I'm at a bit of a crossroads right now after earning my NREMT cert. A few friends have convinced me to consider pursuing nursing school, primarily because of the higher starting pay, but I've heard some horror stories about how taxing Nursing is on the body (heard this about EMS as well to some degree).
Which is more physically and mentally taxing? EMS or Nursing?
I will say the low pay in EMS can contribute to substantial stress in your personal life.
I’ve done both .. was a basic then went advanced and now an ER Nurse.. EMS is more physically exhausting such as you’re doing a lot more heavy lifting; getting people out of cars/carrying out of houses/in and out of the rig usually with only your one partner as help.. You’re physically working harder… Nursing is less physically challenging, mostly because you have extra people and help at your fingertips for lifting and such … but in turn I found Nursing is more mentally exhausting… dealing with keeping multiple extremely sick people alive for extended hours.. plus the mental taxing of knowledge you have to have.. interpreting labs.. passing meds.. catching errors… figuring out what’s wrong and what’s going on and what the plan is with multiple patients + dealing with family members and shitty coworkers/doctors… when in EMS they’re sick but you usually only have ONE patient and you have less resources yeah but at least you can dump them on the hospital and be done with it and turn your brain off for 10-15 minutes and rinse and repeat with a new patient and kinda start over… once you drop them off you don’t have to worry about it any more…. plus a benefit is you’re kinda on your own (besides your partner) and can do your own thing most of the time…. you also call the shots and just follow the protocols you have laid out without having doctors towering over you telling you what to do which is a big plus.. the freedom of it.…I truly love both jobs they’re both just very different and can be exhausting in different ways. I was working 4 12hr shifts in EMS and find working 3 12/13hrs as a nurse to be more exhausting but the pay in EMS is a joke and as a nurse it’s nice to not worry about money and to have an actual livable wage… There’s definitely pros and cons to both. If you’re interested in nursing i’d highly recommend spending some time shadowing to see if it’s something you’d be interested in. At the end of the day i’m glad I took the jump and did it.
Every bit of this is true. I've found the best of both worlds doing Critical Care Transport Nursing. I get paid like a nurse, with the autonomy of a medic.
You don’t see a drop from bedside pay?
In my health system, I am slightly below, but I am in a non-union position and I also don’t have to pay for parking at the main hospital, so my take home is essentially the same
Oh that’s good. I’m in the Lehigh Valley and it seems that everyone who has PHRN is paid the same as medics. But I guess with a hospital is a bit better than straight EMS.
I do inter facility critical care, where the PHRN actually makes a difference. At my PRN 911 job, I’m on the same pay scale as the medics
Ah, that makes sense.
This but…………. I don’t know too many people who can live on only 48hrs per week in EMS, Evan as a medic. So multiply the stress and damage on your body by how many shifts extra you’ll have to work to make ends meet.
I’m in nursing school now, and if I worked the same amount of hours as I did in EMS prior to going back to school even at a new grad pay rate I’d be sitting at $182k per year 😂
Oh having 2 jobs just to stay afloat will burn you out so fast as a medic! And the mental strain of the horrible things you see can’t be compensated for with any amount.
I averaged 60 hours per week even while being a full time student until I started the nursing program. Now I’m in class 38 hours per week, plus clinicals, and working an average of only 24 hours per week. Today was my last day for this semester so it’s back to crazy hours for the next 6 weeks until the next semester. But I can’t wait to get back to only working “regular” hours after I graduate!
Exactly this
Depends on your staffing! The helps definitely not always there when you need it in all facilities.
EMS is more physical, you're regularly forced to do shite lifts (twisting, off centre, etc.) in shite cramped spaces.
Can be mitigated with exercise but it will probs take its toll.
Shite! You a Scot or a Canadian?
English, pal.
I went CNA/PCT to EMT-B to RN. EMT hands-down is much more physically demanding on the body. In a SNF/hospital, the beds move up and down, there’s multiple resources readily available to help you if needed, and you have equipment like ceiling/hoyer lifts, SARA Stedy, etc. In EMS, you have some stuff like a Mega Mover to help lift the patients or stair chair, but you, your partner, and maybe the FD are still doing all the manual lifting up and down stairs, out of closed spaces, etc.
Like rideontheheativan said, nursing is much more mentally demanding. I also actually had time - even if it was between back-to-back calls - to snack/eat, drink, and use the bathroom. I have much less time to do that now.
ETA: While of course you need to make sure you can financially support yourself, you shouldn’t base your decision on pay alone. I prefer pre-hospital care because I like the only dealing with one patient at a time, once you’re done with the chart you’re done with the call, and I also like how it’s so different day-to-day and even call-to-call. My end goal is some sort of pre-hospital RN job, like flight nurse or RN/medic on a CCT ambulance.
Which is more physically taxing?
One physically picks people up and carries them around all day, up and down stairs, and thru mud and rain and shit. At my agency we’re not supposed to call for a lift assist for anyone <375 lbs.
The other rolls around a hallway all day on a wheelie chair.
Depends on the day. I have had days doing both EMS and nursing where I could barely walk up my from steps at the end of the day. Even on the busiest days in EMS, you at least get to sit down while you're on the way to the next call, or sit on the bench seat while taking care of your patient. I've had plenty of days in the hospital where my butt forgot what a chair was
Lmao you are not at a crossroad. You’re not just going to become an RN tomorrow now that you have your nremt. The pre reqs and application process could take you years. Do EMT work and then you could see if you want to be a nurse.
Yeah, nothing in my post even remotely suggested that I think I can "become an RN tomorrow" with an NREMT license.
As a side note, I've already got most pre-requisites covered covered with my Bachelor's degree, which also opens the door to the ABSN route. So RN will be within reach in about 2.5 years, which I have zero problem with.
True but it depends. I got my EMT in August, did my pre reqs, I start my ABSN in February.
Oh it's definitely EMS from my own experiences working prehospital 911/IFT and in a L1 trauma center. I would agree with someone else on here that nursing is probably more mentally taxing. When I have a zone with 4-6 patients that are all needy/dramatic, I can't yoink them somewhere else 15-20 mins later, they're mine for the rest of my shift.
EMS will destroy your body. It’s usually a 7 year long career on average before people move to something less taxing. You’ll see many more geriatric nurses than paramedics and if you see geri medics they’re relying very heavily on fire or young people to do the physical work. (Usually. There are outliers.)
FewClothes2711,
This comment was triggered because you may have posted about the NREMT. Please consider posting in our weekly NREMT Discussions thread.
You may also be interested in the following resources:
View more resources in our Comprehensive Guide.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
EMS.
Both really, however… there are a lot of out of hospital nursing gigs that are much lower stress / work load that still make quiet a bit more than EMS (despite being paid less than most bedside nursing gigs).
There are also a plethora of remote work options for nursing, where I don’t know of nearly any for strictly EMS.
Yo, flight nurse here so I have done both. Both but in a different way. EMS takes the cake for worst sleep schedule. Tie that together with shitty pay, bullshit calls, and a lot of operational factors it’s exhausting. Obviously there is a higher risk to one’s life in EMS, and stress from that is also taxing. Lifting heavy things, poor sleep, low pay, and stress are your factors.
Nursing is exhausting because of being on your feet for 12 hours (no bunk rooms or down time), having to be constantly alert for an entire shift, and responsibility for a lot more medications, devices etc. That one patient who cusses at you, screams, and throws shit at you? You had 30 minutes with him, Suzy RN has 3 12 hour shifts with him this week. Lifting heavy patients is also a factor here. Furthermore, you’re never just a nurse - you’re also a plumber, chef, therapist, secretary, janitor, and more. Every task that doesn’t have a specific person assigned to it tends to just get thrown into the nurses’ role. Obviously, pay is better here (not perfect but it is an improvement), and the patient scenarios are more stable because you have a whole team.
Ultimately, pick your poison
Nursing is more depressing, especially if you work at the wrong place. EMS is the way to go if you want to be a happier person hands down.
It’s just different types of stress. Nursing is “easier” in the sense of set location with typically lots of other resources. It’s less demanding than EMS because as a nurse, odds are good you aren’t dropping a tube in the middle of a MVC scene in low light, etc. Also different stress if you’re a medic in a system with progressive guidelines, you’re not waiting for a doc to perform advanced procedures.
EMS pay sucks so be frugal or deal with financial stress. Nursing pay is typically better but if you’re financially irresponsible, you’re still going to be stressed.
Only you will be able to determine which is the right stressor for yourself.
Having done both, nursing all day. You may get some challenges in EMS but get one 500lb person who needs to be turned and cleaned hourly for a 12 hour shift 4 times in a week. You might see them here and there in EMS but in nursing you keep em.
Paramedic crushes nursing if you’re at a department that pays well