To be an RN or RT..Help!

EmmaG, RN · Jan 6, 2008

Nurse or Respiratory Therapist?

First, stand neck-deep in a vat of...

casi, ASN, RN · Jan 6, 2008

It was said that when God decided who would be nurses and who would be RTs he gathered the canidates in a room where they were up to their waists in poop and spat a large loogey on them. The nurses ducked.

I think you need to do what you can handle and what you think you would like. Most people have a pretty good idea of what a nurse does, but RTs are seldom heard of. Contact your local hospital and maybe see if you can shadow an RT for the day. See if it's something you'd like.

LiverpoolJane · Jan 6, 2008

I don't know anything about respiratory therapists as the nearest thing I think we have in the UK are the phsiotherapists that specialise in chest physio?

Ask yourself that if you became a RT, when you were doing the rounds in the hospital would you be secretly be wishing you were one of the nurses you will be coming into contact on a daily basis?

Would there be an opportunity to become an RN using the RT quals as a stepping stone?

Again I really don't know anything about the set up in the US but from what you say I think you really want to be an RN and I think you should not give up on that goal. Unless, that is you have looked into what being an RT involves and you think that you still get pt contact etc but maybe the working conditions are better?

HM2VikingRN, RN · Jan 6, 2008

Can you get on the waiting list for other schools nursing programs?

I think being cross trained as an RT would be a wonderful set of skills as a Nurse...

angelladyclaire · Jan 6, 2008

After seeing what the RT's at my hospital do, I often wish I had gone that route. Just be sure you can handle sputum before you make the plunge... the starting pay around here is about the same and they don't have to clean up poop all day, don't have to deal with some of the other stressors of nursing such as family dynamics, etc., as often... they really only deal with one body system and one set of labs (abg's). They also get to respond to codes and assist with intubations, etc. Of course, being an RT is not the same every place.. You might check out some potential employers to see what kind of stuff you'd be expected to do.

Of course, if you're sure nursing's what you really want to do, you should stick it out... then again, I was sure nursing was for me when I got into school, and now I sometimes wonder...

RNperdiem, RN · Jan 6, 2008

Many of the respiratory therapists I talk to at work believe that the job has a limited future.

Some tell me that in the future there will be no respiratory therapists and that the nurses will absorb their duties.

Once, long ago, ventilators were like early computers. They were complicated to program and use. The doctors did not know how to set up and use vents. Now, like computers, vents have become more user-friendly and easier to program and understand. RT's no longer have the exclusive knowledge and skill set they used to have, and their future is uncertain.

SICU Queen · Jan 6, 2008

It was said that when God decided who would be nurses and who would be RTs he gathered the canidates in a room where they were up to their waists in poop and spat a large loogey on them. The nurses ducked.

:hhmth:

Loogeys are EXACTLY why I am not an RT. Give me diarrhea and vomit anytime!

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Jan 6, 2008

Nurse or Respiratory Therapist?
First, stand neck-deep in a vat of...

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

sasha1224 · Jan 6, 2008

first, I am a nurse. But here are my observations on the two different specialties. I as an ADN have pretty much worked exclusively in hospitals. I don't have the education(or desire to obtain!) to go into management or whatever else. I am pretty much locked into the hospital mentality. As for Resp Tx, I work with a fellow who has the same level of education as I(Assoc in Resp Tx) and when I observe him his job is not as intensive as mine. He is making pretty much the same money, btw. He does his "vent checks" q2-3 hours, but otherwise doesn't really enter the rooms. There are times I have seen him watching sports games on TV while I am busting my hump. And to top it off, he is running several side businesses(DME provider of resp equipment and sleep study analysis) both of which offer very substantial financial boons that he is pulling in MUCH more than I do. All this on an equiv of an Assoc degree in his field. Now granted, he can't advance past a Bachelor's degree in most areas. but in terms of the things he can do with the equiv of an Assoc degree, it seems he has much more potential(at least financial and maybe specialty wise) then I do with the same level of education. Maybe it comes down to your "calling". Though there are times I wonder, did I choose the more laborious path?

hollyvk, BSN · Jan 6, 2008

As Jerry McGuire said, "Show me The MONEY!"

A good friend of mine is an RT (with a bachelor's degree no less). She is VERY smart and VERY competent (and chose to be an RT because she's also got horrible asthma that over time has gotten pretty well controlled with the newer meds). The hospitals don't pay the RTs nearly as much as they pay RNs. The only time my friend makes RN-level wages is when she sucks it up and takes a sales job, spending much time on the road. Otherwise, the working conditions at hospitals are involve similar amounts of work and stress for both.

So why would you choose the short-term benefit of getting through school more quickly over the long-term benefits of better salary, better job opportunities, and better job security?

HollyVK, RN, BSN, JD

walktheline · Jan 6, 2008

deebee12:

I am having the same thoughts as you. I just finished reading a thread about people's injuries since being a nurse, and it was scary!!