I was a medic in the Army 6 years ago and just finished Respiratory Therapy school (Independence University) in Janurary. I have an interview at a hospital this week for a respiratory position. The only problem is that it is 45 minutes away and I have to drive over a mountain pass that is frequently closed between October-March. I live in a rural area so I don't have a lot of options to work in this field. I would love to attend Excelsior but I'm afraid that I will still have a hard time finding a job, seeing as I will still have no current work experience by the time I'm done.
Should I just apply to a brick and mortor school for nursing or will my experience as a medic and respiratory clinicals be somewhat sufficent? It has been 6 years but as a medic I learned to start I.V.'s, blood draws, vitals, vaccinations etc.
I'm an RRT that was laid off in December and I'm having a heck of a time finding work. With the way my studying is going, I am hoping to be a licensed RN by this time next year, where (hopefully) my job opportunities will be better. There are always a ton of RN job listings and only a very few RRT ones in my area, and with all the hospitals having made lay offs in the last 6 months (one area hospital laid off half the RT staff) the market is saturated and very competitive.
I love respiratory, don't get me wrong, but there is better mobility (upwards and lateral) in nursing. With your background as a medic and an RRT, the excelsior classes shouldn't be too difficult. For me, the worst part so far has been the care plans lol. It's just something I"m not used to since we don't do that in RT. I am nervous about things like starting IV's and such since I won't have hands on practice, but I can draw a gas and start an a-line so I'm sure I can figure out an IV after a couple of tries.
Beeks
13 Posts
I would suggest giving Exceclsior a go.
I'm an RRT that was laid off in December and I'm having a heck of a time finding work. With the way my studying is going, I am hoping to be a licensed RN by this time next year, where (hopefully) my job opportunities will be better. There are always a ton of RN job listings and only a very few RRT ones in my area, and with all the hospitals having made lay offs in the last 6 months (one area hospital laid off half the RT staff) the market is saturated and very competitive.
I love respiratory, don't get me wrong, but there is better mobility (upwards and lateral) in nursing. With your background as a medic and an RRT, the excelsior classes shouldn't be too difficult. For me, the worst part so far has been the care plans lol. It's just something I"m not used to since we don't do that in RT. I am nervous about things like starting IV's and such since I won't have hands on practice, but I can draw a gas and start an a-line so I'm sure I can figure out an IV after a couple of tries.