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CNA or EMT cert for ER tech job?


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I was wondering which certification between CNA and EMT would increase your chances of getting a job as an ER tech? I realize that they both take the same amount of time to obtain, but a CNA would most likely get a primary job in a skilled nursing facility and most ER Tech jobs require you to have at least a minimum of 1 year experience. I am not sure how long it would take before it would be possible getting an ER tech position as an EMT? 

 

Thanks! 

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I am lucky in that I was able to land an ER Tech job without any prior healthcare experience. I have my EMT license and NREMT license. Most of the Techs I work with are CNAs, but there are a few EMTs as well. I am not sure it will make much of a difference, but they seemed to really like that I was an EMT.

 

Personally if I were you, I would try to start volunteering or shadowing a PA at the hospital. I volunteered for a few months, talked to my supervisor about shadowing a PA, and was lucky enough to meet an awesome PA in the ER. This helped me greatly in getting the Tech job, as the PA vouched for me to my current boss and introduced me to him. If you can spare a few months, definitely try to get your foot in the door at you choice hospital before applying for the Tech job (while you're working on your EMT license). Good luck

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I was an ER Tech prior to PA school / still am an ER Tech since I'm per diem now. At our hospital all of us are EMTs. In So Cal most hospitals require either EMT-B or CNA. However most of them seek EMTs.

 

The pay ranges, I've seen the pay go from $11/hr to $26/hr (combo EMT/Phlebotomy required). Most of the ER Tech jobs in California pay between $16-$21/hr. So although you'll see those jobs advertised, the people hired are usually people that networked their way in. I say this because that's what I've observed. Even when I landed my ER Tech job I got it through networking. I have lots of friends and family in healthcare who introduced me to the director of the emergency departments, ended up getting 4 job offers without any experience. And while working at my current hospital I'm often asked if I have anyone I'd like to refer for an opening (keep in mind the director already has a stack of like 3,000 applications on their desk.

 

So if I were in your shoes is try to network my way in first and in the process figure out which cert to get. These Certs are relatively quick and easy to get, I think you can get both Certs in under 2 months so if it means that much just get both. Although if I were to give you the same advice I did for myself is get an EMT, Phlebotomy, EKG Tech, ACLS/PALS/NRP Certs and then see what opportunities are out there. You could knock all of those Certs out with in 3-4 months tops.

 

Best of luck.

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Is it important to find a school that is 'certified/accredited' to just get HCE? Or is it just important to get the experience regardless if it is a CNA or LVN or EMT etc?

All three of those require either being certified or licensed, so you want to choose schools that meet the qualifications to test for the appropriate cert or license when finished with the school.  Of those three, CNA is probably the only one where you may be able to get trained on the job.  But, even if you do that, you will still want to test to get the CNA cert if the goal is to become an ER Tech.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was an ER Tech prior to PA school / still am an ER Tech since I'm per diem now. At our hospital all of us are EMTs. In So Cal most hospitals require either EMT-B or CNA. However most of them seek EMTs.

 

The pay ranges, I've seen the pay go from $11/hr to $26/hr (combo EMT/Phlebotomy required). Most of the ER Tech jobs in California pay between $16-$21/hr. So although you'll see those jobs advertised, the people hired are usually people that networked their way in. I say this because that's what I've observed. Even when I landed my ER Tech job I got it through networking. I have lots of friends and family in healthcare who introduced me to the director of the emergency departments, ended up getting 4 job offers without any experience. And while working at my current hospital I'm often asked if I have anyone I'd like to refer for an opening (keep in mind the director already has a stack of like 3,000 applications on their desk.

 

So if I were in your shoes is try to network my way in first and in the process figure out which cert to get. These Certs are relatively quick and easy to get, I think you can get both Certs in under 2 months so if it means that much just get both. Although if I were to give you the same advice I did for myself is get an EMT, Phlebotomy, EKG Tech, ACLS/PALS/NRP Certs and then see what opportunities are out there. You could knock all of those Certs out with in 3-4 months tops.

 

Best of luck.

Thank for the advice! 

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In my neck of the woods you have to be an EMT-B and have gone through both an IV certification and basic EKG certification to be an ER Tech. Also, as mentioned earlier, networking seems to be paramount if not the only real avenue (unless a hospital is desperate) to landing a Tech job in the ED. I would suggest the EMT route not only for the purposes of this job but for also a more robust introduction to medicine. From what I've been told CNA courses are just learning how to take vitals which you could teach a monkey with youtube. EMT delves a little bit deeper than that and goes over, albeit briefly, most of the major ED presentations. 

 

Also, see EMEDPA's sticky in the ER Speciality forum "basic emt training. a good intro to healthcare" if you want advice from a real EM guru:

 

http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/index.php?/topic/28-basic-emt-training-a-good-intro-to-health-care/

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I am also an ER Tech and currently an Advanced EMT. My hospital only hires experienced EMT-I's/Advanced EMT's or Paramedics (no difference in pay). However, most hospitals in the region will also hire EMT-B's and CNA's.

 

I had two different EMT positions for over a year and volunteered in the ER before I was hired. Wages are terrible, but the experience is excellent. It is a smaller hospital and I have a lot of time to question the docs, med students, and PA students. It was the perfect job for me prior to starting PA school.

 

Back to the wages... I have been there almost 4 years and still make something around $11-12 an hour. That is after a couple of raises. These other posts talking about wages over $20 an hour irks me a bit. But I didn't take the position for the pay. I knew what I was getting into and I don't regret it.

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