Admissions nursing vs respiratory.

[RTrhino]

I am trying to decide which route to go I am considering becoming a respiratory therapist. Is RT school at a community college as hard to get into as nursing at a community college or are they about equal?

[nlynrob]

The CC I was taking my pre reqs at had a wait list system. The nursing list was 2 and a half years and the respiratory was one year. I was trying to decide between nursing, respiratory, and rad tech when I first started and ended up in nursing. I was talked out of respiratory and rad tech by the surgeons/PA's I work for. They made the good point that the options you have with a nursing degree are endless. If I got my RN and was still interested in rad tech I could work in radiology. If I was still interested in respiratory I could work for a pulmonary specialist. And if I found I wasn't interested in either there are hundreds of different specialties to work in or grad school courses to take.

[ashleyisawesome, BSN, RN]

at my old CC the RN program took 90 students a year.. at that time we didnt have a waitlist, it was just you got in or didnt had to apply again the next year. they took the 90 best candidates..

the RT program only had 20 seats and had the same policy.. however i know there were far more people competing for the nursing spots than the respiratory spots, so i dont know how it all equated... anyway i assume it differs from college to college.. why not ask an advisor?

[Stephalump]

There are FAR fewer RT applicants at my school than nursing applicants. However, that doesn't necessarily put you in a better position if your school has fewer RT spots or the people applying are superstars.

I agree with a PP that I chose nursing because of the variety it provides. But RT is a great career as well...I wouldn't worry as much about the competition, just bust your butt to be the competitor everyone ELSE is worried about and pick whichever you think will be more fulfilling in the long run.