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emtbass

emtbass

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I was wondering if many of you have ever thought about going to nursing school??? If so why are you, or why not? I want to be a flight nurse.

What is the difference between a Flight Medic and a Flight Nurse? What is the difference in pay? Does a flight nurse need a Bachelors in nursing, or an associates.

1 more question... the company that I will be working for in the future has an in house medic program. Do yall have any feelings on going to an inhouse medic program (NO DEGREE), and going to a college and getting a Degree in Applied Science Paramedic Option? With my hopes of being a flight nurse, I was thinking that the degree may be more approriate. But at the same time, Im not sure.
 
I just pulled out of the medic program to enter the nursing program to get my RN. After many extensive talks with medics, turns out most of them here end up going to get thier RN after a while of being on the rig. Here, it ups your pay to be a medic & an RN, plus as an RN, I can challenge the medic test, and have my AS in nursing. This leaves me with more options if I decide I no longer want to work as a medic.

As far as being a flight nurse, again in my area, you HAVE to be an RN, and have at least a bachelors. The medic flies the chopper and the nurse is in the back with the pt.

In-house is good if you plan on only being a medic and only working for that company. With a degree, you usually get paid a percentage more and if you go for your bachelors in public safety and administration, you can get into the higher eschelons of management in the EMS system.

My best advice is to talk with your instructor or someone who works in management in your EMS sytem. The system varies from county/city/state so much that you definitly need to look into your options for your area. What I have mentioned above it how it works for my area, so yours may be totally different, but I hope it helps somewhat.
 
Originally posted by emtbass@Jul 21 2005, 07:35 PM
I was wondering if many of you have ever thought about going to nursing school??? If so why are you, or why not? I want to be a flight nurse.

What is the difference between a Flight Medic and a Flight Nurse? What is the difference in pay? Does a flight nurse need a Bachelors in nursing, or an associates.

1 more question... the company that I will be working for in the future has an in house medic program. Do yall have any feelings on going to an inhouse medic program (NO DEGREE), and going to a college and getting a Degree in Applied Science Paramedic Option? With my hopes of being a flight nurse, I was thinking that the degree may be more approriate. But at the same time, Im not sure.
Click to expand...
Paramedical Technology = 2 Year College = $11,000.00 - Red lights, Siren, adrenaline rush
Nursing School = 4 Year College = MORE than $11,000.00 - The ER....., crashing to the earth in an aluminum egg with blades waiting to slice you in half


I chose Paramedic.



A flight medic... is a medic... that trains to staff a helicopter

A flight nurse... is a registered nurse... that trains to staff a helicopter


What is the difference in pay?
Depends who you work for.

Does a flight nurse need a Bachelors in nursing, or an associates.
Whatever gets you a license to be a nurse.



By in house... Do you mean; They train you while you work there; or they have paramedics that work in a station that is normally volunteer. I don't know many places where you don't have to go to college be a Paramedic. To be a flight nurse, you should probably go to nursing school; unless you want to be a nurse and a paramedic.
 
In house programs here are programs put on by paid agencies. they are free to employes, but you get no college credit for it, only a certificate, so there is no way to get a degree from it.

Here, alot of flight services require the nurse to be an nremt-p as well as an RN.

I have checked into the requirements for both the Associates for paramedic and nursing, and about half of the classes are the some.... So mine as well do both anyways.

I just dont know that I really want a bachelors in nursing, but if that is what is required, I will definatly do it. You can be an RN with both degrees, I will just have to talk to some flight services.

Also here, the flight medic and nurse are both in the back with the patient, and there is a pilot as well with very little to no healthcare training. I dont even know that they are cpr qualified.

there is also a program at another school that allows a paramedic to complete a "fast-track" program to become an RN. But the credits dont transfer to a university, so getting the bachelor would be difficult after that.

The only thing that I hate about getting a degree for the paramedic part is that you can get a certificate in about 7 months in some places in dallas, but for the degree, its 2 years after emt-b. But hey... im only 18.. i have all kinds of time.
 
I have also wanted to go to nursing school cause i dont know that riding on a box can last me till retirement age... I would feel better knowing that I can always fall back on my RN when I am older and cant do what I could do when I was younger.
 
To me this seems like a no-brainer.

If you're content being a medic, and many are, then that's your thing. If you have an inkling to be a nurse, and especially if you want to be a flight medic / nurse, it seems as though getting the RN would be a great and logical step.

I know many medics who are going after their RNs, and I know one RN whose hospital made her go back to her EMT/Medic in order to go back to a floor job after many years working administration.

Around here medics make $12-$18 an hour. Nurses in private practices make similar money, while nurses in hospitals can make much more.

I can't imagine being a career medic. I can't imagine not being able to work because of an injury while on the job, something that is common in EMS. To me it would seem like a good step to get an RN degree.

There are even several highly respected nursing programs that you can do online. That would seem like a great step if you're working the road at a slow service. If I were a medic at my company working the road, I'd absolutely do it.

I'm also one that believes in the more education then better. Experience is just as important, but in today's society education tends to open doors. Nurses are in GREAT demand. They're importing them for all over the country due to significant need. I can only see the demand increasing.
 
I am one test shy of completing my nursing degree and sitting for the boards.
ADN or BSN still equals RN. If you plan on furthering your education with a MSN or going into nursing management, then get the BSN.
All of the flight services I spoke with required a minimum of 1-2 years critical care experience as a nurse. Most of the flight nurses I talked to suggested getting time in the ICU and ER.
As far as pay...there is a large difference between flight RN and flight paramedic. Perhaps that will change in the future, but for now it seems to exist. The upside is that the company I will probably apply to in the future has a schedule of one day on, five days off - you can't beat that!!! :)

Good luck to you! You are wise to plan for the future while being so young!
 
do most flight companies accept just an ADN, or do they prefer a BSN?
 
Most prefer BSN, yet it is not required. The basic criteria for flight is 2-5 years ER/ICU experience. IMHO if you have an overall goal to acheive a career in nursing and you plan on staying in Texas, you may wish to start nursing now. Many colloeges offer a "2 year" ADN program. Yet, they do not tell you the part about having to complete your prereq's PRIOR to starting any nursing classes, which then makes your 2 year degree into a 3 year degree. Don't get me wrong, being a Paramedic is definately an experience that most air services prefer, but you are looking at 3-4 more years of school to get your RN if you add a Paramedic program. Again it comes back to your goals and the timeline that you set to reach your goals...............................
 
For most flight services in Texas, the only difference between a Flight Medic and a Flight Nurse is initials after your name. They perform the same tasks under the same protocols. Usually patient care is rotated, one person will primarily be involved in patient care while the other backs them up while also assiting the pilot with aviation aspects (i.e. communication, instrument approaches if the weather dictates, etc.).................
 
I'm going through -P school, then on to a local RN diploma or ASN program....

I will go for my BSN (essential for advancement) part-time, once working somewhere as a nurse.... most places offer tuition reimbursment and lesser hours for students.... they are despriate for RN's....

I'm intrested in doing critical care transport work as an PHRN / HP. This can be ground-based too.... not everything is flight.....

My biggest issue with this plan is that I will have to repeat some of the classes for a local diploma program, as they currently do not have a paramedic to nurse program, but they have a LPN to RN track...... :angry:


The reason I'm going to get my BSN is, eventually, I will be burned out and throw out my back and want to get into a manager-level job.... or move on into a different field of nursing... occ. heath.... ICU.... OR / CRNA..... it is all open as a BSN, but a SICU dosen't really need a medic, except as a tech....
 
I have alot of the same views. Luckily, about half of my medic clases are the exact same classes for the ADN program at the junior college I attend. Hopefully that will trim a few semesters off.
 
I'm thinking about a career change. I've been looking into the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science.
 
Originally posted by Wingnut@Jul 21 2005, 08:59 PM
The medic flies the chopper and the nurse is in the back with the pt.
Click to expand...
On what planet is this?
 
Originally posted by Summit+Jul 25 2005, 11:03 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Summit @ Jul 25 2005, 11:03 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Wingnut@Jul 21 2005, 08:59 PM
The medic flies the chopper and the nurse is in the back with the pt.
Click to expand...
On what planet is this? [/b][/quote]
A little planet called Naples, FL.

It sucks, but its home.
 
Originally posted by TTLWHKR@Jul 24 2005, 11:22 PM
I'm thinking about a career change. I've been looking into the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science.
Click to expand...
Really???? You could run an ambulance out of your funeral home.... you would love it....

Oh, and Alex.... you will always have enough buisness.... people will be dying to meet you..... :D :rolleyes:

Jon
 
Originally posted by MedicStudentJon+Jul 25 2005, 01:47 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (MedicStudentJon @ Jul 25 2005, 01:47 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-TTLWHKR@Jul 24 2005, 11:22 PM
I'm thinking about a career change. I've been looking into the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science.
Click to expand...
Really???? You could run an ambulance out of your funeral home.... you would love it....

Oh, and Alex.... you will always have enough buisness.... people will be dying to meet you..... :D :rolleyes:

Jon [/b][/quote]
Funny... ;)

Bury my mistakes.
 
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