ILS skills. Many of the ER techs around are some sort of pre-hospital level provider. Also, the ER/ICU areas seem to prefer nurses who are RN/EMT or RN/Paramedics. This is because, as others have said, there's a completely different focus on training/education, because of the different focus on jobs.
Also, many of the better nursing home staff I encounter tend to have some sort of BLS or pre-hospital level background. Sometimes at nursing homes around here, you'll see RNs standing there with no idea what's going on, and a CNA who also happens to be an EMT helping you work up the patient, or giving you patient history/present illness info. (Disclaimer before people jump on me - There are plenty of highly intelligent RNs and staff. Milage varies greatly in the medical world.)
If you're only a sophomore, and you encountered that accident and actually remained calm and collected, and enjoyed it, I'd say think about getting your EMT and dabbling in EMS while you're in nursing school. You may find it suits you better, or maybe solidify your choice of nursing. Either way, the experience will be good. And the hours required for the course aren't exactly back-breaking.
How old are you, and are you in a metro area or rural? Usually you're required to be 17 or 18 to take your EMT, and you may have a local volunteer agency that allows younger members to train. Why wait until college if you can take your EMT your senior year of high school?
In my area, Hospitals (especially in the ER) like people with BLS/ILS skills. Many of the ER techs around are some sort of pre-hospital level provider. Also, the ER/ICU areas seem to prefer nurses who are RN/EMT or RN/Paramedics. This is because, as others have said, there's a completely different focus on training/education, because of the different focus on jobs.
Also, many of the better nursing home staff I encounter tend to have some sort of BLS or pre-hospital level background. Sometimes at nursing homes around here, you'll see RNs standing there with no idea what's going on, and a CNA who also happens to be an EMT helping you work up the patient, or giving you patient history/present illness info. (Disclaimer before people jump on me - There are plenty of highly intelligent RNs and staff. Milage varies greatly in the medical world.)
If you're only a sophomore, and you encountered that accident and actually remained calm and collected, and enjoyed it, I'd say think about getting your EMT and dabbling in EMS while you're in nursing school. You may find it suits you better, or maybe solidify your choice of nursing. Either way, the experience will be good. And the hours required for the course aren't exactly back-breaking.
How old are you, and are you in a metro area or rural? Usually you're required to be 17 or 18 to take your EMT, and you may have a local volunteer agency that allows younger members to train. Why wait until college if you can take your EMT your senior year of high school?
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nomofica
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