Is 45 too old for nursing school?
At 45, you are at a really good age to star(t) a career in nursing. If I would have gone to school when I was 45 it would not have made any difference to my interest, passion and enthusiasm. Sure it will be a little late if you compare to your classmates who are in their 20s. If you would have compared yourself with your classmates, then they become your standards instead of you.I never stopped going to school after my BSN. In fact, I never stopped going to school at all. Until I finished my doctorate in nursing. There is just no more degree after that level. But what I did was to engage myself in continuing education programs, both as the student and as the resource person at different times. At 49 I am still pursuing both with the same vigor that I did when I first started nursing school about 15 years ago.I was 36 when I joined nursing school. We were 86 students in our class, 14 were full-fledged medical doctors, and a good percentage of retirable or retired teachers, office workers, policemen, soldiers, lawyers, accountants, dentists, engineers, and a few plain housekeepers. The average age bracket of that class was 48. That means to say, we had classmates whose ages ranged between 50–65.No, 45 is not too old for nursing school. No age is too old for nursing school. If you start school at 45 and you finish at 48 or 49, you have 15 years to start practicing and working, and a lifetime of honing your skills.But here is the thing: we don’t age in nursing. If we do, the process is graceful.
Paramedic and Nursing Pros/Cons?
I am a currently a nursing student with one more semester left before I am on the wait-list for clinicals. Recently I inherited a house with outrageous bills and two cars that I now have to insure (because of my young age this will be expensive). My friend had taken an EMT course that is one semester long and I am considering doing the same... With all the new bills and having a child it would take me two years to just get on the list for clinicals at my college for nursing and I'd still have to take two more years at a different college to complete my major... Becoming an EMT would allow me to get a job faster and continuing on to be a paramedic would be easier transfer wise because I could do it all at this college without switching. In short I was wondering if anyone with experience could tell me the pros and cons about each job and what your opinion is on what I should do here... I'm obviously going to research myself but I'd appreciate any advise. Specifically I wonder if it is worth the change, how much the pay is, how available jobs are for each.
Should I become an ER Nurse, or Firefighter Paramedic?
While ED nurses do make more money, you have a lot more autonomy as a paramedic. You are the "boss" in the prehospital setting (provided that you are following your medical director's protocol). As a paramedic, you actually DO MORE advanced skills than a ED RN does....you intubate patients, can decompress a hemo/pneumothorax, perform a pericardial tap, and a tracheotomy. RN's do not do these things. You can become a Paramedic in about 2 years......6 month EMT course and an 18 month Paramedic course. You MUST be an EMT prior to becoming a paramedic. Even the Associate Degree RN programs take about 2 1/2 years. I would suggest taking the basic EMT course, getting a lot of ride-alongs with emergency-response crews (not nursing home transport services) and see what you think.
Can nurses become a paramedic?
In the US you do not need any college to become a Paramedic. You can go to a votech, ambulance company or even a community college. The EMT cert is first required which is only 110 hours of training an can be done in just a few weeks. The Paramedic can then take anywhere from 3 - 9 months depending on the state. If you want to be a nurse, a college degree is required and it is an extensive education with 3+ years for an Associates degree or 4 years for a BSN which is recommended. It will give you many more opportuniites to specialize. If you want to be a nurse, becoming a Paramedic would be a waste of time. Becoming a Paramedic would be a waste if you did not want to get hired by a fire department. But, nurses can challenge the Paramedic exam in most states after they take the EMT course and maybe just 2 weeks of additional training.
Better stepping stone to get to RN? Paramedic or Respiratory Therapist?
For a few different reasons(mainly being an idiot when i was younger) i can not get into nursing school for at least 2 or so years being an RN is my end goal. I am Currently an EMT-B and am looking into programs to step deeper into the field. Recently i was accepted to both a Paramedic Program and a Respiratory Therapy program, I have no idea which to choose and what would(skills or resume) get me closer to being a great nurse. I would love to be a Critical Care Emergency or Cardiac Nurse later in life. Any insight on which step might be the best to reach my end goal would be appreciated Thank you