Nusing route options - questions....

[sanantone]

Where I'm from, EMT-Bs get paid about the same amount as CNAs, but they stay in school longer. It's also hard to find a fire department that will pay for the training of volunteer firefighters and has openings. I looked because I'm always looking for free stuff. You practically have to get hired on by a mid-sized to large agency as a full-time firefighter trainee to get free EMT training. Like you said, it varies by region. On the other hand, a lot of nursing homes pay for the training of CNAs just about anywhere. Even if you pay for it yourself, it only takes about a month. This is more of a personal preference, but I think the shifts EMTs work for ambulance companies are horrible. They often work, 24-72 hour shifts. CNAs might have a physically-demanding job, but EMTs don't have it easy either. Their jobs are highly stressful.

I get your point with the skills, but when I think about the fact that some nursing programs will require you to already be a CNA, I just think it makes more sense to have that knocked out just in case.

[dposborne]

As for the rest -- skip the step-like fashion of getting the RN. There's no need to bother with LPN school first. In fact, it may actually be a hindrance to moving on to RN school. I say this because once you graduate LPN school, you get into a moderately comfortable income bracket, with plenty of opportunity for overtime. Before you know it, you're so busy working and making more money than you've made before that moving on to RN school goes to the back burner. This happened to me and many of my LPN classmates. 30 of us graduated LPN school in 2006. I've kept up with the majority of them via Facebook, and I know of only 4 (not including me) who went on to get their RN.

It's funny you mention this, my wife is going through the same thing now (she is an LPN). She is reluctantly going back to school to complete a BSN. I would have to say though that it seems like a lot of jobs out there in the nursing profession (at least the higher paying ones) stipulate a year of experience to get in. One advantage of going LPN first is that you do get a lot of experience in the field before stepping into the larger shoes of an RN.

[cookderosa]

I disagree with those that recommend against getting the EMT. If choosing between a CNA program and an EMT program to get healthcare experience prior to going into nursing, I say EMT all the way. You will learn more pertinent patient assessment skills, use those skills, have a more flexible schedule, and (typically) make a couple bucks more an hour doing a much less physically-demanding job. All of these points can be argued, depending on what region of the country one is in, what type of job one gets (hospital vs. nursing home), etc.

I don't think you'll find an EMT program that would admit a 16 year old without a high school diploma. We're talking about a high school student, not adult.

[smf6824]

EMT-B vs CNA? I really don't think one over the other will matter. This is nursing school. Do all this extra stuff, apply to more than one program, and keep pushing through. LPN route is always an option if need be. I think this one has been answered.

[dmjacobsen]

Where I'm from, EMT-Bs get paid about the same amount as CNAs, but they stay in school longer. It's also hard to find a fire department that will pay for the training of volunteer firefighters and has openings. I looked because I'm always looking for free stuff. You practically have to get hired on by a mid-sized to large agency as a full-time firefighter trainee to get free EMT training. Like you said, it varies by region. On the other hand, a lot of nursing homes pay for the training of CNAs just about anywhere. Even if you pay for it yourself, it only takes about a month. This is more of a personal preference, but I think the shifts EMTs work for ambulance companies are horrible. They often work, 24-72 hour shifts. CNAs might have a physically-demanding job, but EMTs don't have it easy either. Their jobs are highly stressful.

I get your point with the skills, but when I think about the fact that some nursing programs will require you to already be a CNA, I just think it makes more sense to have that knocked out just in case.

As I said, and as you reiterated, it varies by region. In my area (Memphis, TN), CNA's make about $9/hr on average to start, while EMT's make about $11/hr to start. Of course, it varies by agency. Also, this is not factoring in municipal fire departments, which generally pay quite a bit more.

As far as getting an agency to pay for your EMT training -- you're right that it's not going to happen unless you work for a fire department. Very few facilities around here will pay for your CNA training, although there are a few that will do so for a commitment to work for a certain number of years.

For shifts, it depends. I worked for Rural/Metro Ambulance, which had a fairly large presence locally when I was an EMT. I worked 24 hour shifts, but pretty much anything was available -- 8's, 10's, 12's, 24's, 48's, weekends only, weekdays only, nights only, days only. This is not the case for fire departments, of course.

Finally, some RN programs require CNA, but many do not.

All of these factors vary depending on your region, as mentioned earlier. I still stand by my assertion that the skill set is more relevant, the pay is generally better, and the shifts are generally more flexible.

[dmjacobsen]

It's funny you mention this, my wife is going through the same thing now (she is an LPN). She is reluctantly going back to school to complete a BSN. I would have to say though that it seems like a lot of jobs out there in the nursing profession (at least the higher paying ones) stipulate a year of experience to get in. One advantage of going LPN first is that you do get a lot of experience in the field before stepping into the larger shoes of an RN.

You're right -- many RN postings require experience. What you'll find, though, is that they want RN experience. I've worked for 2 different hospital systems, and they both gave me credit for my LPN experience at a 3:1 ratio (3 years' LPN experience = 1 year RN experience). YMMV.

Being an LPN definitely makes the transition to RN smoother. However, I missed out on several years of a higher pay rate. If the option is there on the front end, there's no point in going the LPN route. I understand, however, that not everyone has the option to go straight to RN school. In my case, however, my decision to go to LPN school instead of RN school was more out of ignorance than necessity.

[dmjacobsen]

I don't think you'll find an EMT program that would admit a 16 year old without a high school diploma. We're talking about a high school student, not adult.

I didn't -- and still don't -- consider the age of the person in question. My assumption here is that we're talking about a person who is mapping out what he plans on doing after high school. My assumption may be wrong.

However, I don't think it matters that much. While OP may live in a state that will allow a 16-year-old to enter a CNA program, it would be difficult to find an employer willing to hire a CNA under he age of 18 due to insurance requirements. Again, YMMV depending on geography.

I could be wrong. I only have 9 years of combined LPN/RN experience and only 5 years of EMT experience. I certainly don't know everything (yet).

[cookderosa]

a thread on allnurses asks CNA/EMT for high school students. OP might find it useful. It's from a couple years back, but lots of experience on that board. Might be other threads too, especially for your state. Becoming a CNA while still attending High-school? | allnurses

[sanantone]

I wish I could have taken advantage of the CNA program in my high school, but I didn't have a car to get to the clinical sites. They also paid for an online pharmacy technician training program, but I found out about it too late. This doesn't help the OP, but after doing more digging, I found an ESD in my county that pays for firefighter and EMT training for volunteers (have to be 18 or older). It was the only one out of eight ESDs. I wonder if I have enough time.

[cookderosa]

My high school also had the CNA option open to 11th and 12th graders, but that was a lonnnnggggg time ago, but I think they still exist. I couldn't find a single EMT program open to high school students. The point of the question was to explore options for the OP (who is a high school student, you can't leave that out of the question), so I think in this case, his only choice at this time is CNA.