Better stepping stone to get to RN? Paramedic or Respiratory Therapist?
For a few different reasons(mainly being an idiot when i was younger) i can not get into nursing school for at least 2 or so years being an RN is my end goal. I am Currently an EMT-B and am looking into programs to step deeper into the field. Recently i was accepted to both a Paramedic Program and a Respiratory Therapy program, I have no idea which to choose and what would(skills or resume) get me closer to being a great nurse. I would love to be a Critical Care Emergency or Cardiac Nurse later in life. Any insight on which step might be the best to reach my end goal would be appreciated Thank you
Should I become a Respiratory Therapist?
Definitely do not get a Respiratory Therapist degree at any private Career Tech College. Even if it is accredited by CoARC the credits may not transfer to any other college so you would be very limited for advancement and would have to start all over on a degree elsewhere. This type of college is also very, very expensive and you will be in debt for many years. Respiratory Therapists are not in demand right now. My hospital just laid off half of the department (22 RTs) so RNs and a few Paramedics can take over their jobs. Other hospitals in the area already have cut their RT departments considerably in size. It is not a career I would advise anyone going into. I saw on a Paramedic forum where Oklahoma has now created the Hospital Paramedic title to replace Respiratory Therapists. That has gotta hurt in that state. Minnesota did the same thing through actual legislation. I heard Kansas and Colorado will be doing the same thing shortly.
Are health care practitioners (physicians, nurses, patient care technicians, respiratory therapist, etc) carriers & transmitters of infections?
Nope. You are.I wash my hands 30–50 times a day. I clean my rooms, my phone, the chairs, doorknobs, everything several times a day,…and, at the end of every day I do it again. Our lab cleans between every single patient.If you are acutely ill and contagious you can't come through our door without a mask, and we will clean everything you touch right in front of you. If you try to sneak your mask off, (people do), you will be warned once. Second time you have to leave. You will be seen in a special room, our sick room, to minimize other patients exposure. No chemo patient of mine is going to die because you feel a mask is uncomfortable. Try cancer. That's uncomfortable. We have too many fragile patients for me to give a shit about your not liking wearing a mask.I don't bring disease to you. You bring to it to me.Where do I worry? Emergency rooms. Urgent care waiting rooms. shudder. Public places. Shopping carts. I instinctively hold my breath when people cough and sneeze into the air. Most make no attempts to cover their mouth. Its mind numbingly unhealthy, selfish, and just plain disgusting. I wish Americans cared enough to wear masks like in Japan.Coughing and sneezing…not washing your hands.. , You are the vector.This is in every single room in the medical practice I work for. Very few pay attention.Disgusting. Just think about shopping. Everything you touch has the potential to spread disease.Children in elementary school are taught to cover their mouths. It's us grown ups who don't.
Which is better, physiotherapy or respiratory therapy?
Speaking from the standpoint of the United States, you are comparing entirely different professions, both of which are valuable in their roles. Respiratory therapists work primarily in hospitals, short term care facilities, long term care facilities, and the home. They work almost exclusively with pulmonary issues administering medication primarily via aerosol, operate ventilators, assist doctors with bronchoscopies, listen for lung sounds, treat patients with asthma, cystic fibrosis, perform pulmonary function testing, and many other areas.Physiotherapists work with all body systems in restoring function and/or reducing pain. While PT’s work with the pulmonary system as well, it tends to be in the context of breathing mechanics and areas of the body which may be restricting breathing (diaphragm, ribs, spine, etc). PT’s also use proper breathing to assist restoring other areas of the body, improve posture for it’s many benefits, etc. Outside of breathing, PT’s work in many areas (musculoskeletal, neurological, integumentary, cardiopulmonary, etc) to restore function.I hope this helps distinguish the difference, although I’ve only brushed the surface for each profession. Full disclosure, I’m speaking from a “house divided”…my wife is a respiratory therapist and I’m a physical therapist : )
Respiratory therapist or radiology tech?
At one point in time, I was the director of three hospital departments: laboratory, diagnostic imaging, and cardiopulmonary. Of the three, nurses make the most money and have the most flexibility in the types of jobs they can do and where they can work. Rank and file rad techs and resp. techs make lower wages than those who specialize and get additional training/schooling. All health care jobs are pretty stressful these days because there is so much emphasis on production. That means producing the most amount of work with the least amount of paid man hours. However, the pay is decent to good and there's no shortage of available jobs in any part of the country. I think you have to decide for yourself if you can handle a physical job, exposure to blood and body products (urine, feces, sputum, etc.), stress levels, etc. Working in health care can be very rewarding because you can see each day that you are helping people and saving lives. If you're interested in working in management someday, then you'll need to pursue at least a BS degree and perhaps a master's degree.
Medical Lab Technologist vs. Respiratory Therapist?
MLT. The average age of lab technologists is near retirement. The pay is substandard considering the knowledge you definitely have to know and it's a lot especially for a medical technologist. There's really no standards to the position except NY, NJ, and CA. You get paid a little less than a medical technologist, and yes for a medical technologist, it is a slap in the face. I do believe they should get paid more for the knowledge they know, the degree they receive, but there are no standards and their organization are run by pathologists not medical technologists so it doesn't help. Their educational curriculum is as hard any student going for medical school, at least the medical technology curriculum. Yes, this is why MLT is in demand. MLT is a two year program, and they are much needed in the lab in order to save a few bucks for the employers budget so they don't have to pay and hire MTs.
Why don't RNs have more respect for Respiratory Therapists?
I don't think ALL RNs are disrespectful, just some of them and they ask some really stupid questions sometimes. Ahem, examples: -A breathing tx does NOT make an SpO2 higher - despite what many RNs believe. There is not magical oxygen molecules in albuterol - You cannot put a patient on a 10L nasal cannula. It is painfully drying to their sinuses and if they need that much O2 we need to know about it! - There is no such thing as a STAT incentive spirometer - Don't yell "HEY RESPIRATORY" to us. We have names. We don't yell "HEY RN" to nursing staff and I guarantee if we did we'd get written up for it. -Don't act like your schooling was so much harder. RT school is just as hard (actually statistically it has been proven to be HARDER than nursing school) and we have to go for the exact same amount of time. I like most of the RNs I work with. It is well known throughout the health-care world that RTs always get less respect from RNs. I personally believe it is a fear of the unknown.
Do most health care technicians have bachelor's degrees?
Most? No.PCT (Patient Care Tech), CNA (Certified Nurse Assistant), MA (Medical Assistant), LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse), EMT/P (Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic), Phlebotomist, RT (Radiology Tech- CT/MRI/XRAY), RRT (Registered Respiratory Therapist) - All are vocational programs to obtain certifications you can pursue (in the U.S) without a Bachelors degree.Registered Nurses (RN’s) do not need a Bachelors degree but the field and employers are seeking Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN’s) more readily.Doctors (MD/DO), CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist), Physicians Assistant (PA) ALL have Bachelor’s degrees at a minimum.
Should I study to become a Respiratory Therapist or Nursing?
At first, I wanted to do nursing, but to get into the program is very competitive. I'm scared I might not get in and waste my parents money. I've read good thing about being an RT, and even though the program at the college i got ti is first come first serve, I think I have a better chance of getting accepted into that one than the RN program. If I'm going to make my parents pay for these classes, I want it to be worth it. I want to get my associates degree so i can find a job, and help them pay so i can go to a 4 year uni so i can expand my studies. My dads mad that I don't want to do nursing anymore, but RT seems more of my cup of tea. But then again I'm not sure, can anyone give me their opinions? Thank you.
Is it better to become a surgical tech and then a CRNA or just jump into CRNA?
Well…if you are interested in having a really good base knowledge of what goes on in a surgical suite, then yeah…it certainly wouldn’t hurt to become a scrub tech first. But, looking back on my old career, I’d have to say it might be sort of a waste of time if you’re ultimately planning on your CRNA.If it was me, I wouldn’t bother with becoming a surgical tech for two reasons. A CRNA is not part of the “sterile field” whereas a surgical technician is. They are two totally different entities. The other reason in my opinion is CRNA is very intensive compared to surgical technician.If you ultimately want to become a CRNA, but want to go at it from a different angle, I’d say pick respiratory technician first since it is more directly related to working as an anesthetist. Also, it would benefit you if you wanted to go for further advancement into becoming a pump tech for open-heart surgery.