I'm an RRT needing advice!

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Hello everybody,

I am new here and if I can I would like t give you guys a little background on myself. I graduated from respiratory therapy program in December of 2014. I took my boards in January of 2015 and became a registered respiratory therapist. The problem is, that I have not been able to find a job! I'm getting really frustrated. I've come across plenty of RRT jobs but I just get rejected after applying. The one interview I actually got, I blew it because I was so nervous.

Now I am thinking about applying for the RN program at my school. To be honest, nursing was my first choice but I was not able to pass the entrance exam for it. So my second choice was respiratory therapy. I enjoyed the program and clinicals however, when I was at clinicals and I saw the nurses on the floor and what they did, it made me want to still pursue nursing.

My problem is that I am afraid to tell my family and boyfriend that I want to go back to school. I have been in school for a LONG time now and finally finished. I'm afraid they won't support me again and I'll look like an idiot or someone who doesn't know what they want. Right now I'm working full time at an office in which I VERY much dislike. I've worked office jobs all m life and I absolutely know it's not where I want to be.

So any words of advice? Should I suck it up and talk to my family about going back to school for nursing? Am I not giving up on respiratory too soon? Could I even complete a 2 year RN program while working full time?

Thank you for your time,

RRT

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

You have to do what is right for you. Before you make the leap, take this into consideration:

1. If you had trouble passing the entrance exam for nursing previously, do you think you could pass it this time? How were your grades in resp. tech school?

2. Depending on where you live, nursing jobs will be just as scarce as jobs for RRTs.

I would investigate these issues before you talk to your family about a career change.

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OCNRN63,

1.) Thank you for responding. The good thing is, now that I have an associates degree in an allied health program, I do not have to take the exam.

2.) I know a few people who graduated from the school I would be going to who had no problems finding a job.

I still have some things to think about though. Thanks

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Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.

Welcome to allnurses.com

We moved your thread to the Pre-Nursing forum.

Good luck with your Nursing career plans.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
OCNRN63,

1.) Thank you for responding. The good thing is, now that I have an associates degree in an allied health program, I do not have to take the exam.

2.) I know a few people who graduated from the school I would be going to who had no problems finding a job.

I still have some things to think about though. Thanks

Well, it's good that you don't have to take that exam, and that jobs are still available. I think you're smart to think things over carefully. It will be another financial investment.

Best wishes for whatever you decide.

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Yes, paying for it was another concern of mine.

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Respiratory therapy is something I also considered, but ultimately decided to pursue RN for the sheer variety of the job. There are so many things you can do as a nurse!

And I totally understand feeling embarrassed about telling your family you want a career change. I got a degree in earth sciences, then decided I would get my teaching degree, but backed out after I became a student teacher. I searched for jobs in my original degree for over a year and did find one, but the pay wasn't great, so I did it for a little while and finally decided I wanted to do something healthcare related. My mom and sister are both nurses and they persuaded me to go for it. I am also pre-nursing and I am absolutely in love with all of the prerequisites. It's finally content I am very interested in and I am learning a lot.

Since you already know a lot about about healthcare I don't see why you shouldn't try it. I was lucky in that my family and husband were supportive in my choice. Perhaps you can still job hunt while taking prereqs for RN?

Sorry for the long reply and not sure if I was any help but just wanted to share my story. You're not alone!

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