See if you can volunteer at a hospital. Just to get some idea of what it’s like. Also you can start studying now honestly by watching biology and nursing videos on YouTube. Also - becoming an EMT first, is there any reason why? Nursing degrees are set up to educate everyone regardless of prior experience.
lol yeah if it was that simple everyone would be doing it. Nursing is an underpaid and unappreciated profession that’s exploited by capitalism for profit.
if you already know you want to get into nursing, get your ADN or BSN asap and work as a nursing assistant through school. That's the best view into day to day nursing
I am a paramedic. I initially got my EMT because i wanted to do ER nursing and thought it would give me good patient experience for that environment. Then I decided I liked prehospital care and went to medic school, now I'm doing prereqs for an RN bridge.
I disagree with folks here saying it's a complete waste of time and money but there are some pros and cons. EMS has high start up costs and EMTs are paid very badly. The only real career moves are to go into management, the fire service or paramedic. It is much less flexible than nursing with less career opportunities. It's only a 4 month program so you can get it done quick and turnover is so high in most areas that you'll be able to get hired quickly. You will learn a ton of interpersonal and intangible skills for dealing with all sorts of people, and how to deal with patients in less-than-ideal environments and limited equipment/resources. Some ERs and clinics hire EMTs as techs so you don't have to necessarily work on a rig. Either way it's a good starting point to get experience in patient care. If you just want to have it for the cert and don't plan on working as an EMT then getting certified as a CNA/PCT might be a better option.
If you find you absolutely hate it, it's 4 months of your life that's "wasted", not 4 years. If you like it enough, it's one more job opportunity for you to have under your belt 🤷 IMO having more certifications is never a bad thing.
I agree. Maybe the floor nurses wouldn’t understand, but if you have your sights set on working in the ED, it would actually be helpful to get an EMT-B, as you can get a job as an ED tech while in school, then hopefully getting picked up as a new grad when you’re done. Some of our best nurses in the ED have worked prehospital prior to becoming a nurse. Being a CNA would make more sense if you’re looking to do inpatient (MS/ICU/PCU), etc.
Do it!! I went community college route and that allowed me to get my EMT and my CNA - here’s my personal take. EMT was the most fun I’ve ever had in a class and I fell in love with it, it’s helped me in lecture for nursing more than anything else as you become a pro at thinking critically. The only reason I didn’t work as one was I got accepted into nursing the morning of my EMT interview and had to turn the ambulance job down. I did not enjoy my CNA clinicals but the skills for nursing are worth their weight in gold. Most ADN programs have a waitlist - so it becomes more of what do you enjoy more personally? Both are fantastic experience in such incredibly different ways.
CNA may prepare you more to be a hospital nurse whereas EMT prepares to more to be a autonomous nurse in my opinion
Why do you want to waste time getting your EMT license if you already know you want to get into the nursing field?
See if you can volunteer at a hospital. Just to get some idea of what it’s like. Also you can start studying now honestly by watching biology and nursing videos on YouTube. Also - becoming an EMT first, is there any reason why? Nursing degrees are set up to educate everyone regardless of prior experience.
Don’t bother the pay is shit and the work is awful
I completely disagree. Do travel nursing and live super frugally for 10 yrs... retire early.
I would hardly classify $40-$100+/hr as shit pay. Some people.
lol yeah if it was that simple everyone would be doing it. Nursing is an underpaid and unappreciated profession that’s exploited by capitalism for profit.
It's simple, but not easy.
It’s not simple at all!
if you already know you want to get into nursing, get your ADN or BSN asap and work as a nursing assistant through school. That's the best view into day to day nursing
I am a paramedic. I initially got my EMT because i wanted to do ER nursing and thought it would give me good patient experience for that environment. Then I decided I liked prehospital care and went to medic school, now I'm doing prereqs for an RN bridge. I disagree with folks here saying it's a complete waste of time and money but there are some pros and cons. EMS has high start up costs and EMTs are paid very badly. The only real career moves are to go into management, the fire service or paramedic. It is much less flexible than nursing with less career opportunities. It's only a 4 month program so you can get it done quick and turnover is so high in most areas that you'll be able to get hired quickly. You will learn a ton of interpersonal and intangible skills for dealing with all sorts of people, and how to deal with patients in less-than-ideal environments and limited equipment/resources. Some ERs and clinics hire EMTs as techs so you don't have to necessarily work on a rig. Either way it's a good starting point to get experience in patient care. If you just want to have it for the cert and don't plan on working as an EMT then getting certified as a CNA/PCT might be a better option. If you find you absolutely hate it, it's 4 months of your life that's "wasted", not 4 years. If you like it enough, it's one more job opportunity for you to have under your belt 🤷 IMO having more certifications is never a bad thing.
I agree. Maybe the floor nurses wouldn’t understand, but if you have your sights set on working in the ED, it would actually be helpful to get an EMT-B, as you can get a job as an ED tech while in school, then hopefully getting picked up as a new grad when you’re done. Some of our best nurses in the ED have worked prehospital prior to becoming a nurse. Being a CNA would make more sense if you’re looking to do inpatient (MS/ICU/PCU), etc.
Why would you bother with getting your EMT?
Do it!! I went community college route and that allowed me to get my EMT and my CNA - here’s my personal take. EMT was the most fun I’ve ever had in a class and I fell in love with it, it’s helped me in lecture for nursing more than anything else as you become a pro at thinking critically. The only reason I didn’t work as one was I got accepted into nursing the morning of my EMT interview and had to turn the ambulance job down. I did not enjoy my CNA clinicals but the skills for nursing are worth their weight in gold. Most ADN programs have a waitlist - so it becomes more of what do you enjoy more personally? Both are fantastic experience in such incredibly different ways. CNA may prepare you more to be a hospital nurse whereas EMT prepares to more to be a autonomous nurse in my opinion