Floridastudent

It's my Community College, where I am taking basic algebra & medical terminology this semester. I was a little surprised to see that they required biology before taking A&P I; I could check other community colleges in the area to see if they all require it. The RN schools around here all want you to have finished your prerequisites BEFORE you apply to them; they don't generally offer the pre-req's, unless they are expensive diploma mills like Kaiser - and then the pre-req's that Kaiser teaches are not accepted by any other schools so I would have to RETAKE them all at some point. I figure the pre-req's are going to take me a while to finish up; I'm going to take as many as I can each semester while working. Now, starting in January, I COULD take the 15 week EMT course - or I could get more pre-req's out of the way. Tough call. The LPN school that is part-time doesn't start until August anyway, so I need to figure out what to do next semester. Argument FOR taking EMT course - I get to do clinicals and the instructors are all EMS professionals who work in the field, so I would meet people and find out about local job opportunities, maybe even get hired at a hospital. And being an EMT couldn't hurt when I'm applying for any kind of health care job, right? My understanding is, the more healthcare certifications and education, the better. Argument AGAINST - I am getting the impression that EMT certificate on its own won't get me hired many places these days. Really only useful if I want to progress to being a paramedic.

The problem there is, I can't wait until I finish all of my prereq's to get a job - since I have about a year and a half of prereq's left. I need to get some kind of job sooner than that - CNA, EMT, something. This semester I am taking basic algebra, which I needed before I could take either biology or chemistry. (And I'm taking medical terminology just because it seemed like a good idea). Next comes biology, which I have to take before I can take A&P I and II. I also need developmental psych, probably nutrition, probably chemistry. So it's not like there's no end in sight - I just need to support myself in the meantime. Stupid bills. They just keep showing up, month after month.

Interesting idea, being a pharmacy tech. Hadn't thought of that either. The thing with hospitals paying for nursing school, etc. - and I freely admit I am probably believing too much of what I read on allnurses.com - I get the impression that these days, 1.) It is very hard to get hired at a hospital as a CNA without experience and 2.) hospitals are less likely to pay for nursing school any more, since the nursing shortage seems to have temporarily eased. However, rather than take anyone else's word for it, as soon as I get my CNA license I'll go apply to all the local hospitals and see what happens. If all else fails - hospice, LTC, nursing homes, whoever hires me. By the way I went and got my beloved acrylic nails taken off today - I hear that healthcare jobs and acrylic nails don't mix. I'm crushed; I had acrylic nails for about 20 years! Since I was, er, 9. Yeah, that's it.

I echo what one of the above posters said - the back of an ambulance? Talk about a petri dish of nasty germs! Because, you know, I hear tell that inconsiderate patients might occasionally barf, bleed, pee, defecate, drool, etc. back there. I am relatively open-minded, but none of that gets me in the mood. Even after it's been scrubbed up. And when I was a newspaper reporter sitting around the office, waiting for something to happen, it was never like the TV shows either - my coworkers weren't smokin' hot - sorry, former coworkers, I did NOT just say that! - and we did not spend our days courageously exposing corruption. More like going to four hour zoning meetings and sifting through stacks of press releases to get story ideas.

I'm sorry, are you telling me that if I take that EMT course next semester I AM not guaranteed excitement, adventure, intense personal melodrama with every 24-hour shift, and Hollywood-beautiful coworkers? And also you're saying that paramedics should NOT do it in the back of the ambulance? Way to kill my dream, folks. Jeez, why did I think being an EMT sounded like such a good idea? I may watch the show once, just to laugh.

I have not yet looked at hospitals - Just got my CPR for healthcare providers, and I test for my CNA license on Oct. 17 - but maybe if I told them I could work overnights, weekends and holidays I'd have a better chance of getting hired? I would love to work at a hospital (for now. Ultimately I'd like to be out in the field or in the emergency room.) I know being an LPN is far from ideal. I am exploring numerous options right now, and if I could find a work/learn program at a hospital I'd be THRILLED. The one thing I really can't do, though, is go for two years straight without working, while in a super stringent nursing program. I just don't have the ability to pay rent and bills if I do that. I need to be able to work at least part time.

That's the problem - it really would be near impossible for me to be out of work for two years while in a nursing program. And there is a local part time, evening LPN program I could get into no problem and work the whole time. I am a single mom with two kids, I support us with freelance writing right now but it's a very feast or famine existence. Local RN programs are incredibly competitive - yes, I have good grades, but so do the hundreds of other people applying for 60 slots each year. I know people who applied several years in a row and were not accepted. One went to Keiser and graduated $80,000 in debt. (She is employed as a nurse now, though, yee-hah!) So to do the two year RN thing I would have to borrow money for living expenses and I would graduate with massive debt. Assuming I could even borrow that much money. Believe me, I would rather just DO it and get the RN already, but I need to pay for rent, food, gas, buy the kids clothing, pay my son's hundreds of dollars of diabetes deductibles every month, pay for my health insurance, etc. - you know, those little luxuries. (yes, I get some money from their dad, plus kids health insurance, but not enough to carry me through two years of not working.) So unfortunately I'm stuck with the slower route, unless I win the lottery. Vent Medic does have great advice - and I have looked into the second accelerated BSN option too - the challenge there is that it is also super competitive to get into, I would need at least a year and a half's pre-req's before I could even apply, and again - I couldn't work at all for that year that I was in the program. If I didn't have kids, I'd do it - just live in a tiny sublet, sell my car, and eat ramen noodles and take the bus for a year. I really appreciate the suggestion to do RN before paramedic, though - that seriously never occured to me as an option. I always assumed that the best thing to do would be get the paramedic cert, then decide if I wanted to get an RN on top of that. I absolutely see your point about why being an RN first would be better. Allnurses.com - yes, you have a point. I've noticed that on every forum, the people who tend to speak up the loudest and most often are the unhappy people. And I always was able to find work as a reporter (before this latest economic crisis) so I assume I'd be able to find work as a nurse. Again - I'll move anywhere, take any position, work any shift for the first couple of years to get that experience under my belt.

Oh, I wasn't planning on applying to the RN program without getting the pre-req's done first. I have a B.A., and I've checked, I have all my English and humanities, but I have about a year's worth of science left. One plan I was looking at, however, was - get a paramedic or LPN degree - and then work while getting my pre-rq's - and work while I do the LPN to RN bridge program or paramedic to RN bridge program.

That is helpful! I get to do ridealongs with the EMT course that I'm taking - can't wait! And there is a county near me that has a volunteer ambulance service, so once I have EMT certification, I will do that too. Eek - paramedics REALLY should get better pay for what they risk and for the responsibilities they have!!! So the pay you are quoting is Paramedic, not EMT?

Yes, I certainly plan to take all of those courses. I am going to test for CNA in a couple of weeks. I have heard that hospitals only want people with experience, even CNAs, and with the job market these days they can pick and choose their candidates. I will apply at hospitals anyway, but if I don't get hired a hospital I can always do visiting CNA, long term care, hospice, etc. The more health care experience I get, the better. The paramedic program and LPN program that I am looking at both have mini versions of A&P and pharmacology. I know it's not the same as college level. I am taking medical terminology now, and took A&P I, but that was years ago, so I need to retake. I'm not settling for the least education, though - I'm just trying to figure out what, in this job market, will give me a reasonable chance of getting a healthcare job soon so I can at least work part time while in school, and so I can start getting healthcare experience and connections in the field soon too. Then once I do that, I will continue taking classes at community college. Good to know about the online program. I'll look harder at the alternatives.

Well dang. That doesn't bode well for a paramedic career, does it? I am still going to get my EMT but that does give me food for thought about the paramedic degree.

My main motivation for getting an LPN is that it only takes a year, and I don't need pre-req's, so the hope would be that I'd get a job at a nursing home or LTC facility or hospice, while getting my pre-req's done, and then do the LPN to RN online bridge. So you think I would be better off getting an RN degree BEFORE getting the paramedic? Are most states doing the same thing - having the fire departments take over the ambulance services? That would make me think twice about paramedic because my goal is being in the medical field, not the firefighting field.

I really appreciate the tips on which counties will hire in FLorida! That's exactly what I was looking for. Do they hire just EMTs or do they prefer paramedics? For LPN to RN or paramedic to RN - I'm currently in Orlando and there are several schools within driving distance - Valencia, Seminole - that offer bridge programs. Would you say that community colleges generally have good programs? Also - Nifty - I sent you a yahoo message, hope that's okay, but since you are local I wanted to see if I could ask you a few more Florida-related questions.

I appreciate your info! This semester, I am taking basic algebra (how sad is THAT! Forgot all my math) and medical terminology at my local community college. Getting A's so far. The EMT course is next semester. I still need to take all of my nursing pre-req's; I have a B.A. from a million years ago so all of my humanities are covered, but I need biology, A&P I and II, chemistry, nutrition, possibly statistics depending on the school, possibly organic chemistry, etc. I want to take the EMT course next semester at my local community college no matter what. The big question is - should I take the paramedic course after that? Or go to LPN school? I really like the idea of doing medicine in the field, outside of the hospital, if possible, but again - I also like the idea of being employed. I used to be in journalism. We all know how well THAT's doing these days. (If you're wondering why I wouldn't go straight to an RN school - it's a year of pre-req's AT LEAST, and then two years of full time school. If I do the paramedic program - one year. If I do the LPN program - one year. In Florida at least, with both of them, I could then work a couple of shifts a week while taking pre-req's, and then do either paramedic to RN online or LPN to RN online. So the goal here is to get some kind of degree that would have me working, as soon as possible.) As for the EMT certificate - I can and likely will go volunteer for a volunteer ambulance company with that, but my understanding is that hardly anyone is hiring EMTs alone - they want paramedics. Also, of course, EMT pay is the pits. Funny thing - my mother was an EMT a long time ago - she had 80 hours of training! Yikes! Oh - as to standards - to get the EMT license I have to take the national test, according to the EMT program director. And I think community colleges are probably better than the diploma mill/patch factories. I hope, anyway.

Hi all! I hope I'm posting this in the right forum. I'm in my mid-40s and, after 20 years in a completely non-health-related field, I am back at school in the Orlando area and enrolled in an EMT course that starts next semester. After that, I can enroll in a one year paramedic program (or I could enroll in an LPN program that starts next August, and then do the LPN to RN online thing once I get my LPN, and be an RN instead. Still debating.) I know I want to be in the emergency medical field. However, I have some questions. I am in Orlando - most LOCAL paramedic jobs are being taken over by the fire department right now. I can relocate once I become a paramedic. I don't have a really good feel for what the paramedic field is like outside of central Florida. I'd love to hear from people in other parts of Florida and other parts of the country - especially if you live somewhere where job demand is decent and where there are opportunities for paramedics who aren't firefighters. I know there's this myth that if you are a nurse you can ALWAYS find a job - but if you go on allnurses.com, you will see new grad nurses in every state saying they've been unemployed for months, even a year, and sending out hundreds of resumes and networking like mad. So this recession has, at least for the next few years most likely, taken away THAT safety net. I do want to be a paramedic but I also want to be able to get a job when I graduate, so I'd love to know what the paramedic job market is like out there. Like I said - I can relocate anywhere - especially for a few years to get experience.