Re: EMT-P to RN programs

[Lisa Heinz <flytrn117@yahoo.com>]

well stated Bill...
I whole heartedly agree with your entire message.

Lisa
--- BillF877@aol.com wrote:
> First of all I would like to say that I have met
> many excellent RN's and 
> Paramedics over the years. I started out as a
> Paramedic, and then went to an 
> old fashioned 33 month diploma program. I guess
> those are extinct now, but 
> they served a great purpose. 
> 
> There is no easy answer on the issue of "bridging"
> from one discipline to 
> another. I would offer this much though. Both the
> EMS and Nursing programs 
> offer a rather diverse education for their intended
> purposes. There is so 
> much more to the EMT-B and EMT-P programs than
> learning airway management. I 
> am not sure that the RN who takes one of these
> bridge programs is learning 
> all of those little intangible skills and knowledge
> points that makes them an 
> excellent field provider. By making any RN sit
> through the whole program will 
> not only give the RN a wonderful review of the
> EMT-Paramedic knowledge base, 
> but also give them better insight to field care.
> Another aspect of sitting 
> through the whole Paramedic program is the idea of
> credibility. There is much 
> to be said for walking in someone else's shoes. 
> 
> By the same token, there is so much more to an RN
> program, and to the 
> practice of Nursing. It is easy to look at the
> common skills of an RN in the 
> ER taking care of a chest pain patient and think
> that it is only a matter of 
> sticking an IV in, drawing blood, and hooking the
> patient up to the monitor. 
> By attending a fully accredited RN program any
> Paramedic is going to be 
> getting more knowledge just like the RN who would
> attend the whole Paramedic 
> program. The end result is a really knowledgeable
> and capable individual. The 
> Paramedic who goes through the whole RN program is
> going to have better 
> credibility. 
> 
> I am reminded of the time a Paramedic once said to
> me, "I want to go get my 
> my RN certification" as though it was a short course
> like ACLS. I was rather 
> amused. The worlds of EMS and Nursing are still
> rather diverse, although they 
> share many borders. Besides, it never hurts to have
> more education. Anyway, I 
> am just waiting for that 24 week bridge course to
> become a neurosurgeon. 
> Drilling those burr holes really looks neat...can it
> be that difficult...
> 
> Just some thoughts-
> Bill
> 
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