The Benefits of Becoming a Nurse after EMT Certification
After you’ve been certified and begun working as an EMT, you may be considering how to use your newfound skills and professional credentials to further your career into nursing.
One common path after becoming an EMT is to receive further similar training and become a paramedic, but you might decide instead to give consideration to becoming a nurse. Your EMT training will help you successfully transition into a nursing career, and you will be pleased to discover many more benefits of pursuing nurse training after obtaining your EMT certification.
Advance Your Career from EMT to Nurse
As an EMT, you may work as a volunteer or a paid professional, and you may choose to advance as a paramedic. As a nurse, there are countless opportunities to learn new skills by working with different medical teams and in different environments. Many nurses enjoy a change in scenery or in job responsibilities every few years, meaning they’re always approaching a next level in their career.
Increase Your Lifetime Earning Potential by Becoming Nurse from an EMT
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, EMTs and paramedics earned a median salary of just under $32,000 in 2015. Registered nurses earned a median salary of over $67,000 in the same year. Nurses with specializations or advanced credentials can earn even more. It’s important to also keep in mind that many EMTs remain unpaid in volunteer positions until they seek further training to become paramedics. And in the current landscape and medical trajectory, nurses are enjoying a great deal of long-term career stability.
Develop Stronger Patient Relationships by Becoming a Nurse
Last but not least, in many nursing careers, you will enjoy a different dynamic with your patients than you do as an EMT. EMTs generally meet and depart from their patients in a very quick turn-around period, that begins with your response to the call and ends with the ambulance departure either from the scene or the hospital. Many nurses see patients on a recurring basis or for a longer period of time, satisfying the goal many nurses have of connecting with people in a real, meaningful, important way.
