CNA to LPN to EMT or CNA to EMT.

Crimson Ghost

Crimson Ghost

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Hello. How everybody doing? Haven't been on this forum for a while, because i was to busy trying to figure out what to do with my life. I've beed planing to take a EMT class this summer, but for financial resons decided to wait till winter. Taking medterminology and A&P right now, so basically im just one class away form geting CNA this summer, with LPN class, as a backup, on hold. So can anybody give advice on what would be more reaosnable: To finish nursing (CNA to LPN), then worry about EMT or just to look at CNA class as a lilttle preparation for EMT class and do EMT in winter. Thank you. If anybody had some experience, trying to do nursing and EMS, i'll be glad to hear about it. :)
 
Get all the science classes and other prerequisites you can. Take the CNA. Proceed to RN. And, if you have time, you can work in EMT-B.
 
VentMedic said:
Get all the science classes and other prerequisites you can. Take the CNA. Proceed to RN. And, if you have time, you can work in EMT-B.
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Whould it be physically possible to do LPN class and EMT class at the same time? If all goes right, ill have my CNA by the end of summer, in autumn take general classes for LPN and in winter start part time EMT class, while working full time on LPN degree. Is that a realistic plan? :) It just frustrates me that they wouldnt let people do Paramedic class right away any i don't wanna waste 9 month in EMT class, without having to work on somekindof backup plan on a side. I don't have a job, i've a stay at home mom for the past 2 years, so now that i have opportunity to get education, i wanna have it all, no time wasted.
 
EMT class 9 months long? Is that with prerequisites? Rarely is it over 120 or 150 hours in length in the U.S. If it is stretched out over 9 months by doing 1 evening per week, then yes it is can be done with other classes depending on the individual. The nursing prequisite classes will give you a better educational foundation for EMT which will make it much easier.

Why do you want to do LPN? Where would you work with that 1 year certificate?

Full steam ahead to RN and get a career.
 
VentMedic said:
EMT class 9 months long? Is that with prerequisites? Rarely is it over 120 or 150 hours in length in the U.S. If it is stretched out over 9 months by doing 1 evening per week, then yes it is can be done with other classes depending on the individual. The nursing prequisite classes will give you a better educational foundation for EMT which will make it much easier.

Why do you want to do LPN? Where would you work with that 1 year certificate?

Full steam ahead to RN and get a career.
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EMT class is 9 month, because it is evening 2 day a week class, thats why i said i can get LPN at the same time. They don't have prerequizites for EMT class, when i told them i wanna take A&P and medterminology FOR EMT class, they just look at me all weird. But there is LPN course, which i can use a credits to. And i heard that some places offer some kind of bridge couse LPN to RN. Don't know if its true or not. Sure wouldnt wanna take it all over again, if thats aint true.
 
VentMedic said:
EMT class 9 months long? Is that with prerequisites? Rarely is it over 120 or 150 hours in length in the U.S. If it is stretched out over 9 months by doing 1 evening per week, then yes it is can be done with other classes depending on the individual. The nursing prequisite classes will give you a better educational foundation for EMT which will make it much easier.

Why do you want to do LPN? Where would you work with that 1 year certificate?

Full steam ahead to RN and get a career.
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A nursing home.

Or Florida Hospital uses ALPNs on some floors.

However, talking to them, they are paid crap, get no respect from coworkers for not being a "real nurse" and generally regret getting an LPN cert as oppose to an RN license.

I don't understand short of academic constraints (As in don't have the grades or test scores to get into an RN program) why someone would choose LPN over RN. A year isn't that much longer.
 
Sasha said:
A nursing home.

Or Florida Hospital uses ALPNs on some floors.

However, talking to them, they are paid crap, get no respect from coworkers for not being a "real nurse" and generally regret getting an LPN cert as oppose to an RN license.

I don't understand short of academic constraints (As in don't have the grades or test scores to get into an RN program) why someone would choose LPN over RN. A year isn't that much longer.
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:)It might sound irrational, but i only wanna do LPN, so i can have job with a pay decent enought to keep me throught EMT-I, Paramedic programms. Bad economy dictates its own change of plans.
 
so i can have job with a pay decent enought to keep me throught EMT-I, Paramedic programms.
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So head to RN and bridge to Paramedic. LPN pay is crappy, not as crappy as Paramedic, but crappy.
 
Sasha said:
So head to RN and bridge to Paramedic. LPN pay is crappy, not as crappy as Paramedic, but crappy.
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B)They have RN to Paramedic bridge!? I thought you have to take EMT, then work as EMT for a year before you can apply for Paramedic. I've been in RN medical college for 2 years in Russia, had 1 year left left to graduation, when i moved here 4 years ago. Few people from my college became russian paramedics. But i thought it was different here.
 
Crimson Ghost said:
B)They have RN to Paramedic bridge!? I thought you have to take EMT, then work as EMT for a year before you can apply for Paramedic. I've been in RN medical college for 2 years in Russia, had 1 year left left to graduation, when i moved here 4 years ago. Few people from my college became russian paramedics. But i thought it was different here.
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What state are you in?

You can also challenge the Paramedic test as an RN in some states. A few do require EMT-B first but after RN school, that should only be a first aid class since you will hopefully know where the knee cap is located. If you already have a nursing background, continue forward to your RN. Don't mess around with the LPN and don't get too stressed out over taking an EMT-B class now. Once you are an RN, you will have a career, flexible hours and a stable good income to pursue your EMS ambitions. There are also several states that have separate credentials for RNs in EMS. Most will require a few hours of classroom and clinicals but it builds upon what you have. You continue to move forward in your career as a nurse.

I don't know what the requirements are for a Paramedic in Russia, but you may be seriously disappointed in the U.S. trained Paramedic. If I remember correctly, in Russia you need at least two years of education to be a Paramedic. If you really want to be an EMT-B and Paramedic in the U.S., you could do both levels in as little as 4 months total.
 
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Ditto Vent and Sasha

Russia? Welcome!
 
VentMedic said:
What state are you in?

You can also challenge the Paramedic test as an RN in some states. A few do require EMT-B first but after RN school, that should only be a first aid class since you will hopefully know where the knee cap is located. If you already have a nursing background, continue forward to your RN. Don't mess around with the LPN and don't get too stressed out over taking an EMT-B class now. Once you are an RN, you will have a career, flexible hours and a stable good income to pursue your EMS ambitions. There are also several states that have separate credentials for RNs in EMS. Most will require a few hours of classroom and clinicals but it builds upon what you have. You continue to move forward in your career as a nurse.

I don't know what the requirements are for a Paramedic in Russia, but you may be seriously disappointed in the U.S. trained Paramedic. If I remember correctly, in Russia you need at least two years of education to be a Paramedic. If you really want to be an EMT-B and Paramedic in the U.S., you could do both levels in as little as 4 months total.
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Allmost all guys i knew form medical college in Russia, became paramedics, after graduating (and it was 3 year full time, 9am to 3 pm, plus 1year of clinicals at the hospital, diploma work done). I was wondering what guys would want in nursing college, with mostly girls, but i found out, they were all geting jobs in EMS and ERs.
So i was very hesitant about going back to colledge, not knowing nothing about US colleges, untill i found out they have part time classes here, wich is good for me, cause i have my own family now. As far as i know, LPN class have part time class and EMT too. I live in Atlanta, GA. Perimeter college just started having accelerated LPN to RN bridge track. So is my colledge has accelerated 12 week EMT-I class. So it all pretty confusing and frustrating to not only figure out wich class to take, but when and where.:wacko:
 
By the way, thats why i figured to do EMS. I thought i can use my 2 year college credit to get into Paramedic programm. No luck there. The response was:"we're special, we're called academy, we wear uniform and we DON"T take other college credits". 2 years down the drain for me...It is hard starting over and you want to do the transition as quik as possible, but thats not always possible.
 
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Find a college to take your Paramedic at. Not one of the many private EMS schools that are around Atlanta. You will still need your EMT, but a college program may use some of your credits towards your degree.
 
Crimson Ghost said:
By the way, thats why i figured to do EMS. I thought i can use my 2 year college credit to get into Paramedic programm. No luck there. The response was:"we're special, we're called academy, we wear uniform and we DON"T take other college credits". 2 years down the drain for me...It is hard starting over and you want to do the transition as quik as possible, but thats not always possible.
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Paramedic education in the U.S. is not the same as in Russia. We definitely don't require a 3 year degree.

You are not starting over. You are looking at a tech school certificate. The word "academy" can also be used to describe a "medic mill" which produces Paramedics with only the minimal hours required for that state.

Your two years of previous training are definitely not a loss. In other words, you may be over qualified...not under qualified. You will be way ahead of almost any EMT or Paramedic in your class as far as education goes.

When compared hour for hour, the LPN is more hours of training than the Paramedic and it is not a respected certificate by the nursing professionals.

Have you researched where you will work once you get your EMT and Paramedic certifications? Does your area have Fire based EMS?

I was wondering what guys would want in nursing college, with mostly girls, but i found out, they were all geting jobs in EMS and ERs.
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Some of our best RNs are men. They work in all areas of the hospital including the ICUs, Med-surg and the ORs. There are no longer the woman's job attitude. If that was still true, you as a woman would have no place in EMS or firefighting. Some of our "macho" FF/Paramedics go on to nursing school to advance their education and gain more medical knowledge. The scope of practice for a Paramedic can be very limited. In some areas, nurses do the Critical Care Transports because the Paramedic's scope of practice may not allow them to do all the medications and technology. If a Paramedic works in a hospital, their prehospital certification may not be recognized. They would be considered an ER tech and the hospital would determine what they could do.
 
reaper,
Is GA a fire based EMS state? Atlanta area?

reaper said:
Find a college to take your Paramedic at. Not one of the many private EMS schools that are around Atlanta. You will still need your EMT, but a college program may use some of your credits towards your degree.
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They should also use some of the credits toward a nursing degree (RN).
 
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The city is covered by Grady EMS (hospital based). A lot of the suburbs are Fire based. Outlying counties do have some third service EMS.
 
fortsmithman said:
Im just curious how long is the CNA course.
How long is the LPN course.
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CNA can range from 2 weeks to 6 months. Depends on where you take it and how much education you want out of it. (kinda like EMT-B)

LPN is 1 year. I equate it to an EMT-I, kinda of useless. You could continue on and finish Rn. Most hospitals do not use LPN's anymore. Mainly Nursing homes or Dr's offices.
 
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