RRTMaybeRN

Honestly. I would say neither. I am currently an RRT and was thinking about becoming a nurse. I see what nurses go through everyday and I absolutely would not want their job. On the other hand respiratory has its ups and downs. I like the fact that we do not have to deal with family or too many bodily fluids. If a patient needs to use the bathroom, be cleaned, need food or anything I can tell the nurse and walk away. However, respiratory gets boring after awhile. giving treatments, drawing ABG's, responding to codes and intubating. I'm looking at other options currently. At the hospital I work at RRT's do not have much autonomy. We can't do anything without a nurse or doctor's order. Not to mention the pay isn't good. For all that we RRT's do at my hospital, we don't get paid enough. Other hospitals are different. Most people don't even know what an RRT is, and there is little to no advancement in the field. I would say look at other options within healthcare. Neither one of the two jobs are worth the stress.

All I can say is WOW! I'm in the wrong field.

Yes, paying for it was another concern of mine.

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

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