Paramedic certificate or degree

[Guy Zandler]

I am right now gong through the EMT course. My main goal is to become an RN. With that being said, I want to also become a paramedic in order to be able to help people a bit more and increase my salary. I'm not sure if I should go for the certificate or the degree as my ultimate goal is to become an RN. Would it help me more to go straight through the RN program at a local community college starting this summer or should I go get the paramedic degree and then RN? A lot of courses for the paramedic degree is the same as the RN degree. I just don't want to take that much longer to become an RN. Thanks in advance for your help everyone.

 

[STXmedic]

Forget EMT, forget paramedic, go get your BSN. If you're goal is to become a nurse, then go be a nurse. There's no reason to use EMT/medic as a stepping stone if you already know your end goal. You're sure as hell not going to increase your salary by going through paramedic, either.

 

[Guy Zandler]

I was reading that there are Paramedic to BSN programs and I believe Paramedics make decent (enough) money. I figured I'd be at least in the field while I attain my nursing degree and in the community college I wouldn't be able to start the nursing program til Sept of 2017 since I have a few prerequisites to take care of. They only allow enrollment into the RN program every September.

 

[STXmedic]

EMT and Paramedic school will take up 3 full semesters that you could have otherwise dedicated to your nursing prereqs. And the transition programs still require you to take most, if not all of the exact same courses you would have if going straight through nursing- often its mainly the timeframe that's different. So you'll delay yourself 1.5 years from school alone, then you'll start working, making probably around $15/hr as a paramedic (about the average starting pay rate), then you'll still have to take all of your prereqs, now as a part-time student since you're having to work. Hopefully life doesn't happen in that time, which has a tendency to delay people even more. Then after your prereqs as a part-time student, which will take longer since you won't be taking a full course-load, you'll finally start the actual nursing piece, still part time and taking longer. In that time, you'd have already been a nurse for probably a year or two (probably more), making considerably more than you would have as a paramedic.

Paramedic can be a good gig. And yes, people often do move from paramedic to nursing. But it's because they started off as a paramedic, then decided they wanted better pay and working conditions as a nurse. It's usually not because nursing was the terminal goal and paramedic seemed like a good stepping stone. If you know you want to be a nurse, there's no need to add 1.5 years (likely more) of deviation just because there's a step in between. Go be a nurse, make more money, have many, many more options, and start working towards your next step after nursing.

 

[joshrunkle35]

The paramedic to RN bridge programs never mention the prerequisites that you need...in the end, paramedic to RN would be about 3 years, where an ASN would be about 2 and a half and a BSN is 4. Just do a BSN.

 

[Guy Zandler]

I may end up doing the cheaper route I guess and take the RN course at my community college and then transfer to the BSN program that accepts all the credits from the community college. Thanks a lot. I already started doing the EMT course since it's too late to register for the spring courses.

 

[SunshineCamo]

If you have the ability and opportunity to go straight for your BSN, I recommend doing that. It's simpler in the long run. As someone who's doing the EMT/Paramedic to RN route, I can tell you it's not the most efficient use of time. I had some somewhat unique life situations that made it the best option for me at the time.

 

[MackTheKnife]

I may end up doing the cheaper route I guess and take the RN course at my community college and then transfer to the BSN program that accepts all the credits from the community college. Thanks a lot. I already started doing the EMT course since it's too late to register for the spring courses.

Research your RN school before you sign up. Find out their NCLEX-RN (license test) pass rate. Make sure it's at/or above the national pass rate. If not, you might not get good enough teaching to pass it. Also, some schools have an accelerated Associate RN program if you like "fast". Our local community college, and mine (private university), have 16 month programs. My school has the highest NCLEX-RN pass rate in the state of Florida. Of course, there are 3yr BSN programs out there as well if you want to go straight BSN. With more and more hospitals going for Magnet status, BSN is probably the way to go.

 

[DiaryOfAnEMT]

I am in the same situation as you! I'm getting certified as an EMT-B, which I will work as until I finish my RN program. In IL, the RN program I'm taking covers all essential classes that you need to be a certified paramedic- minus two. I'm going to get my bachelors as an RN, take the two extra classes and sit for my paramedics certification. I'm not doing it to increase pay- I'm doing it because my goal is to become a TRAUMA nurse, and the hospitals around me require a trauma nurse to have special training from regular RNs. Not sure if this helps at all, but good luck with whatever you decide!!!!