Hey guys!

[EMTHopeful14]

I'm obviously new here. I found this site by searching the forums for a decent (and cheap) watch that would work for EMS. I haven't started the EMS program yet, however this summer I will be taking classes. I'm from the Memphis area and quit my job of 10 years (in accounting/IT) to go back to school for nursing. I'm getting all my prereq's out of the way this semester and want to take the accelerated EMT program offered and hopefully work my way through nursing school, and if all goes as planned be a flight nurse when I get my RN license. I have to say, I have never been more excited about a career, just hope I'm up for the task.

Oh, and a completely random question... tattoos, do most places ask that you keep them covered? I have one on my wrist and one on my arm that sticks out a little through my short sleeves. Cover sleeves are cheap so it's no big deal, and I understand the need for professionalism, I just didn't know how it was for most companies. Thanks for reading my randomness.. I tend to ramble on when I'm excited.

[island emt]

Welcome to the City

The tats will need to be covered in most agencies.

Buy a timex with a second hand around $25.00 Don't get a nice watch.

Getting hired as a flight nurse will take a few years of serious experience and usually CEN certification at a minimum.

Flight EMS is a very dangerous profession.

[EMTHopeful14]

Welcome to the City

The tats will need to be covered in most agencies.

Buy a timex with a second hand around $25.00 Don't get a nice watch.

Getting hired as a flight nurse will take a few years of serious experience and usually CEN certification at a minimum.

Flight EMS is a very dangerous profession.

Thank you so much for the advice

The current plan is working as an EMT for 2-3 years. The flight nurse is really just one of the options I've thought about. I have been told that I also have the option of trauma nurse with the qualifications that I will have. I still have a few years though to get it all figured out, I haven't even begun to work in the field so I know I could change my mind a couple times between now and then on what exact field I want to work in.

[scubanurse]

Who told you that?? I was a paramedic for several years in D.C., went to nursing school, and do not work in a trauma unit currently.

If you want to be a nurse, go to nursing school not EMT.

Ditto Island on the flight nurse...not worth the risk. You also will have to have TNCC, and several years of ICU experience to even be considered for a flight team.

I'm not sure you have realistic expectations for the future right now. Nursing school= 4 years, Med/Surg experience= 2-3 years, ICU experience= 3-5 years, then you will be considered for a flight team, if they're still around in 10-15 years.

[paramedicmike]

Welcome. It sounds like you have a lot of options and opportunities available to you. That's not a bad position in which to find yourself.

You'll forgive our skepticism regarding your desire to be a flight nurse. Yes, air medical transport is exciting. It's also hot, cold, dirty, dangerous, smelly and more. It's also something that an awful lot of new members and new EMS providers think they're going to do someday. The numbers, and unfortunately the education of many, don't support the chances. (Nurses, in my unscientific observations, are not always as excited for the air medical aspect of nursing. I find that interesting.)

You've gotten some good advice so far. You don't need a special watch. You'll need something with a big enough face for you to count seconds. IslandEMT prefers a watch with a second hand. I've managed all my years in EMS with a digital. Go with what works for you. If you're spending more than $25 or $30 you're spending too much.

If you want to be a nurse go to nursing school. If you want to be an EMT go to EMT school. They are not mutually exclusive. However, please don't go to EMT school thinking it'll do you any favours regarding nursing school. It won't. The two are also not nearly as similar as one might think.

[EMTHopeful14]

I guess I should clarify. I'm not completely set on being a flight nurse. I understand that there's more to it than just the education I'll have before I would be able to do something like that. And I don't even know if it's something that I truly want to do, just an option.

I'm not going for my bachelor's in nursing, I'm going for my RN, which is a 2 year program. Also, in order to have a job and be able to survive during nursing school I will be going to EMT school, I figured that having a job in the medical profession would not only give me a little bit of experience, but also help me decide if working in the ER or not is something I'd want to do. Right now I see myself as a blank slate, I want to soak up as much experience as possible and learn as much as possible. In a few years time I may decide that I don't want to work in the trauma unit but I'd rather work in the cancer unit, or the maternity ward, or anywhere else. But I feel that in order to make those decisions I would best serve myself by getting out there and experiencing it all.

And while I'm sure that all the states are different, I haven't done a lot of research into what exactly it is that i can do once I finally get out of nursing school. I was going off of what the EMT professor at my school told me (about the flight nurse and trauma nurse).

Honestly, nursing is just something that I really want to do. I may be a newbie and have high hopes for my career, but forgive me, I'm almost 30 years old and finally discovered something that I can do for a living that I will actually love. And I am confident that the career path that I have chosen for myself is what I want to do and will be successful in.

Thank you for the advice.

[medicgirl05]

I just want to reiterate that working in EMS and nursing have nothing to do with each other. You say that being an EMT will help you know if you want to work in an ER. Those are 2 completely different ballgames. What EMT's do in the field is completely different than in the ER. If you find a tech job that will hire an EMT right out of school that will still be completely different than what you do in the ER as an RN.

If you are just getting your EMT as an easy way to make some money while passing time to get your RN then that is a horrible plan. The profession needs serious providers that want to be in EMS, not who are just passing time. Any experience gained in EMS is generally not acknowledged in the nursing world. Also, a job as an EMT is not guaranteed as they tend to be a dime a dozen and you will only be able to work certain times. That will depend somewhat on where you live. In my area you would not find an agency that would hire you fresh out of EMT school with schedule restrictions.

My suggestion is to find out more about both options and see what you want to do. Then you can focus all your time, money, and energy on what your dream really is. You can possibly do an EMS ride along with your local EMS company.

Either way good luck to you.

[island emt]

My wife was a teacher with a M-ED for twenty years before burning out. She was also an EMT-I during that period.

After teaching she decided to go to nursing school and enrolled in a highly rated program that has been around for 125 years. Excellent education program and received her ADN. She went to work in the hospital and found out that the path to pay increases,promotion opportunities and more respect was to complete her BSN degree program.

Most hospitals are hiring BSN's rather than ADN's as it makes them look better to JACHO.

Edited January 20, 2014 by island emt

[paramedicmike]

To be fair to our new friend, having a job to support oneself during any kind of academic undertaking is a good thing so long as a balance between the two can be maintained. So let's not discourage the resourcefulness being contemplated here.

Now, that being said, being an EMT to support oneself during nursing school may need some additional research. EMTs are a dime a dozen and wages reflect that. Depending on your financial situation surviving nursing school on only an EMT income will be difficult. Please make sure your research includes the availability, stability and compensation of EMT jobs in your area if you decide to pursue that route.

As has been mentioned, working as an EMT will give you absolutely no indication of what working as an RN in the ER is like. If you managed to get an ER tech job with your EMT certification you will probably get a good idea of how an ER operates. You'll certainly get more exposure to nurses and the work they do than you would as an EMT on an ambulance. But you still won't really know what it's like to work in an ER as a RN.

If you are attempting to earn an RN license please base that license on a BSN level education. Hospitals increasingly are not hiring ADN educated RNs. I'm not sure about JCAHO but Magnet certification pushes hospitals to hire BSN educated nurses. ADN educated nurses are finding it harder and harder to find jobs. ADN educated nurses who have jobs are finding it harder to either keep their job or move up without at least a BSN education.

Now, once you earn an RN license (hopefully with a BSN behind your name), you'll be able to do an awful lot of nursing even without an EMS background. Nursing is not EMS based. Nursing dabbles, in some ways, in EMS. But nursing is nursing. Earn your stripes as a nurse and you will be able to do anything you want. Want to be a trauma nurse? Go for it. You don't need an EMS background to work trauma. Want to work in the ICU? Go for it. You won't need an EMS background for that, either. Want to work in an ER? You don't need an EMS background for that, either. You will need to put in your time as a nurse working in a med surg capacity (this seems to be coming back for new grads from what I can gather) before you can expand into other areas. But you can get there.

Please keep in mind that this discussion is not any attempt to discourage you. Comments relayed here so far are based on years of experience and knowledge. And keep in mind your EMT instructor was probably just attempting to butter you up. Unless s/he is an ER nurse what does s/he know about it? Get where I'm going?

As you've seen here we all have some pretty strong opinions about things. You've also got a pretty wide expanse of experience just in this discussion alone. Don't think we're trying to discourage you. We just like to call things like we see it and sometimes our attempts to correct misconceptions can be, well, blunt.

If this is really what you want and the path you want to take then do it. Please understand that we aren't trying to discourage that. There are several ways to get there. Some are better than others. Those better ways are what we're trying to encourage.

[scubanurse]

My post was also not to discourage you, just present you with my experience of having been a paramedic and now being a nurse. It really does not help you, and in some cases may hurt you. Some instructors I had frowned on the fact that I already knew certain things and could get basically any IV they challenged me with, already understood EKG concepts they were teaching. It helped me in some ways for those reasons as well, but it certainly has not helped me get a job at the trauma center like I had hoped. I have a great job now though but in a sub-acute setting, which isn't what I had hoped for and I have my BSN. I work with a lot of BSN's and know of ADN's who still do not have jobs as they are unwilling to look at long-term care. If that doesn't concern you and you are happy in a long-term setting, then ADN is perfect.