RN to EMTP

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Georgiaboy61

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Hello:

Just joined EMTLife today, hoping to learn more about the EMS community. I am an RN (med-surg) and former EMT-A (yeah, I'm that old). My interest in field medical care hasn't gone away, and I am considering a number of options for addressing that, from going to PA school to becoming a paramedic. Moving into ICU/ER nursing is also a possibility, but it does not get me into the field, unless I am fortunate enough to get a flight RN slot (and those are very, very highly sought-after in metro Chicago). The PA option would get me into the field only in the military, it looks like to me. My question for you experienced EMTPs concerns accelerated tracks for getting into your community. Illinois wants everyone to cycle through the std. two-year community college route, and offers no means of expediting the process. I know there is much about EMS/first-response medicine I do not know, but neither I am a beginner. I also have an MS in biology, and have a ton of basic science on my resume (bio. chem, A&P, microbiology, etc.).

My interest in adding EMTP to my resume is to enhance my attractiveness to employers for ICU/ER slots, and also to allow me to work out in the field if I wish. I am over age 35, so cannot apply to fire depts. in my home state (union rules), so when/if I get the EMTP, I'd be looking at a private service of some kind.

The upshot is that I am exploring my options... anyone who wants to offer advice, feedback, etc. - please do, and thanks.
 
Sorry I'm not from Illinois (from Texas) so my info might be pretty much useless, but I'll throw it out there anyway...

The flight nurses at my last program had to get their EMTP within 18 months as part of the employment requirements. The community college set up a 6 week RN to Paramedic bridge that was basically a rep course for the NREMTP test. It also included field rotations on the MICU to give the nurses a better idea of what pre hospital work was like.

Anyway, results were mixed. The ER nurses had better success rates than the ICU nurses, because the mindset was different. Even nurses with backgrounds in both ER and ICU tended to better if their last assignment was in the ER. All of the nurses were extremely competent however, so take that for what it is worth too. We all know the shortcomings of a standardized test, but I digress.

Just giving you my insight so you know what's out there. It may be that you can take an online program or travel to another state to get the testing and certification out of the way, then use reciprocity to transfer your cert back to Illinois. It's probably more trouble than you want to go through, but worth it if it's really what you want to do.
 
If Illinois only allows a single route to Paramedic with no means of reciprocity with other States, then you need to decide if you wish to stay in Illinois or not to pursue your goal of becoming a Paramedic. Given that you (the OP) are already licensed as an RN, you may wish to look into PreHospital RN... that may be an issue as there aren't many PHRN's in Illinois. They list <400 of those while there are about 13k Paramedics...
 
Unless reciprocity is an issue there are several online programs that you can work with. I don't feel that you need a paramedic's license to be attractive to ICUs or ERs. A few years on the floor as an RN is sufficient to move into these realms. I started out in ICU as a new grad. Critical Care nursing should come easy to you as long as you have a cool head about you. If you are having trouble with only MS experience, then perhaps you could pull some extra shifts on a tele floor, or offer to shadow/functional nursing in the ICU. If you are extremely motivated, give me a PM and i can talk to you about my experiences with online EMS education.
 
I know here in Michigan that there are courses that are 18mnths long. But its full time 5 days a week. From EMT- To paramedic.

If you take the community college route, you may be able to shorten the time some because you have all the sciences done. Although I think the classes are only good for 4-5 years. Then you have to retake them in order to get credit.

Malcolm X college offers a 34 credit paramedic certificate program.

You could probably do that in 3 semesters full time.

That's my suggestion.
 
You already have your RN, you are obviously not in a money crunch (or else you wouldn't be getting your medic) so just take the full program. There ARE things they teach Paramedics that they don't teach RNs in nursing school...
 
Linuss said:
You already have your RN, you are obviously not in a money crunch (or else you wouldn't be getting your medic) so just take the full program. There ARE things they teach Paramedics that they don't teach RNs in nursing school...
Click to expand...


That can easily be picked up in module format. Just sayin! lol
 
Thanks for the replies

Thanks to all the EMTPs, RNs and folks who have both who have taken the trouble to reply. Linuss, re: "There ARE things they teach Paramedics that they don't teach RNs in nursing school..." Yes, I am fully aware of that, which is one reason getting the EMTP is of interest to me.

8jimi8, re: "That can easily be picked up in module format. Just sayin! lol" and medicRob, re: "..and so the plot thickens, he he." Looks like I have just put my foot in it somehow... what 'plot'? Rob, I see you are playing both sides of the fence on this one.

For those who have mentioned the pre-hospital RN option, no one to whom I have spoken - thus far -knows anything about this path.

Anyway, I'll await more replies...
 
Georgiaboy61 said:
Thanks to all the EMTPs, RNs and folks who have both who have taken the trouble to reply. Linuss, re: "There ARE things they teach Paramedics that they don't teach RNs in nursing school..." Yes, I am fully aware of that, which is one reason getting the EMTP is of interest to me.

8jimi8, re: "That can easily be picked up in module format. Just sayin! lol" and medicRob, re: "..and so the plot thickens, he he." Looks like I have just put my foot in it somehow... what 'plot'? Rob, I see you are playing both sides of the fence on this one.

For those who have mentioned the pre-hospital RN option, no one to whom I have spoken - thus far -knows anything about this path.

Anyway, I'll await more replies...
Click to expand...
Look at the box on the right side of this screen: http://www.idph.state.il.us/ems/index.htm
You'll see the ECRN, PHRN, and Trauma Nurse Specialist listings... ECRN and PHRN are not the same. The fact that there are 318 PHRNs means that this type of RN actually exists... It might be used exclusively for Flight RN, but... at least this type of RN does exist in Illinois.
 
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