Respiratory Therapist VS Nursing

NICU Nurse Wannabe · Jan 1, 2006

Hello Everyone!!!

I love this forum by the way. It has taught me soo much of what I should expect. Anyhow, my sister is interested in Respiratory Therapy and was wondering about their job. Does anyone know what a RT can do (since intubation cannot be done). Like, what kind of procedures they usually perform?? Any kind of info you know would be so helpful. Thanks again. :nurse:

topamicha · Jan 1, 2006

Quote
You do patient eval, breathing treaments, arterial blood draws, ABG assesments, even some form of physical therapy (I can't remember the name) to help patients breathing (CF patients for example), intubations, take sputum samples (yum!), and yes, vent settings.

Intubation is within an RT's scope of practice, though it depends on the facility whether or not they get to do it very often. Also, pulmonary function testing, suctioning, etc.

Concorde College, Pima Medical Institute, and Front Range all offer RT.

RT33 · Jan 3, 2006

Obviously this is a predominantly nursing site, therefore you likely won't get much feedback from the RT prospective. I am an Rt in Canada at the primary Ortho hospital in my area. It is hard to compare workload for the 2 positions. I like to look at it as comparing pain... Much like chronic back pain Vs. Severe Cardiac pain. Nurses have many less desireable jobs. I can leave a room when a patient has a "code Bown" and let him/her with the help of a heathcare aide clean things up. Each Facility has different tasks required of an RT or RN. In my current hospital we don't do neb treatments, we are generally too busy. Everything is don't via a MDI With spacer, therefore the nurses do it. I spend a great deal of time weaning patients off the vents, doing Metabolic carts, pulmonary functions testing, placing artlines, placing iv's,doing ABG's, intubating (which many RT's Do), and mostly doing respiratory assessments. When someone is having problems we tend to be the first people to be called. I can be crazy busy for 12hrs, not getting a break at all(no extra coverage), or I can sit for half my shift... I look it as being kind'of like a firefighter. No one member of the team is more important... just different. I am an adrenaline junky, and being an RT gives me my fix. The hard part of being an rt is that we are the ones the D/C treatment in or hospital... if you can't handle pulling the plug, it's not the job for you. Yes there are RT's that do very little, but I dare say there are proportionally just as many nurses who look to do as little as possible. Isn't that typical of all jobs.

NICU Nurse Wannabe · Jan 3, 2006

I appreciate everyone who replied to my previous post. I enjoying reading all your responses. BUT, I think I may not have been as clear in my last post. I realize that this is a nursing post, but I thought becuz there were some members who are RT's that I could get a insight of the procedures of an RT. I never said I nor my sister wanted a job with little workload. I am actually a nursing student and my sister is thinking about RT. Just thought someone could give us a idea of what to expect as a RT.

MAnders1405 · Jan 6, 2006

KatieBell said:
Our respiratory therapist has less work- and I sometimes see him just sitting about the department.
As an RT in a 230 bed hospital (43 RTs on staff) I sometimes have to clock out "No Lunch" after a 12 hour shift. I also see many nurses sitting around talking about last nights TV shows while I am rushing from one room to another. It goes both ways.
This said, Our dept is very strict on work load vs. staff. We figure workload for every shift every day. If the work load is too light we call off RTs. Think goodness for ETO. If the work load is too high we call in more RTs. We keep it close. The only problem with this system is it is easier to call of an employee then it is to call one in.
On thing to consider is that in a hospital, every time a patient complains of something, the nurse has to check on him/her. With RT the only time is when its respiratory related and even then the nurse or nurse aid has to check and then call RT.

Coloradogrl · Jan 6, 2006

topamicha said:
What school did u go to? I went in Denver, too.

I went to school at Pima(and I wasnt really impressed:madface: ) I know they recently just changed there program director to what was the Clinical director, so it might be better.

I did look at Concorde program and it was nice.....all new and NICE equipement(something Pima didnt have!) and more then 2 rooms for the whole program. I was told that Pima was about to or almost did lose their accediation. I would really look into Concorde if your serious about RT. I also was in a class with several others that could give you horror stories about Pima!

Sirena922 · Jan 6, 2006

I too was thinking of switching from Nursing to RT, but I surely cant make my mind up. Money wise I'd like nursing, but it seems to me that there are just to many obstacles to get into nursing programs, thats my only dilimia. Then having to take all these test to get into the program. It makes me lean more towards the RT program.

chronlung · Jan 10, 2006

Hi everyone,

I wanted to provide some insight into this from a different perspective. I am a Canadian Respiratory Therapist, who is employed in an advanced practice setting within the department of anesthesia. I have held previous positions at various hospitals and clinics where I was responsible for patients on general wards, as a member of the flight team, in several ICUs, in the trauma room, on the cardiac arrest team, etc. I've floated through many different areas and had contact with many different healthcare professionals.

As the debate rages on both within this forum and in practice, no one can provide you with a better answer for what you should do with your career than yourself. The best exposure you will have will not be found on the message boards, but rather by shadowing actual professionals.

Having said that, I was a little dismayed with some of the postings found previously in this string. Postings where nurses described respiratory therapists as coming in an writing down some numbers and leaving again, is not reflective of the profession as a whole, nor is it a fair assumption to make of the profession. At several of the hospitals in which I worked at, nurses were in no way responsible for any aspect of ventilation, nor were they interested in doing so. All ventilator changes, parameters and initiations were made by the respiratory therapist and were evaluated by the therapist. Prior to this, virtually all intubations were performed by the respiratory therapists in all settings (ER/ICU/Wards). Further to this, we were responsible for the insertion, and monitoring, of hemodynamic lines including central and arterial lines. Many hospitals operate on the basis of standing orders or advanced directives which allow the respiratory therapist (I have seen the term RCP used in American literature, as well) to function with a great deal of autonomy. We are able to initiate therapist-driven protocols through which patients are treated and monitored under the guidance of the respiratory therapist. Not all therapists come into contact with patients for merely 15 minutes and then leave.

In many settings, respiratory therapists function in an autonomous manner and are able to assess patients, provide treatment and monitoring and advise physicians and nurses in further treatment options within their own scope of practice. Furthermore, opportunities for (at least Canadian) respiratory therapists to expand their practice are ever-growing. Similar to the American program involving Nurse Anesthetists, in Canada we have Anesthesia Assistants - the majority of whom are Respiratory Therapists. Furthermore, we have certifications in asthma and COPD education, as well as other respiratory diseases and many RTs are employed in the community setting as well as in ICU and on the general wards providing respiratory therapy to critically ill patients and less-acutely ill patients alike.

Like any profession, your role as either a nurse or respiratory therapist will first of all be whatever you choose to make it. I think any of us can say we have all been witness to somebody doing the bare minimum to get by. However, contrary to that - the opportunities to expand your own personal practice exist if you are committed to exploring them. Secondly, the roles and responsibilities of nurses and respiratory therapists will vary from setting to setting, and it is not fair to base your personal assessment of the profession on some of the postings made earlier in this discussion, because I can personally tell you that I would be fired if all that I did was come into a room and write numbers down and leave. The role of the therapist, in most settings, supercedes that by a longshot and the knowledge base of cardiopulmonary physiology is, in many cases, unique to the profession in its breadth and application.

Happy studying.

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Jan 13, 2006

Sirena922 said:
I too was thinking of switching from Nursing to RT, but I surely cant make my mind up. Money wise I'd like nursing, but it seems to me that there are just to many obstacles to get into nursing programs, thats my only dilimia. Then having to take all these test to get into the program. It makes me lean more towards the RT program.

If in your heart you are truly leaning toward nursing, then maybe that is the route you should take. When I originally started out to do nursing, there was a 2 - 2 1/2 year wait at the local comm. college. At that time, the RT program was trying to lure potential nursing students into it's program. Well, I was lured.. I took some classes part time, and enjoyed very much what I learned, but I was never happy in that decision to pursue RT, so I decided to go back to "Plan A", which was nursing school. In fact, I applied to the BSN program at a local university and was accepted. Sure, it's going to take me longer, but I'm 35 and still have plenty more years left to work.

I guess what I'm saying is, do what you REALLY want to do. I don't think you'll regret it. What's a couple more years of waiting, tests, etc when you still have plenty more years to work? That's the conclusion I came to for myself, and I have never regretted my original decision.

Best wishes to you!! wave.gif.f76ccbc7287c56e63c3d7e6d800ab6c I'm sure you'll do great in whatever you decide to do!

Diane

FLstudent06 · Jan 25, 2006

Hello everyone! I saw this thread and figured it would be a good place to ask something I've been wondering about...

One of the things I've noticed that nurses are upset about ( and rightly so ) is the way they are treated by doctors, patients, families of patients and so on. I'm curious to know if other professionals working in hospitals, such as RT's, feel the same way. Do RT's experience the same bad treatment and lack of respect that so many nurses have to contend with? Is there the same level of discontent for RT's as there is for many RN's?

The reason I ask is that I am considering RT over Nursing, mostly because of some of the horror stories I've read about how overworked/underappreciated/underpaid nurses feel today. I'd love to hear from both perspectives (Nurses and RT's) on this.

Thanks in advance!

rafael80 · Jan 25, 2006

airis said:
Hello all. I would like to know if any of you knows who has more work load nurse or respiratory therapist. I am going to school for respiratory but at the same time I am thinking about going to nursing school. I know nursing has more options, its an expandable field and also the employment is greater than respiratory but that doesnt really matter to me. What matter to me is the work I do. I want to know the work load and if its more harder than nursing or more stressful.
Thank you all.

thanks alot for starting this thread!! I am in your same situation , but i can apply in a month for the rt program and i hear it has no wait. Im thinking i could always go into nursing after i finish the rt program, since i never plan to stop going to anymore. maybe you can answer me some questions later since you are already in the program. thank you

rafael80 · Jan 25, 2006

FLstudent06 said:
Hello everyone! I saw this thread and figured it would be a good place to ask something I've been wondering about...
One of the things I've noticed that nurses are upset about ( and rightly so ) is the way they are treated by doctors, patients, families of patients and so on. I'm curious to know if other professionals working in hospitals, such as RT's, feel the same way. Do RT's experience the same bad treatment and lack of respect that so many nurses have to contend with? Is there the same level of discontent for RT's as there is for many RN's?
The reason I ask is that I am considering RT over Nursing, mostly because of some of the horror stories I've read about how overworked/underappreciated/underpaid nurses feel today. I'd love to hear from both perspectives (Nurses and RT's) on this.
Thanks in advance!

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