I graduated nursing school this past December, but just got my license a week ago, so I have no experience working as a nurse. I realized after nursing school I wanted to become a police officer. Now I’m applying to a police officer position, but want to know if it’s wise to add my nursing education on my resume. Would it hinder me in any way from getting a police officer position? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
Should I include my nursing degree on my resume when applying for police officer positions?
r/AskLE
Comments
Yes you should include it.
/thread
100% include it. It shows a lot about you that it’s important
Why wouldn’t you?
Of course! Include any and all education.
Why the hell wouldn’t you? I don’t know what downside you’re seeing. You should any degree (even if it were in dance or something completely not useful).
A nursing degree and formal medical training is also very (obviously) useful, since as a cop you’d frequently be the very first responder to a lot of medical calls
Yes, it’ll help and any other experience you have dealing with others and working as a team
Absolutely. Its an advanced degree you earned.
You must list your education and provide transcripts. Most will require references from the schools you attended.
I’m a nurse, not LE, but I’m curious to know what changed your path after enduring nursing school, to not work at least at a minimal capacity as a nurse (long term care, med passing) just to have some experience in the interim, as the LE hiring process seems to take time. I imagine this may be a question you are asked during your background/hiring process
Definitely include it lol also I am big on doing something you enjoy for a career but be sure you maintain your license, do not ever let it go. It’s a good option to fall back on if policing doesn’t work out or if you want a second job (you’ll make a shit ton more in nursing in most cases).
Paramedic here: I worked on an ambulance with a LEO who was a nurse and certified prehospital RN. He picked up EMS shifts in his PD coverage area with my squad for the extra money. They were a nurse first and then went PD.
I would make sure your BLS/CPR, ACLS, PALS, and PHTLS are up to date when applying. You never, ever want to lapse those or you will be forced to take the full courses again. That being said, almost no PD is going to let you provide Advanced Life Support while working as a LEO on a shift. That would require a Medical Director sign off for Medical Command. The exception will be a SWAT or Tactical Medic but you will be far, far from that when starting out.
Having only hospital time will not have prepared you for ALS medical care on the street. It is another ball game out there. I would include your nursing education and license, but expect nothing beyond BLS/CPR and bleeding control to be in your medical scope.
I would try and work in all the patient contact hours you have because a decent fraction of contacts as a LEO you have might involve some type of medical issue. Post ictal from seizure or hypoglycemic being combative, anxiety or panic attacks, assault victims, or medical issues masquerading as intoxication. I have personally witnessed 3 LEOs drag a guy out of a car who was clearly post ictal from a seizure, handcuff him over my objection, and the he seized again and tore into his tongue.
Also, a good amount of times you will be the first on scene of a cardiac arrest. At least in my area, PD is all over that shit because they are already out and about. Being able to provide high quality, bone crushing CPR within minutes is a god send for people. Knowing how to start and then hand off a cardiac arrest is literal gold for us medics. If you are in good shape we might ask you to suck it up and keep going for another few rounds of CPR while we get set up. And as an RN, you would know exactly what meds we might ask for out of our bag. You could spike a bag of saline, assemble an epi Bristojet, or ventilate the ptient when we intubate them.
I’m just trying to highlight some things you can try to work in (if you can) because in today’s world, medically trained LEOs can be a wildly invaluable resource when shit hits the fan out there.