Respiratory therapist Vs Nurses

JBizzleRN, ADN, RN · Mar 15, 2009

Nurses get paid more.

Nurses have more responsibilities

Nursing is more demanding

Nurses can do respiratory therapy's job

Nursing is always in high demand.

Don't get me wrong I love and appreciate every one of my respiratory therapist. However they do only come around once or twice a night to see a patient. They don't have 8 pts to pass 200 meds to, no worries about vital signs, surgical incisions, titrating medicines, ect. I mean sure they have their own set of responsiblities, but when it comes down to it Nurses can adminster breathing treatments, ambu, draw blood gases, and get EKGs....so....you decide :)

omgodzilla · Mar 15, 2009

So what your saying is..

A RT's job is easier than a nurse's?

NursingtheHeart · Mar 15, 2009

It depends on what your long-term plans are. RTs have a lower ceiling than nurses. In the long run, all you can be is a lead respiratory therapist if you stay in the career for several years. At least, that's what my nursing school classmates who were already RTs told me. After becoming an experienced nurse, you can become an educator, practitioner, anesthetist, clinician, manager, etc. The list goes on. So, it all depends on what you see in your future. Good Luck!

Candy25 · Mar 15, 2009

i would go the respiratory therapist route. i have a license to practice respiratory care and if i did not, than yes some other healthcare professional would be doing my job. you can expand your roles. try looking under widapedia's posting for my field's job descriptions. if i was a nurse i would probably be too stressed out to go to work. i like my job. don't worry about what you make an hour. i get all of my hours. i made 60,000 in my first year in respiratory and i didn't work that much overtime. the money is in prn work. but my husband started out at 60,000 full time with benefits right out of school as an rn. you should not have posted an rt vs. an rn titled question because there are allot of threads on this website that go on and on about our job descriptions. pick either field. :)

patwil73 · Mar 15, 2009

Im debating between the two and I'm at my wits end!
I don't know which career is better suited for me.
Can you guys help me out?
If you could go back in time, would you pursue a career as Respiratory therapist over RN?
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages between the two fields?
Which one gets paid more?
Which one has MORE responsibilities?
Which one is more demanding?
Which one is better in the long run?
Which one will be in high demand when I graduate?

If I had it to do all over again I would still choose nursing - but that is mostly because I am not a big fan of respiratory secretions.

As for the rest of your questions:

I think nursing has a higher ceiling as regarding pay - since you can eventually get up into upper management with salaries over 100k. As for staff nursing vs respiratory - it is probably close.

Responsibilities is a difficult one - RT's have different responsibilities than the staff nurse. Staff nurse has 4-8 or more patients to get vitals, pass meds, assess, etc. An RT can have the ER and NICU as their areas for the shift and be running back and forth intubating a guy in ED and doing the vent care, giving an asthma patient a breathing tx, then flying to NICU to take care of a sick baby. They still have to assess every patient they see (and sometimes they can have upwards of 40 a night), they administer meds to them, and they get limited vitals. Also in my hospital they all have to respond to rapid responses and codes.

Demanding? I honestly can't answer as I have never done their job. I would be willing to bet it is a lot closer than people think though.

Better? Purely subjective. Some might like the freedom of moving around throughout the hospital more, why others might look at the much vaster career options nursing offers. Better is what you make of it - and I can't tell what you enjoy.

Demand? Depends on the area. There will always be more need for nurses as they occupy more job positions in healthcare. However, the RT won't be competing with hundreds of nurses applying for the same job since their just aren't that many of them. In my hospital at night we employ probably maybe 50 nurses and 3 or 4 RT's and that distribution can be found throughout healthcare - so my money would be on nursing for demand.

The one thing about RT is that it is already a highly specialized career - so if you go into it and discover you really hate sputum, you are kind of out of luck. Whereas nursing starts general and can branch off into hundreds of specialties so if you don't like sputum you wouldn't take a job on the respiratory floor, but might try the surgical one instead.

Hope this helps

Pat

omgodzilla · Mar 15, 2009

wow absolutely brilliant responses.

Keep them coming.

Faeriewand, ASN, RN · Mar 15, 2009

JMHO but why not go for RT first? The RT's at my hospital are really happy with their jobs. They get to go all over the hospital. And when they are giving breathing treatments on my floor they sometimes can take a break and chat with us or sit down and chat on their cell phone. (I work in a small hospital btw.) It just seems less stressful for them but I don't really know as I've never been one. A nurse's job can be highly stressful. But I have known several nurses who had been RT's and wanted to make more money so switched jobs. I do know that you have to pass several tests and the more you pass the more money you make. :)

jstbreathe · Mar 17, 2009

Hmm. Since this is a nursing site, I do expect you to get anti Respiratory Therapy responses.

I am a Registered Respiratory Therapist. I love it!

Responsibilities don't include: cleaning poop, cleaning vomit, dressing changes, inserting foleys, baths, etc.

Respiratory Responsibilities include: airway management.

Typical night at work: Shift change, called STAT to ED to resp distress coming in. Setup bipap on CHF pt. Leave go the floor to do resp tx, get called stat again to ICU to get ABG on vent pt. Run by ED to check on Bipap. Go back to floor to attempt to give Bronchodilator to asthma pt, get called stat to sx a pt on another floor. Trauma activation in ED, stab wound to chest, intubate, then to ct, then transport to ICU or surgery. Attempt to go give that bronchodilator (b/c RN keeps calling me) NOPE pager goes off. Need you stat in NICU! drop everything and run. Get that done, how about a bathroom break. Pager: cardiac arrest coming in ED. Code that pt. setup vent. get abg, go to ct, then transport to ICU. Rapid Response Team called. pt needs lasix, not resp. Eat granola bar. Go to give that bronchodilator to the asthmatic that the Rn keeps calling about. BBS Clear. Pts states tx helps her sleep better! What??? Its not ambien! gonna sit down, take a break. Eight hours left to go. Cath lab is calling me stat.....

I guess what I am trying to say is....Yes an RN can give resp txs. Yes an RN can make vent changes. But do you really know what it will effect? (some do, most don't)

Do I make good money? absolutely! Do I have job security? sure! Can I do other jobs with my degree? Yes! I can do PFT's, sleep lab, Asthma Educator I can even be CEO of a hosp. (there is a local hosp with a BS RRT as CEO)

There are many exams to take out of school.

I can have several different titles...CRT, RRT, CPFT, RPFT, NPS, etc....

I am sure I haven't made friends with this post. But, dang...don't hate me b/c I chose a different career than you. I love my job. I make a difference.

So, when you walk by the RT room and see RT's sitting down relaxing....Please don't think they have been in that chair all day or night. They are just taking a break!:)

chicookie, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2009

RTs would win because they have O2 and the good drugs. LOL =P

IDK. All I know is I could never do RTs' job. All the hacking and stuff is the only thing I can't deal with. It makes me sick. I love them because then I don't have to deal with that alot.

RRTCanada · Mar 26, 2009

I'm not sure how different the role is in the US, but in Canada the sky's the limit for RRTs. Like nurses there are multiple options away from the bedside, research, sales, education, etc. Salaries here are higher for starting RTs than they are for starting nurses, with the ceiling being the same for bedside. Starting for an RT in Toronto is $30/hr, with top for bedside RN and RT just below $40/hr at 6 years. It can go higher for both in management positions...there are RRTs who are CEOs. With OT and other opportunities many RTs make >$100K/year. My track was 3 years bedside, 2.5 years in research and now I'm an educator in the hospital and at a school...6 years and have salary of $80k, Mon-Fri and love the work. As for the job, like nursing the role depends where you work. If you work in rehab or a clinic your role will be different than that of an RT working in a busy ICU. Here our RTs manage extremely complicated cardiac defects in terms of invasive and non-invasive ventilation, etc, and some have completed additional training to run ECMO (think bedside heart-lung bypass). In Canada we have RTs that complete additional training in anaesthesia to manage non-complex surgical cases (eye, hands, etc). The group works autonomously under the supervision of an anaesthetist. I have travelled extensively for work (Mexico, all over the US), presented at conferences and the like. This is not atypical for motivated RTs who get involved. I'm working on a Masters at the moment and have been asked to develop a Mock Code Simulation program for the hospital. Basically, your career path depends on where you work and how you get involved. If you want career progression, look for a large centre with good resources.

I chose RT over RN because I liked being able to move around, and not be tied to a single patient for most of my shift. Like others had mentioned, I'd rather deal with secretions that poop, blood or vomit on a regular basis (I had jobs doing enemas and manual disimpaction). It is a challenging job that requires people skills and intelligence. Although we are smaller in number, this fact with the aging population only increases our opportunities for the future. The interprofessional collaborative push currently sweeping healthcare is also opening many doors. Like other professions, grad school is your best bet to move up. If bedside is where you'd like to stay, nursing and RT are basically the same...just a different set of variables and equipment that you're dealing with. But if it's autonomy your after, go for RT.

meluhn · Mar 26, 2009

Go for physical therapy instead of either.