pamelaRN/RRT

I agree with the above quote; you need more incentive than salary to go into a particular field. Salary is important and there is nothing wrong with being concerned about how much you will make, especially in today's economy, but you can be miserable while earning a lot of money. As a Respiratory Therapist who switched over to Nursing, I can tell you that the opportunities are very limited when compared to nursing. In respiratory your options are bedside therapy, deparment director (which brings in more than 50,000), home health, educator, or department educator. You can work at two different hospitas in the same area and be allowed to do everything that you went to school to learn how to do and only be allowed to do a few of those things at the other. In nursing the opportunities are numerous, which is one of the reasons that I switched over. I am really enjoying what I am doing and have no regrets about making the change.

Hi, I am Pamela and I recently took and passed NCLEX on last Friday! Yay! I live in the Warner Robins area and will start work in the CVICU in Macon beginning of August. I am also a Registered Respiratory Therapist

The only programs that I know of are in Darton, Darton Collge, and Tifton, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Hi sorry I am just now responding; i have not been on in awhile. Thanks and I did really well on the Hesi :yeah:and now can just concentrate on the rest of my tests and finals! The website is www.abac.edu and you can find the information on the Nursing page.

I am doing well and this is the last semester! Yay! We take the exit exam on Friday(27th) so I am preparing for that. The last semester has been busier, i think, than the first two. I am a Respiratory Therapist. The classes I had to take were A&P I & II, a computer class and ABAC's pharmacology class. I was able to take the A&Ps and computer class at GMC, which is on the quarter system so it did not take too long. You have to take their pharmacology within a year of applying to the program.

What will make your pH change: Co2- if it is too high it will make your blood pH more acidotic. If it is too low it will make it more alkaline or basic. Normal pH is 7.35-7.45. Let's say your pH is 7.25 and your Co2 is 60 and everything els in the ABG is within normal range, then the problem is Co2 which means respiratory, because that is the only way Co2 is eliminated from the body via the lungs. This is respirtory acidosis. Well what if my pH is 7.50 and my Co2 is 30 and everything else is within normal range? Then it is still respiratory because the patient is eliminating a little too much Co2 by increasing the respiratory rate. This is respiratory alkalosis. HCo3 (bicarb)- Using the same examples above, if you have a pH of 7.25, the other components are normal but your bicarb is low, this means that there is less base which in turn makes the blood more acidic, metabolic acidosis. With the second example of a pH of 7.50 and everything else being normal then your HCo3 would be higher, which means there is more base available and the blood will be more basic or alkaline. This is metabolic alkalosis. Compensated vs Uncompensated: ph 7.20 Co2 25 HCo3 9 Be -17 In this example the pH is low (acidic) but the Co2 is low as well so this cannot be the problem. Looking at the HCo3, it is low, and a low HCo3 (bicarb) will make the pH low(acidic) so the problem is metabolic, but the Co2 has dropped to try and fix the mess that the bicarb is making, but it is unable to compensate. So this makes it an uncompensated metabolic acidosis because the HCo3 is the problem. Some might say that it is partially compensated because for a HCo3 that low the ph would be lower. pH 7.36 Co2 25 HCo3 15 Be -15 Always look at the pH first and classify that regardless of the cause. This pH is normal but it is on the low side of normal Look at the Co2 is it high or low? It is low which means it is not the problem, but it has attempted to fix the problem by decreasing. The bicarb is really low which makes the blood pH low. So that is the problem. In this example the bicarb(metabolic) is causing the problem because it is too low and it has lowered the pH, but the respiratory system has compensated by lowering the Co2 which helps increase the pH to within the normal range. This patient is probably breathing very fast trying to blow off their Co2 but if the metabolic problem is not corrected, he will get tired of breathing so fast and start slowing the respirations, the C02 will increase and then it will be a metabolic and respiratory problem. I hope this helps. If you have never been exposed to interpreting blood gases/ABGs they can be confusing but once you get the hang of it then you've got it.

Hi! I am a Clinical Eduacator for our Respiratory department and we send our applications for CEUs to the American Society of Respiratory Care. Before we used them, we were using nursing credits and went through the Georgia Nurses Association to get what is called GNA hours. So maybe your state association is who you need to go through. If you have attended any courses recently or in the past you can look on the certificate and it will tell you who granted the credits. Also we have coordinator for nursing CEU in our hospital so the application goes to her. Maybe you have someone like this in your Learning Center. Hope this helps.

Ok, I wish I had not looked!! Now my skin is crawling! I have seen some rough things but creepy crawlies in flesh is just too much for me!

I did not think it was, but it is competitive so you do need a good GPA. The program is not bad and the instructors are great. It is just a lot of information covered in a short amount of time. My first semester I studied but not a whole lot and got B's. This semester is a little different and I am having to change my study habits, which is a good thing!

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College has a one year bridge program for LPN, Paramedic, RRT, and Surgical Techs. You go one day a week either on Monday or Wednesday depending on when you start. This is the program that I am doing now. It is in Tifton and I carpool with three others.

Have you tried MCCG?

Thank you!:wink2:

Hi! I have been lurking for awhile and decided to post today because it seems that you guys are very encouraging. I have been dieting all my life, or so it seems, and would really like to get to a point where it is just a lifestyle and not always such a struggle. I am in my second semester of NS and so do not want to gain anymore weight! I want to lose it and keep it off. So here I go again. I contacted a neighbor of mine so I can have a walking buddy and someone to be accountable to and am thinking about doing WW again. It is nice to have a walking partner, but she is shorter than I am and i feel like I am not really getting a workout. I guess I will just have to find some time to do it on my own so I can sweat. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Pam:p

I have not attended the nursing program but did go there for respiratory school. I have to tell you, and others will too, that if you can take your science courses somewhere else DO! I had to retake my A&Ps for nursing school because they were older than 5 years and refused to go back to MSC unless it was a last resort. I was able to take both at Georgia Military College and did very well. It is the same material but the class ratio at GMC is better. I also have a fellow that i work with who went through the program at MSC who did not enjoy it because it was disorganized. But to be fair they were going through some staffing changes as well. Hope this helps.

I work as an RRT at the Medical Center and I am not really sure if there is a particular school that they will send you to for further education. We do have tuition reembursement that might cover whatever classes you take, but it depends on if there is a need for it in the hospital. You could contact Human Resources to find that out. Since you mentioned phlebotomy, the med does have its own phlebotomy school. You apply to it through HR like you would apply for a job. They pay you while you are going to school. They do not guarantee you a job but most do get a job here when they are finished. If you are offered a job, you are requred to accept. Hope this helps some. Pam