Respiratory Therapist to RN?

Published

Hey everyone,

I am a recent graduate of respiratory care school with an associates degree and working in the field. While I enjoy respiratory I find my scope of practice very limited and I am considering becoming a RN hopefully with a BSN. My plans beyond that would be to look into a NP. My question to you all is if you think this would be a good path or should I perhaps get a bachelors in a health related field and look into being a PA. I feel that NPs have a lot more experience in patient care being RNs first and that would be extremely beneficial to my patients. Also I was wondering if anyone would have any insight into going from a RRT and an associates to a BSN ie what might be a good route to take, located in NJ.

Thank you all in advance and look forward to hearing from you all.

Shu

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

I say go for it! The wider scope of practice is really nice, and you can get into a lot of areas either as a BSN or as a NP.

The experience as an RT will be nice, too- you can certainly put that into practice.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics.

I'm entering an LPN to RN transition program at my local community college, and they also accept paramedics and RTs. You simply need to challenge the CNA exam or take a course to get that license, and then hop into nursing school for 11 months. I'm not sure how it works in other areas, but that's the reality in central FL. If a BSN is what you're after, you may also need a few pre-reqs before simply applying to a 5 semester BSN program at a state university. RT definitely gives you a great understanding of many problems patients face. I'm also dead-set on grad school, and the BSN gives me more flexibility (be it CRNA, NP or educator).

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks guys! I'm pretty sure going from my associates to a BSN won't be too bad. I took most of the same prerequisites that my nursing colleges did but finding a program isn't the easiest. I'm about 95% sure this is the right route for me as I think jumping into PA would leave my skillset lacking. And I also really enjoy working with peds/neonates, and/or ED. I'll be honest, I'm not looking forward to the poo but I don't think anyone does and everyone gets past it. Some people said I'd never get used to suctioning people but it never really phased me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

You're right about the poo- I don't think anyone gets excited about that part, but it's just one of the many things we do. The limited exposure we get to poo certainly pales in comparison to how rewarding nursing can be.

In nursing school, you'll have rotations in peds and likely the ED & the NICU at some point, so you'll get some exposure, which is nice.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
You're right about the poo- I don't think anyone gets excited about that part, but it's just one of the many things we do. The limited exposure we get to poo certainly pales in comparison to how rewarding nursing can be.

In nursing school, you'll have rotations in peds and likely the ED & the NICU at some point, so you'll get some exposure, which is nice.

So far all of the nurses I know that I've talked to about this have all told me to go for it too-one even told me last night "It is not a mistake, do it!" So I think I'm going to expand my scope as soon as possible. Thanks again for all the advice/kind words :up:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion