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Discussion

RN or RT

Hi all,

Replying to RN or RE has me addressing my own dilemma :) . I'm currently completing preqs for nursing but as you all know those same preqs apply to most allied health programs. I've been accepted to the Respiratory Therapy program that begins this fall. Nursing is what I'd been working towards but I'm afraid of wasting :banghead: to much time trying to get accepted to a program. I'm a single parent and I have two kids to care for. Some friends say I'm settliing if I switch to RT instead of pursuing RN but I see it as being realistic. I'm interested in both professions. I have an okay GPA but there are others with stellar GPAs that I'd be completing with. I admit I am one about the money since its a single income family for me. I've been researching both fields over the internet but I want some real-world opinions. I'd appreciate any response regarding the pay, advancement and longevity of both professions. I think of maybe completing the RT program and pursuing RN later after I'm more secure. Either choice equals two years of school, respiratory therapy would award me an associate's and with Nursing a bachelor's degree depending on the programs I apply to. Thank you in advance for assisting me.:thankya:

Featured Replies

I worked R.T. for a couple of years as an R.N. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was involved in every aspect of hospital care; surgery, E.R., trauma, floor, OB, nursery, ordering, teaching...like crazy, Nuclear testing, CT, x-ray, sleep studies, and then there were specialty clinics, long-term care, and our general walk-in clinic....it was great!

I often thought that I should have taken that up instead of nursing. The down-side for me was taking all the call hrs. and being fresh and presentable at all hours of the day and night.

I don't know what an R.T. salary is as I did it under my R.N. pay scale. I also don't know what the demand is. I know there are many, many, many R.N.'s employed at my facility, but only three registered R.T.'s.

A couple of yrs. ago our facility began to hire 4 yr. registered R.T's for that department. Now we have three of them...and a top-notch department!

I'm back on the floor as just one of the many, many, many R.N.'s. The floor is okay, but I miss the excitement, challenges, and the frequent change in settings and tasks.

Follow your heart and you can't go wrong. I once heard that if you love what you do then you'll never work a day in your life.

Hugs to you for considering the health care professions!

Hey why not do both!!! RT's make great money as well....... I'd do both if it were me......just mpo..plus you are in for RT to start, right? And nursing you are still yet to apply/ waiting...correct? Well good luck!

My best friend has been an RT for many years, making good money. It is demanding but not as near as crazy as nursing from what I can see. RT's have one specific job, responsible for their department issues and not as near as many staffing issues. Nurses on the other hand are responsible for every aspect of the patient's care = more stress. This is what I see and hear but perhaps others have a different perspective.

  • Author

This might sound slow but what is "mpo"? Also thank you for the encouragement. I thought of doing RT to start and later pick up nursing...what type of specialty as far as nursing would be a Rt prior to nursing prepare me for?

  • Author
This might sound slow but what is "mpo"? Also thank you for the encouragement. I thought of doing RT to start and later pick up nursing...what type of specialty as far as nursing would be a Rt prior to nursing prepare me for?

Never mind mpo = my personal opinion...sometimes I read to fast and the words aren't truly sinking in.

  • Experts

The RN license seems to possess more flexibility and upward mobility. An RN can work in such specialized areas as pulmonology and respiratory therapy with the option of moving to another specialty. An RT cannot bounce to other non-respiratory specialties.

Before I applied to RN school, I applied and was accepted into a very competitive RT program at my college. After several shadowing experiences though (and a failed Anatomy course) I decided to go RN. There isn't as much job variety in RT as RN, plus I wanted to do more skills.....suctioning, chest PT, checking vent settings, etc wasn't really what I wanted to do for the rest of my life (I know RTs do more than that, I just had more fun doing the RN things when I shadowed, so I decided to go that route).

Have you done any RT shadowing? If your dream is to go RN, then go that way. I would hate for anyone to make their decision (after this much work) because they're afraid they "might" not be accepted into the RN program. Just keep saying your prayers, and see how things pan out.

Erica

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