RT a good path towards becoming NICU RN?

GreyGull · Nov 30, 2010

No. It will take at least 3 years to become an RT unless you have all of your prerequisites, the same as an RN. RT programs may also require additional classes in chemistry, physics and maths which are not required for nursing. RT jobs are also very scarce in CA just like nursing in some areas. Several hospitals have laid off RTs in their budget cuts just as they have RNs. In Southern CA you will be competing against Loma Linda RT grads (Bachelors - 4 years) and they are a tough group to be competing against.

Just like any other specialty in nursing or RT, you will have to complete the basic education required for licensing. Some units may accept you as a new grad RN and put you through an intense and lengthy training program. RT may require you to have two years of work experience working with patients on med-surg floors and adult ICUs before they allow you to enter the NICU. NICU is also a competitive unit to get into for RTs and there are not that many openings. You may also have NICU and the rest of the house including many adults. Your time may be very divided and you will be constantly running back and forth between the different units. As a nurse you will not be running back and forth from an adult ICU to the NICU in the same shift. As an RT, it might also be the luck of the draw that you will even get assigned the NICU most of the time if at all. Taking both the CRT and the RRT exams can also strain one's budget. Then, you would also have to take the NPS specialization exam which is another expense.

So, I know of a Respiratory Therapist program that actually covers neonatal resuscitation.

I believe all RT programs cover neonatal resuscitation (NRP), as well as pediatric (PALS) and adult (ACLS). Resuscitation just happens to be part of what they do. There will be one semester covering neonatal/pediatrics. The rest of the education will be on your own through specialized programs, conferences, seminars and on the job training from your employer.

If you want to be a nurse, be a nurse. Spending 5 - 6 years in college and still only having the minimun entry level requirement which is an Associates is not a wise use of time. You would be better off going for a BSN and then looking at NP school after you are sure the NICU is what you want. But, there are also many other options for NP.

Noob_to_Nursing · Nov 30, 2010

Thanks so much for the post! :)

littleneoRN · Nov 30, 2010

It sounds like you're doing your homework. I'd agree with the previous poster that this is unnecessary considering the work and cost. NICU jobs can be hard to come by, especially with the economy. It may be possible depending on your willingess to relocate that you may need to get other experience as a nurse before entering NICU, or you may get hired as a new grad. But I would not suggest all that extra work for the same reasons as suggested above.

Coffee Nurse, BSN, RN · Dec 1, 2010

There's no such thing as a specific RN program for NICU nursing; the RN curriculum isn't tailored to any one specialty. If you're very lucky, you may end up in a NICU for part of your OB rotation or as a final-semester synthesis clinical placement (speaking from a traditional BSN POV here, not sure how accelerated BSN programs approach clinicals), but otherwise you go through the same didactics and clinicals as everyone else: med/surg, peds, OB, psych, community health.

All NICU nurses learned on the job. The best way to get into the specialty is to find a good new grad program. There's still the school of thought that you should do at least a year of med/surg first, but I didn't and don't think it would've been helpful, except for the sake of learning time management, etc. Other than that, you're just learning reference ranges, etc. that are really not that transferable to neonates.

Definitely don't bother going for an RT first if you really want to be an RN. It's an entirely different focus and way of looking at patients, even from a resuscitation standpoint (RTs are more likely to be bagging, suctioning, possibly intubating during a code; RNs are more likely to be pushing meds, doing compressions, etc.). In addition, there's the whole issue of going through that program and then fighting with that job market, as a previous poster described.

NeoNurseTX, RN · Dec 6, 2010

Waste of time if RN is your goal. You'll learn infant CPR if you're an RN, too. Just because RTs learn their part of infant resuscitation doesn't mean they have a NICU track. In fact, most of our RTs are shared with the ER and pedi floors and a few even do adults. You're right you don't specialize in nursing school (neither do you in RT school) but once you get a job, you can specialize in that field. As an RN you can get further certified in neonatal intensive care (RNC test) without having a masters or even bachelors degree.

ETA: There are a lot more NICU RN jobs than RT jobs. Say we use 40 RNs a shift...then we use 5-6 RTs.

CHBRRT · Dec 13, 2010

greygull is correct in his/her overall point about not becoming an rt; however, is incorrect about many things in the post.

the following is school specific, and i'm not knowledgeable about every school so don't take my word as gold.

it only takes 2 years to become an rt, it is an as degree program; unless you go to a 4 year school. you are not required to take any extra courses that an rn would have to take other than conceptual physics, which is a lot of gas laws, etc. rn's actually take more than rt's as far as chemistry. i did not have to take any chemistry other than what was built into a&p. also, rt programs do not require nrp, pals, or acls; however, are starting to offer them in conjunction with their nursing and/or paramedic programs. working at children's hospital boston, we are not required to have nrp, pals, or acls because our orientation/ training is so intense. however, our department will fully support us getting any additional certifications.

if you get a job in a children's hospital, you are trained across the board. each children's hospital has multiple icu's including the nicu. you would go through orientation for each unit. there is no specific amount of experience required.

finally, in regards to becoming an np, unless you are committed to getting your phd, don't bother. legislation is in the works for 2015 that will require np's to have their phd.

good luck!

GreyGull · Dec 13, 2010

I hope you don't take my post the wrong way but RTs are wanting to become a solid profession with a place in Critical Care Medicine. They just had their National Conference in Las Vegas that was trying to stress this especially with the proposed legislation.

Some of your information may be correct for you area only or when you took the RT program. Our RT programs do require prerequisites BEFORE entering the two year program. These programs are now very competitive to get in. The average RT program is 72 semester hours for an Associates. The Physics course may also require college algebra as a prerequisite. At least Chemistry for Health Sciences is required for most of the programs. The RT programs do no require ACLS, NRP or PALS to enter but can be obtained during the classes. Many hospitals require RTs to be part of the code teams which may recommend these certs and some hospitals do make these certs mandatory for hire. You can look at any of the trade journals and see this requirement. Any of our RTs that work the ED must have them and any that carry a code or rapid response pager must carry them as well as those who want to work the ICUs or advance in steps. If you are lucky enough to work for a hospital with ICUs that provide lots of additional training or become part of a transport team, then they may teach you additional information but many will want you to have at least the basic certs as a foundation. I would not want an RT responding to L&D or a NICU code who did not know at least the fundamentals of NRP. If that was the case the RNs should just handle the emergency and do their own intubation which some do in a few hospitals if the RTs aren't willing to step up their education and training.

The Bachelors in RT is also preferred. A Masters is also recommended if you want to do Lead or higher. RTs have the option of getting that degree in different areas or through Northeastern University in Boston.

Not everyone will work at your hospital nor will they have the opportunity to work a neonatal unit immediately after graduation. Not everyone will work at a hospital that will have dedicated RTs that work only in the NICU. Some may only rotate through there once a month or will be splt between the who hospital.

RTs can be considered a luxury but not a necessity in some hospitals. There are still hospitals that only have RTs during the daylight hours for equipment maintenance. Subacute ventilators can be managed by LVNs in many states.

If you work at Boston Children's I do recall one of your Supervisors bragging about how many RT applications they get each time they have one or two openings and that was when the employment rate in health care was at a low.

Also, it is important to have a strong academic background if you do decide to go through an RT program and want a decent career with other opportunities. You can find still some private tech colleges around which may have lower entrance requirements that do not require the prerequisites but somehow managed to get accredited but they will bite you in the butt later in your career unless you get into a hospital that doesn't require much of anything for their RTs nor do their RTs do very much in the ICUs or on the teams. Some Children's hospitals also use only RNs and Paramedics for their transport teams since RTs are still viewed as techs and not professionals.

For current information, the AARC forum would be a better choice as well as viewing some of the college programs.

Also, the degree being proposed for NP in 2015 is a Doctorate NP and not Ph.D. Those are two very different degrees.

babyNP., APRN · Dec 13, 2010

finally, in regards to becoming an np, unless you are committed to getting your phd, don't bother. legislation is in the works for 2015 that will require np's to have their phd.
good luck!

this is not correct. a doctorate in nursing practice and phd in nursing two entirely different things. please don't post this kind of stuff unless you are absolutely sure, as you may discourage folks who might be otherwise inclined to advancing their education.

denicu · Dec 14, 2010

If I am talking to someone and they are going back and forth about choosing a RT VS RN program, I would put it this way-a 30 bed floor needs min 8 RN's(8 may be too much these says) but will only need 1 RT and he or she may split a shift working on 2 or more floors. So in terms of employment the RN program is a better way to go but i know it is difficult to get in a RN program now. A family friend recently told me she was accepted into an associate RT program. She had good grades in her pre-requsite courses and applied to several RN programs and was always wait listed so she decided to take this route and hopefully down the road again try the RN program. Dont know if this was a good decision but for her it is the best choice at the moment. I work agency full time and from what I have seen is the RT usually rotates from NICU to the units. Very few places I have seen where the RT only works NICU.

littleneoRN · Dec 15, 2010

working at children’s hospital boston, we are not required to have nrp, pals, or acls because our orientation/ training is so intense. however, our department will fully support us getting any additional certifications.

seriously? i know this is ot, but... i understand that you can have intense training that covers the same material, but it seems imprudent to have rts who are not officially certified in these if they are working with these populations. our nurses and rts are not allowed to do patient care without a direct preceptor until they officially have nrp. (i work in nicu, so we don't do pals or acls). this seems to open the hospital and/or individuals up for potential liability...

eta...are you required to bls/cpr certification, or is this just part of training too?

GreyGull · Dec 15, 2010

Just glancing at a few employment ads in the Boston area, Tufts requires NRP if working in L&D or NICU.

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital:

Registered Respiratory Therapist

* Current Massachusetts Respiratory Care License

* Associates Degree, Bachelors preferred

* Basic and Advanced respiratory skills

* BLS certified annually (ACLS, PALS, NRP preferred)

In Florida:

Bayfront Medical Center

Requirements Graduate of AMA approved program of RRT. Bachelors/Masters degree preferred. Current Florida RRT license, BLS, ACLS/NRP/PALS. AARC and FSRC is preferred.

Health First Hospitals

"you must have Florida RRT licensure, recent hospital experience and BLS, ACLS, NRP certifications."

source: http://fsrc.org/careers.html

California:

Barton Health

http://resp.ca.associationcareernetwork.com/JobSeeker/JobDetail.aspx?abbr=RESP.CA&jobid=271815c5-8a05-4acf-b13c-f9927dfa4d20&stats=y

Current ACLS, PALS, and NRP certification prior to hire or must enroll and complete the first available Barton University courses

It would probably depend on the responsibilities of the Respiratory Therapist. Someone who is not part of a code or rapid response team or if they did not work in the critical care or ED areas may not have the same requirements as those who are in these areas. There are some hospitals that do conduct their own "ACLS" or neonatal resuscitaton classes which may even exceed the national guidelines. But, even for those they may require you to take an initial training with the AHA just so you have a base knowledge and then expand from there. CPR may also have to be an approved class to meet both employer and state licensure requirements.

RT ads are also including "Bachelors preferred" more often.