I'd rather do respiratory but I don't want to be unemployed...

leenak · May 12, 2012

So, only thing you like about RT is the pay? Have you checked out PT, OT or Radiology? There are a ton of potions if you want to go into healthcare.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · May 13, 2012

I most emphatically do NOT recommend going into nursing if most of it doesn't appeal to you. There are too many people who want to be nurses and too few seats in nursing programs....to say nothing of too few jobs to go around. Nursing school, like nursing itself, is brutal, hard work even if you love it; if you don't, it's next to impossible.

Stick with Respiratory if that's your dream. Jobs are not plentiful anywhere, but if you are good at it and have a passion for the work, you'll get hired eventually.

loriangel14, RN · May 13, 2012

Why would you consider going the NP route when you no interest in patient care? A good NP would have a solid foundation in nursing first.You haven't really demonstrated why you want to go into health care.All you have talked about is money and having a job.You don't seem to have any compassion or desire to care for or help people.

ManyQuestions · May 13, 2012

So, only thing you like about RT is the pay? Have you checked out PT, OT or Radiology? There are a ton of potions if you want to go into healthcare.

Well, I have both asthma and sleep apnea and I feel for those who cannot breathe. I shadowed an x-ray tech and that was really dull. I can't believe you have to take prerequisites and train for two years to say stand here while I take your picture? I shadowed a physical therapy tech and that was equally boring.

Oh course, if as an RT all they let me do is nebulizers I'll be bored in no time as well. But at least I have some personal interest in respiratory and a great need for a good job. I realize I sound like a jerk here, but I'm really not :) I'm studying for tests so maybe I'm grumpy...

ManyQuestions · May 13, 2012

Why would you consider going the NP route when you no interest in patient care? A good NP would have a solid foundation in nursing first.You haven't really demonstrated why you want to go into health care.All you have talked about is money and having a job.You don't seem to have any compassion or desire to care for or help people.

Are you saying that doctors have no interest in patient care because they won't stay at the bedside?? What about laboratory techs, phlebotomists, hospital administrators, do they not have an interest in patient care? Are all these people compassion-less because they do not want to stay at the bedside?

loriangel14, RN · May 13, 2012

No.I'm saying how could you consider NP when you have no interest in nursing? NPs have to care for patients first.Do you really think all x-ray techs do is tell people to stand still while they snap a picture? You have no clue.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · May 13, 2012

Well, I have both asthma and sleep apnea and I feel for those who cannot breathe. I shadowed an x-ray tech and that was really dull. I can't believe you have to take prerequisites and train for two years to say stand here while I take your picture? I shadowed a physical therapy tech and that was equally boring.
Oh course, if as an RT all they let me do is nebulizers I'll be bored in no time as well. But at least I have some personal interest in respiratory and a great need for a good job. I realize I sound like a jerk here, but I'm really not :) I'm studying for tests so maybe I'm grumpy...

My brother-in-law was an RT, as is a good friend of mine. Some of what they do includes intubations, ECGs, spirometry, and LOTS of patient education. It's not just nebulizer treatments......heck, I did those myself long before I was ever a nurse, it's not rocket science. But it takes schooling and a lot of practice to be able to intubate quickly during a code situation without injuring the airway, or to work with patients in smoking cessation programs, or to teach COPD classes. Just my :twocents: worth.

NICUmiiki, DNP, NP · May 13, 2012

Are you saying that doctors have no interest in patient care because they won't stay at the bedside?? What about laboratory techs, phlebotomists, hospital administrators, do they not have an interest in patient care? Are all these people compassion-less because they do not want to stay at the bedside?

You have to realize that while NPs and MDs scopes overlap, they get there following two different routes. NPs have to be great nurses before they become NPs. This means they have excelled in school, most likely enjoyed clinicals, have worked as an RN cleaning poop and handling all those patient care tasks that you seem to detest.

MDs, on the other hand, train for years in their specialty, but don't get the same experience in bedside care. Not saying that they aren't compassionate people, but they didn't have to work as a RN first.

And the same goes for the other professions you listed. No one will tell you that they don't have interests in patient care, but most of them (there are many nursing admin positions, but I'll group them in with the NPs) don't have to become RNs first.

RT->CRNA · May 13, 2012

Hey all, I'm an older (40) student and I'm halfway through the health care prerequisites. My original idea when returning to school was to become a RRT, but I don't like what I'm reading here and there on the internet about RT's. Some people claim that full time RT jobs are scarce and that some RT's do nothing but nebulizer treatments and ABG's (in which case any nurse could easily take over the RT's job).
Some people say go RN for more options, but I think I would hate, really hate a lot of the things nurses have to do. The idea of staying in one spot, constantly checking and rechecking patients' fluids and vitals, dealing with poop, turning patients, this stuff does not appeal to me - though of course it is necessary and nurses are awesome for doing it.
What I'd really like to do is PA or NP, but my GPA's only a 2.9 because I was a slacker years ago in college. I'm pretty sure this topic has been posted before, but the job market is constantly changing, Obamacare is coming, etc. so I'd love to get some fresh perspectives. Should I consider doing RN and then school nursing, or public health clinic nurse or something like that?
Also, the RT I shadowed did nothing to inspire me about the RT field, except that he was making more than $30 per hour and didn't seem worried about job markets. $30 per hour is inspiring! I live in California but I'm single and I could move anywhere. And also, I'm nicer than this post might indicate and I do feel health care is right for me, I'm just being practical.
Thanks so much if you read all that! :)

Ok, so where to start.

I am a RT. Been doing it for around 7 years now. I also do sleep. As a RT, and a damn good one in my opinion, I also do "poop rounds" with nurses. If I so happen to be around the nurses (which is almost always the case for us RTs) and one of them need help moving a pt or something similar, believe me, I am in there helping them. You make them happy, and they do the same for you!

I come from a different background, and I too wanted to be a PA or MD/DO. I actually turned down PA school via the Army's program because my medical director told me I had more aptitude to become a doctor than a midlevel practitioner.

3 years later, I decided to possibly go nursing. Pay is better after around 3 years in nursing. Right out of school, there really isn't a big difference, or if there is, RT's make more at the start. Nursing has more ladder climb though. RT's get to see MUCH more truama and code blues than nurses, but that is because we have a wider patient base vs nurses who see maybe 4-8 max a night at hospitals I worked at (less in ICU). A normal night in a ICU for a rt consists of 12-15 patients, most on ventilators, or if the census is low, they give us a intermidiate floor near the ICU as well. If you want to see the fast paced stuff as a RT, you need to be a great RT. Your supervisor is NOT going to put you anywhere but the floors as a "neb jockey" until you prove you can handle the big time. ABG's, you better prove you can handle those also. You do realize that those are BLIND sticks, and most nurses don't do them at all. I worked a few ICUs where I let the nurse do them under my license. That's not to say they can't do them, but ask any nurse how many they did at school. In the program I went through (army resp program) I had to perform 50 successful sticks, 10 of them on my peers and have them done on me as well! We put in A lines, did hemodynamics, the works! Hospitals won't let you intubate without it being a small rural hospital, or if the doc is missing a few times and you ask him if you can try. Here in San Antonio, the only RT's that intubate are RT/EMT-P that do flight work and Pedi RTs in the NICU. Most of them time, there is a CRNA, or Doc in the area. We re-insert trachs more often though.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to become a mid level and going though nursing to do it. Heck, I for one DO NOT believe NP should have more power than PAs, but they do. It is mostly to do with the state BONs though and truly political. If you ask me, I'd rather be a MD/DO anesthesiologist than a CRNA for the mere fact autonomy that being a doctor has. But I have kids. If I get a BS in anything, who is to say I can get a job with that BS or BA that would pay as well as a BSN. The way I see it, I get the BSN, can start working with it, and if I decide to not go further, I can be happy working ER or ICU as a nurse. IF I decide to go further I have a choice to apply, NP, PA, DO, MD, PT, OT or whatever I want, because the degree is a BS degree. Might have to work on specific pre-reqs though. I for one also believe in the medical model, and prefer it, but with a family to care for, I won't be picky. The truth is, a mid level is a mid level is a mid level, and 5 years into their career, they should (if they are truly dedicated to their job) be at the same level. I for one don't agree that NPs have better bedside manner than PAs, because a good 50% of PAs have previous medical experience. If I go PA, I have more experience than some nurses do! But like I said before, once you get the certification/degree, you should worry about making the healthcare team as seamless as possible and not the letter behind a name.

Good luck to you!

bigboi · May 13, 2012

Although leaning more towards CRNA, being a PA still appeals to because of the medical model. I don't mind the nursing model but I don't like the nursing fluff classes that are required. I love science and fascinated with the way the body functions, which is why I prefer the medical model to the nursing model. Anesthesia school does teach in depth about the functions of the body, so I just have to endure nursing school till I reach the mid level.

ManyQuestions · May 13, 2012

I appreciate the comments all. Thank you. I'm reading them all carefully. I feel that at age 40, I don't have a lot of time to dabble in different fields. The health care prerequisites are taking up two years of my life, and it will be at least two more years for RT, RN or PA. After that, I'm done. (Except for adding a few certifications as needed to stay employable. I just read about this thing called ECMO, sounds interesting. Too bad RTs can't train to be anesthetists.)

Thanks RT -> CRNA for the info on intubation. I read many articles and forum posts that mentioned that as a major skill for RTs, but others said what you said - the doctors do it.