CNA vs EMT

[cmudan]

OK, so I know there is a thread floating around here about becoming EMT. In that thread, I noticed several comments about college students using the job as a stepping stone. Several negative comments were made about this and posters continued to bash the idea.

I think this is spawned out of bitterness towards young, motivated students trying to get any exposure that they can.

Here is my experience as a CNA. I work in a nursing home where many young (17-26) people work, many of whom rely on the job for the income while trying to support 2 kids alone - unwed. I have seen this scenario many times here. These people at my place of employment have the worst work ethic known to man and are not there to gain experience, interact with the residents, or grow as a person. These people are there to make $$ and some don't give a rats azz about how they treat the residents, they do the minimal amount and slide by everyday. They call in more often, slack more, and do nothing to actually get to know the residents.

College students are the best thing that ever happened to that place. I have work ethic - I don't call-in to work; I care for the residents and actually try to make the best out of my job at hand. Of course this is a generality and many will say this is a stereotype and it WOULD be if I was generalizing it to all CNA's and EMT's.

In my case, in my nursing home, in my city, it is the case.

Moral of the story: Using a job as a stepping stone is not always bad, sometimes it brings great things to a health care network, and more importantly great things to the residents/patients.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DSM]

Moral of the story: Using a job as a stepping stone is not always bad, sometimes it brings great things to a health care network, and more importantly great things to the residents/patients. [/B][/QUOTE]

I think the idea behind using a job as a stepping stone and also using it as a learning tool are a really good thing. But if you are doing it just to look good on an application or resume is absolutely the wrong thing to do. If you are there for the right reasons, that is great. A nursing home is a fantastic place to become aquainted with the geriatric and bedridden community. Just because you will eventually move on to other things is not a bad thing.

I once had a nursing student who was also in EMT school doing clinicals with me on the ambulance. All he did was put down EMT's and paramedics the entire time. He only needed one more call to complete his rotation. Just as soon as we completed his "one call" I took him back to our main office and put him off the truck even though he could have ridden 5 more hours with us.

Just do it for the right reasons, the experience will be invaluable.

 

[Sweet Tea]

What she said.

I was an EMT for several years in a college/med school town. I saw lots of people that joined to get a feel for working in the medical field and to learn some things while improving their resume, and I saw lots of people who joined only to improve their resume. You could definetly tell who was using it for padding and who wasn't, and the padders just did not last long.

 

[ad_sharp]

Ditto to the previous posters...

My most inspiring work during the course of my undergraduate education was the 5 month period in which I worked at a nursing home. Now, I can say that I KNOW BEYOND A DOUBT that helping people is my primary motivation---not money. My work experience validated my educational efforts and gave me some fuel to complete my quest. I recommend that others try some form of medical work during their undergrad years beyond normal shadowing.

 

[UrSexyLatinDr21]

DO YOU GUYS KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY CNA OR EMT-1,EMT-B CLASSES? I KNOW THERE IS A MEDICAL ASSISTANT CLASS WHERE THE CLINICAL PART IS GIVEN ON A VIDEO KIND OF THING. LIKE PHLEBOTOMY, EKG'S , ETC. YOU GUYS KNOW OF ANY SUCH CNA, EMT PROGRAMS?

ED

 

[tugbug]

In my area CNA classes are given by the red cross, most hospitals, and any of the areas tech schools.

I work as an emergency room Tech (CNA certific). Nearly all of the Techs at our hospital are students preparing for med school or are in Nursing school. It is definitely a learning tool and a stepping stone. But it is good for the hospital. They have a guaranteed pool of motivated and capable people for a position that they would otherwise have an aweful lot of trouble filling. It is not a glamorous job and it pays very little... but the experience (phlebotomy, EKG, Catheters, general patient care) cannot be beaten IMO.

 

[UrSexyLatinDr21]

DO YOU GUYS KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY CNA OR EMT-1,EMT-B CLASSES? I KNOW THERE IS A MEDICAL ASSISTANT CLASS WHERE THE CLINICAL PART IS GIVEN ON A VIDEO KIND OF THING. LIKE PHLEBOTOMY, EKG'S , ETC. YOU GUYS KNOW OF ANY SUCH CNA, EMT PROGRAMS?

ED

 

[BEETLEVH]

To toss in my 2 cents.... I became an EMT back when I was in one of the worst ruts in my life. I had "dropped out" of college more or less and was working full time. I had relegated past aspirations for becoming a doctor to nothing more than medical pipe dreams. I know how contrived this is going to sound but even though I had hated college, was making money, owned lots of vehicles and toys, I felt like something was really missing. So I took the course, became a volunteer EMT, and been doing it for over 2 years now. Never have gotten paid a cent for getting up at 3:30am on a Saturday (actually I'm on call right now), but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It forced me to get back into school and go for what I knew that I always wanted.

I guess the point to me saying this is to agree with the previous sentiments that something like this can be a great learning experience during your drive towards doctor-hood. It has been an incredible learning experience for me in every respect. Admissions committees and applications aside, the one thing that speaks volumes about my experience is that I did it when I had absolutly no applications to worry about. Regardless of when/how/if I get into med school, I'll always be proud of that.