NCleland said:
I'm currently a High School Sophomore in Western Pennsylvania. These days it seems like you almost have to go to college, plus the fact that I'd like to. I was planning on going to college for Nursing (Emergency/Trauma) and then getting my MICN License and PHRN. My final goal is to somehow challenge ther Paramedic test after I graduate and apply to a Fire Department. Many career Fire Departments are looking highly upon Paramedics. I will most likely be taking my EMT before college anyways, but I was hoping after 4 years of Nursing school that I wouldn't have to take the entire Paramedic class. Can someone help me out? Be straight forward. Any suggestions, comments, or questions?
Well - IMHO I think you should figure out what you really want to do. It sounds like your ultimate goal is work as a paramedic on a career fire department. If that is the case, I see no reason to pursue a 4 year nursing degree or even a 2 year nursing degree, for that matter. You will most likely make more money as an RN than you will as a career ff/paramedic and it will be a lot easier to find a job. Most people I know have are looking to go from fire dept/medic to nursing, not the other way around. Although there is good money to be had in some career depts, I think there is much more money to be had in nursing (especially with a BS).
Generally speaking (and if I'm wrong, somebody please correct me), most nursing grads have to do a certain length of time working med/surg, ICU, CCU, etc before they graduate to Emergency/Trauma. Very few of the hospitals that I have been in will hire a fresh graduate directly into the ED. I guess its entirely possible that there are BS nursing programs that allow you to specialize in certain areas, but again, I wouldn't waste my time on that if a fire department is your goal.
Now, on the other hand, if your goal is to be a nurse/medic on a critical care until or helicopter, then a 2 year nursing degree first might make more sense. There are nurse-paramedic transition programs and paramedic-nurse transition programs out there that allow you to gain certification in the second one in less time than the standard course. You can gain valuable nursing experience (and a much better paycheck) working full time and pursuing EMT-P then. (and there's also a good chance that your employer will pay for it)
If nursing is your goal, explore all options. With the nursing shortage, (and this is just my personal opinion) the way to go is get a 2 year AA in nursing degree, and then get a job as a nurse at a facility that wil pay for your college classes if you want to then get your BS or masters in nursing. Many, many hospitals have very generous tuition reimbursment or will pay for your classes outright.
Now - back to the ff/paramedic thing. Do some research on what the requirements are to get hired on different career departments. Career Deparments vary widely in how they do their hiring, even within the same state. There are still an awful lot of departments out there that do their hiring straight off of a civil service (no ff or medic experience required) test list and then provide ff/paramedic training to those eligible and hired. Other departments require that you have FF and/or paramedic certification in order to be eligible to take the test. Yet other career departments hire like a normal job based on resume, experience, interview and etc. Some have a "reserve", volunteer or part-time employee list and hire new full time employees almost exclusively off of those lists. In general though, getting on a full-time department is extremely competitive.
So - as you can see, it is a complicated question. I personally feel that people should have a minimum amount of experience as a basic EMT before becoming a paramedic. In fact, many paramedic programs require Basic certification and/or experience prior to entrance in their program. There is a growing trend toward making paramedic certification as part of an associate's degree, but there are still quite a few paramedic certification programs around (typically they run 9 months to a year). There are some colleges that offer Associates degrees in "Fire Science Technology" where you end up with a degree, professional firefighters certification, and paramedic certification. If a career department is your goal, this is probably the route to go. It will knock out all of your necessary certifications plus, if you want to pursue promotions, will help you there.
See if your guidance counselor can arrange for you to talk to some people in the areas you have mentioned about their jobs or arrange for you to do some shadowing. (Shadowing may be tough to do though with liability and Hippa concerns)
Good luck - I hope this helps.
Amy
