How do you compete, and what are the next steps to ensure that you will be able to care for yourself professionally, your family financially, and your future securely?

Paramedics have struggled for years to establish themselves as professional, skilled clinicians, who deliver patient care in impossible situations and against almost insurmountable odds. We have gone from ‘load and go ambulance drivers’ to professionals that are part of the primary patient care system, but that is only the beginning. Peter O’Meara (2009) advises, “… the future development of the profession has been the progressive move from a vocationally based training system to university based undergraduate education, with Bachelor degrees as the entry-level qualification.”

Speak with any of your contemporaries and you will hear stories related to ‘going back to school’. The days of getting settled into a job and retiring at that same level 30 years later are gone. Aside from keeping current on professional practices and literature, we need to continue to grow and learn beyond mandated Continuing Education for licensure and certifications. Not taking that next step may cost you; rationalizations of why you cannot improve your education and marketability will decrease your competitive edge. Managing money, time, stress, academic challenge, and sheer exhaustion is not easy, but doable.

So what are your options?

Actually, they are almost limitless; we have more choices today than ever before. For those who wish to stay in direct patient care but come out of the uncontrolled environment of the streets, there are several options for becoming a registered nurse, including bridge programs for Paramedic to RN transition. For those whose professional exposure sparks a desire to handle crisis from a managerial perspective, there are bachelor and master’s degree programs in Emergency and Disaster Management, EMS Management, Public Safety Administration, Public Personnel Management, and Disaster Medicine Management.

Which one do you choose? Talk to your coworkers; ask if their networking includes anyone who has already completed a degree program in which you are interested for experiential insights. Perform online research to see what is required of each program, as some requirements may be far more (or less) interesting to you personally. Ask your employer about educational reimbursement; sometimes they will pay only if the program directly relates to your current job description. You also want to know about employer-paid maximum dollar amounts (and in what time period) for your educational compensation package.

Inquire about the fit of your desired degree program to your workplace or community structure. If you are debating between programs, talk to the university’s enrollment advisor (online programs have them, too), and include a conversation with the university’s financial advisor regarding student loan information if you will not receive an employer contribution. Network with local emergency management groups; they may offer personal and historical perspectives to gauge the need for the types of programs that interest you.

Your future depends on your marketability in an economic downturn. Do your homework. Find a program that suits you, and take control of your future before the economy or your lack of education makes that decision for you. This paramedic RN is completing an undergrad program (online, Bachelor of Science in Management) and will soon enter a graduate program (online, Health Psychology) which are hardly predictable degree programs, but evidence of innumerable choices. The road is far from easy, there are always challenges, but where will you be if you do nothing? I once had a coffee cup that provided daily motivation in addition to caffeine. It read, “Take charge of your life, you can do what you will with it.” And you can.

“I went to nursing school due to my desire to move forward and be more productive with my knowledge and skills. I love being a medic, but I also enjoy both ends of the spectrum. Both positions keep me sharper in regards to the other; they are a good mixture for me.”

John chose a bridge program from paramedic to ADN through a local campus, but for his BSN, John is going to school online. Having weighed all of his options against a grueling schedule, John found the convenience of online education too perfect to pass up.

“Online courses have allowed me to continue my education. With the combination of my busy life and lack of time or ability to attend the brick and mortar (conventional) setting, my education would have been stalled.”

Andy Wiegand is another firefighter-paramedic, 31 years young, and considering nursing school. Andy was my paramedic student protégé nine years ago in a Detroit Trauma Center. I shared my best tips and secrets, and Andy’s older sister Tracy, a RN in the same ER, reinforced the value of education. Andy wants to expand his knowledge base and proficiency, but is also concerned about two things we all ponder at one point or another: more money, and better job security. The median nursing salary last year was $62, 450.

“There are budget cuts happening in the township where I work. They are laying-off nine people. I’m not one of the nine, but if they lay off more, I could be in line to be cut.”

Paul Sorrell, a paramedic for 25 years, is preparing for a medic to RN transition program. Working several years for a private ambulance company in Southfield, Michigan, Paul completed 2.5 years of a traditional nursing program 20 years ago before leaving due to professional conflict.

“The clinical coordinator was a lady who felt that men did not have a place in society as nurses, and I was getting sub-par evaluations on clinical rotations. I would do the exact same stuff as other students, the same way, and get much poorer marks.”

A man in emergency medicine does not translate exclusively to either paramedic or doctor anymore; more men these days are nurses. These changes have encouraged those who have served many years as paramedics, like Paul, to continue to do what they love in a related branch of medicine.

“I want to get into an ER and get back to some real patient care, and Online courses have allowed me to continue my education…with the combination of my busy life and lack of ability/time to attend the brick/mortar setting my education would have been stallethen complete my BE (bachelor’s in education).”

Being an educator has been part of Paul’s life for almost as many years as he has been a medic. As we spoke, Paul was conducting a paramedic refresher course. The dual-licensure of paramedic and RN opens up a world of opportunities for educators with a strong background in emergency medicine.

There is a growing trend for paramedics to expand their knowledge and level of licensure. When I completed that path 15 years ago, paramedics whispered among themselves about going to nursing school. Now more paramedics view nursing as a logical next step.

“We have had two other FF go to nursing school after me; seems as though a trend is emerging. Though the online transition from paramedic to RN can certainly present challenges, the rewards of furthering your education can only benefit you as a professional, and those you care for and serve.”

There is never a convenient time to fit school into one’s schedule. Nobody knows what tomorrow may bring, so working toward a better future, and becoming more marketable while enhancing skills and professionalism now as opposed to later, is imperative.

John’s last words to me prove my point. Ending the interview, John said, “Gotta go: CPR in progress.”

The role of a Paramedic in today’s EMS structure is at the top of the employment ladder. In the past, this has been because the Paramedic has extensive training in advanced procedures that other levels of EMS workers simply did not have available. Now, much of that has changed. EMTs at virtually every level have education and skills available to perform those advanced procedures, tightening the scope of practice between those levels.

Closing the gap between Paramedics and long term health care

Where does this leave Paramedics? The Paramedic to RN Bridge online is helping to close the gap between Paramedics and long term health care. As basic EMT levels receive the training that was once only available to a Paramedic, it allows Paramedics to look further into health care. Making this option available to Paramedics not only helps solve staff shortages in long term care, but it also enters in a new king of nursing professional: One that has the experience in handling emergency situations in virtually every type of setting.

The online Paramedic to RN Bridge program made available by The College Network and Excelsior College offers Paramedics the chance to enter a nursing industry that, before now, was just simply not available. A Paramedic can now finally use the knowledge and skills they have learned throughout their career and training towards an accredited nursing program, thus shortening the RN program so that a Paramedic can become an RN in as little as 1 year.

What does this do for EMS and health care?

The Paramedic to RN Bridge seems to be giving health care another inlet in finding qualified professionals. It opens doors in long term care to professionals that were never before available. Previously, the idea of an EMT or Paramedic transitioning into nursing meant they had to basically start from scratch in terms of education. The Paramedic to RN Bridge finally recognizes the training and hard work that Paramedics have put into their career, and rewards them with an education and a whole new career.

The Paramedic to RN Bridge offers benefits in every aspect of providing health care to Americans. Patients benefit because of a decreased nurse to patient ratio, nurses benefit because some of their huge job load can be reduced by having more nurses in the industry, Paramedics are no longer at the end of their role in medicine and can find new careers, and basic EMTs see their scope expanding into areas never before available.

Are you a Paramedic that is now ready to move on to a new career in nursing? Contact the College Network today!