Should I become an EMT-B?

[GAtkins17]

Hi guys! I really need help in trying to determine whether or not to pursue becoming an emt basic. I want to be a nurse involved with emergency response like trauma or ER and I think that the face to face contact with patients and being able to get the hands on experience would be awesome. However, I will be in college full time and I'm not sure if just doing this for two year's is even worth it. Is it even possible to continue this in nursing school? I would just really like someone's opinion who's been through or is going through this. Any tips, and info would be greatly appreciated!

p.s is there anyone that would be willing to message or email with me? I have some additional questions and concerns and being able to have a conversation with someone who's been through or is going through this would be amazing because I really don't have connections to anyone who'd have knowledge on this :/.

Thank you so much!

 

[SandpitMedic]

Go directly to nursing school, do not pass go, collect $450 per day.

 

[SandpitMedic]

Read the post about wages in the employment section going on now. You might as well be a garbage man, instead of an EMT. Or you could just skip garbage man school and go right into getting your RN.

That was a little sarcastic, but what I mean is... Don't waste time in EMS if your endgame is RN.

 

[GAtkins17]

Read the post about wages in the employment section going on now. You might as well be a garbage man, instead of an EMT. Or you could just skip garbage man school and go right into getting your RN.

That was a little sarcastic, but what I mean is... Don't waste time in EMS if your endgame is RN.

thanks so much for your help!

 

[Ewok Jerky]

Go directly to nursing. Why not get a BSN? You will get plenty of hands on during clinicals. And as far as I know, having emt experience will not help you bypass paying your dues on med/surg before going to the ED.

 

[Eleventy7]

There's really no point to getting your EMT cert if you're already in a nursing program, whether or not it's LPN or RN. With my EMT I started at $9.46/hr working full time in a rural clinic at what amounts to the LPN level (minus injections). Cousin got hired fresh out of LPN school in a rural nursing home for $17.50/hr. My suggestion: finish LPN, find work and get on your EMS dept with exemption, immediately continue with RN, bridge to medic. Shouldn't have any problems earning an actual salary or finding work that way.

 

[GAtkins17]

thank you for the advice!

 

[Ewok Jerky]

Shouldn't have any problems earning an actual salary or finding work that way.

Especially if you don't waste your time with challenging EMT or Medic.

 

[Eleventy7]

Especially if you don't waste your time with challenging EMT or Medic.

True that, but I believe that actually having experience in EMS is beneficial to anyone going in to med/surg or emergency nursing. One of the biggest issues going on right now is trying to get EMS and nursing to work well together. ED clinicals are not the same as having ride time under your belt. They're not going to help you appreciate and understand how EMS works and what pt care is like pre-hospital.

 

[Flying]

The time spent getting an EMT cert to know the biz does NOT outweigh investing it in higher education.
You're dropping 120-200 hours for a glorified first aid class, time that could be spent building a foundation in A&P, pharmacology or any other subject essential to nursing.

Wanting to mesh with and know what your peers are capable of is fantastic, but should be expected of you in any workplace. Simply building a good rapport with pre-hospital providers and/or arranging ride-alongs is a better way to achieve this without wasting your time.

 

[GAtkins17]

The time spent getting an EMT cert to know the biz does NOT outweigh investing it in higher education.
You're dropping 120-200 hours for a glorified first aid class, time that could be spent building a foundation in A&P, pharmacology or any other subject essential to nursing.

Wanting to mesh with and know what your peers are capable of is fantastic, but should be expected of you in any workplace. Simply building a good rapport with pre-hospital providers and/or arranging ride-alongs is a better way to achieve this without wasting your time.

Thanks for the idea! I will look into the ride-alongs, that might even help me in the future if I want to continue being an emt if nursing doesn't work out or something like that.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

True that, but I believe that actually having experience in EMS is beneficial to anyone going in to med/surg or emergency nursing. One of the biggest issues going on right now is trying to get EMS and nursing to work well together. ED clinicals are not the same as having ride time under your belt. They're not going to help you appreciate and understand how EMS works and what pt care is like pre-hospital.

I have always got along just great with nursing staff despite having never been a nurse.

 

[CALEMT]

Go straight to nursing school. EMS is like Hotel California, you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

 

[GAtkins17]

Ok, thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate the help.

 

[Eleventy7]

I have always got along just great with nursing staff despite having never been a nurse.

When I say working well together I'm not only talking about playing nice. Most people in EMS have a solid grasp of what nursing entails. Especially when you're required to spend 150 clinical hours playing one in the ED. However, there's a lack of understanding of EMS from most nurses. I have yet to see a nursing program that requires ride time. As a result you end up with things like: BLS crews being paged for transfers of patients with lines running, medics being paged for transfers of patients receiving blood products, and a general misunderstanding of what prehospital care involves.

 

[NomadicMedic]

However, there's a lack of understanding of EMS from most nurses. I have yet to see a nursing program that requires ride time. As a result you end up with things like: BLS crews being paged for transfers of patients with lines running, medics being paged for transfers of patients receiving blood products, and a general misunderstanding of what prehospital care involves.

Or, it's a misunderstanding of your local protocols or a lack of education for the Unit coordinator scheduling transfers. Frankly, nurses mostly think ambulances are all the same.

However, where I've been, medics could take blood products and multiple drips. EMTs could transport lines, TPN and some other oddities.

It may be worth making a small chart that says "request an ALS transport if the PT has the following..." Laminate them and deliver them with cookies to each floor.

 

[sdadam]

Yeah DEmedic is right here, EMS is so drastically different from one tow to the next that it's unreasonable to expect nurses to learn it without a lot of direct exposure. It's up to us to educate them with the tools he talked about. The fact of the matter is I would prefer the nurse ignorant of EMS than the nurse that was an EMT and thinks that EMT + RN = Clearly understands everything about Paramedicine even though they have never done it and couldn't without a lot more instruction.

 

[Eleventy7]

I'm not expecting nurses to become licensed as medics. I do expect an understanding of what resources are available to you regardless of your position. As DEmedic said, most nurses think all ambulances are the same, even though the two hospitals closest to my dept have hospital based EMS. Hell, maybe laminating the first pages of the state protocol book will work.

 

[rujero]

Message me if you need any more advice. I'm going through the same thing, only it sounds like you're looking at BSN programs right out the gate, while I am working on my ASN and will work as an RN while I earn my BSN. Personally I feel like starting in EMS before nursing school solidified my passion for healthcare and will make me a better nurse, regardless of whether or not I work in an ED someday.

-r