CNA or EMT?

[jenberg23]

Hey everyone! I'm almost done with my freshman year of college, and so far I have no medical experience. I was going to scribe at a hospital this summer but that has been postponed. Before COVID, I was having a hard time finding ways to volunteer or work for a hospital, and I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to get enough medical experience. I've been looking into getting either a CNA or EMT certification but I'm not sure which one will benefit me the most. I don't want to waste a lot of time by only having the opportunity to sit behind a desk entering stuff into a computer. I'm really interested in working at a hospital maybe as an emergency room technician and have some patient contact. I'm having a hard time deciding which certification will get me the most medical/patient exposure. What do you all suggest?

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[Goofy Goober]

I suggest EMT since you can work as a tech or on an ambulance. Youll get a lot of individual responsibility over the patient and see the doc go ro work in the ER. CNAs also acceptable but it is a bit more likely that you'll end up wiping some butts at a one point or another according to the CNA friends I have.

 

[jenberg23]

Haha yea I’ve heard a lot of stories like that about CNA. If I get an EMT certification would I be able to do other work instead of ambulance?

 

[Goofy Goober]

Haha yea I’ve heard a lot of stories like that about CNA. If I get an EMT certification would I be able to do other work instead of ambulance?

Well basically you'd either be able to do that or work in an ER as a tech, which is what I do. I've found that hospitals are a little more lenient on what they allow you to do. For instance, on an ambulance you are strictly to stay within your emt scope of care while a hospital may allow you to do IVs, jugulars, follies, as well as push meds such as narcan or epinephrine. It's almost like youre an underpaid nurse if you land the right gig.

The turnover rate for ER techs is pretty high too since most people go on to paramedic or nursing careers shortly after, so it shouldnt be terribly difficult to find a job rather quickly.

 

[Wobbler]

Working on the ambulances can be a lot of fun and you get a lot more autonomy than in the hospitals. In busy urban areas, fire tends to pass patients off to you as fast s possible or medics are overstretched and just can’t get there. So either you’re given a patient who probably needs ALS care by accident or stress on the system requires it. Then it’s just you and them in the back of the rig. Once you’re at the hospital you give the report to the nurses and docs. My point being you get a lot of stories out of it, which becomes important for application writing. You can spin stories describing your ability to handle responsibility under stress or your proficiency in communicating with other healthcare workers to ensure continuity in patient care. Plus having cool stories helps to stick out a little more.

In the end neither will help you become a better doctor. Both provide different environments and opportunities, really depends on what you want. I will say EMT jobs depend a lot on who you work for and where. If the company doesn’t take 911 calls or its in a slower area, I would lean towards CNA cause you can ER tech as a CNA. That’s just my two cents, I was in your shoes at one point and I went EMT. I had friends go CNA, and we are all starting at different schools this summer. It’s all about what you get out of it that anyone really cares about.

 

[aldol16]

Depends what you want to do/have time for. Usually EMTs will ride with an ambulance squad and there's a time commitment associated with that. Could be a couple shifts a month where you have to be on call. Can be paid or not paid but usually most township squads are volunteer (counts as a volunteer activity) and most private services are paid. The private ones usually run interfacility transfers though you do find some responding to 911 calls. Most CNAs that I know work in the nursing home setting. You have control over how much you work (although it could be difficult balancing work with college). You can work on a per diem basis. These jobs are all paid (that I know of).

 

[ElloMellowYellow]

I have done both! Volunteer EMS and paid CNA. I recommend getting your EMT through a volunteer agency and evaluate paid options later on when you have more experience.

I was able to get a per diem CNA job with my EMT cert. I worked 4x a month ( junior to senior yr) just to get a little money.

Being a CNA isn't a glamorous job, but it's a reality. It exposes you to what patients experience.
EMS will give you confidence in making decisions and leading pt care.

I tried getting a job as an ED tech... but no one wants to hire a full-time student. Better as a gap year job.

 

[jenberg23]

Working on the ambulances can be a lot of fun and you get a lot more autonomy than in the hospitals. In busy urban areas, fire tends to pass patients off to you as fast s possible or medics are overstretched and just can’t get there. So either you’re given a patient who probably needs ALS care by accident or stress on the system requires it. Then it’s just you and them in the back of the rig. Once you’re at the hospital you give the report to the nurses and docs. My point being you get a lot of stories out of it, which becomes important for application writing. You can spin stories describing your ability to handle responsibility under stress or your proficiency in communicating with other healthcare workers to ensure continuity in patient care. Plus having cool stories helps to stick out a little more.

In the end neither will help you become a better doctor. Both provide different environments and opportunities, really depends on what you want. I will say EMT jobs depend a lot on who you work for and where. If the company doesn’t take 911 calls or its in a slower area, I would lean towards CNA cause you can ER tech as a CNA. That’s just my two cents, I was in your shoes at one point and I went EMT. I had friends go CNA, and we are all starting at different schools this summer. It’s all about what you get out of it that anyone really cares about.

I was also leaning more towards getting a CNA. I was looking for clinical and hospital jobs and a lot of them require CNA.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

I suggest EMT since you can work as a tech or on an ambulance. Youll get a lot of individual responsibility over the patient and see the doc go ro work in the ER. CNAs also acceptable but it is a bit more likely that you'll end up wiping some butts at a one point or another according to the CNA friends I have.

This. I did EMT for 4 years prior and it was the greatest experience ever. You get a lot of independent freedom and that's so important when talking about actually having been in the game. Granted, most things are algorithmized, but you actually have responsibilities and not a lot of oversight.

David D MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[harvard_of_the_west]

For instance, on an ambulance you are strictly to stay within your emt scope of care while a hospital may allow you to do IVs, jugulars, follies, as well as push meds such as narcan or epinephrine.

Holy dude man...what hospital allows techs to start foleys, push epi, and start IJ's?! That's acting waaay above one's EMT scope of practice, inside a hospital or not. Not cool and pretty scary.

EMT and CNA are both fine ways to get experiences. I've been an EMT for 7 years and have been happy with the experiences I've gained through it. I worked a mix of first responder jobs as well as some time in a clinic.

 

[Detective SnowBucket]

One thing to consider that no one has mentioned. I tried looking into becoming an EMT for my gap year but the certification alone was a year long. May be different where you are but still, make sure.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

I was cna for 2 summers in college. Both options have merit. Being a CNA allows you to see how vulnerable patients are and helps you develop a sense of humanity and a sense of helping people who cant do for themselves. Yes, you have to clean patients, bathe them, dress them, scrub dentures, etc. You also get to understand how hospitals work and the degree of sacrifice made by doctors,nurses and other hospital personnel. Emt is exciting and you get to see some cool stuff. It's a lot of call and depending on the unit, might not see much acute stuff, maybe just transports. Both have advantages. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[jenberg23]

I was cna for 2 summers in college. Both options have merit. Being a CNA allows you to see how vulnerable patients are and helps you develop a sense of humanity and a sense of helping people who cant do for themselves. Yes, you have to clean patients, bathe them, dress them, scrub dentures, etc. You also get to understand how hospitals work and the degree of sacrifice made by doctors,nurses and other hospital personnel. Emt is exciting and you get to see some cool stuff. It's a lot of call and depending on the unit, might not see much acute stuff, maybe just transports. Both have advantages. Good luck and best wishes!

My friend has a CNA and she works at a cardiology clinic. And she doesn't do any of this stuff. I've seen a lot of people say you have to clean patients and all that, but I've also seen job listings at hospitals that require a CNA but you don't have to any of the stuff you mentioned.

 

[ElloMellowYellow]

If you're working outpatient, then that's a different story. But inpatient, if you're going to be working in a med-surg floor.... a job posting won't say " must be able to bathe patients and change linen when soiled" They say " facilitate activities of daily living or 'ADL', which imply the former.

But maybe things are different where you live/ for the roles you're looking at.

 

[Talldoctor96]

EMT

 

[sw99]

1. This question has been asked numerous times; do a search or look in the EMS/nursing section of this website
2.

I suggest EMT since you can work as a tech or on an ambulance. Youll get a lot of individual responsibility over the patient and see the doc go ro work in the ER. CNAs also acceptable but it is a bit more likely that you'll end up wiping some butts at a one point or another according to the CNA friends I have.

Don't nec. recommend EMT for this reason bc if you don't work in a hospital, you'll likely end up being the ambulance driver and not doing as much clincial stuff as a paramedic. Not to say that you won't do clincal stuff as an EMT, but you can also get this kind of experience in the hospital as a pt care tech, pt transport, etc. Good luck.

 

[clouds9]

Holy dude man...what hospital allows techs to start foleys, push epi, and start IJ's?! That's acting waaay above one's EMT scope of practice, inside a hospital or not. Not cool and pretty scary.

It depends on which state you're in. The state where I have my EMT license does not allow this. However, after I read your post I got curious and started asking people who have done this. A couple worked in different hospitals affiliated with medical schools. One worked in a community hospital that was part of a big health system in a major metropolitan area. They had to do a few months of training, but they didn't get an official license. They didn't push epi or start IJ's. As an EMT in a department that does not have the luxury of having a lot of ALS units I can say that you can see an awful lot as an EMT on an ambulance, but the stories they have told me and the things physicians have taught them made me jealous.

EDIT: I'd pick EMT.