So I'm going to be a Respiratory Therapist....

[w0odtactics]

If you Cali forget about it, I'm RT and bout to be RRT and it's hard to find a full time job or part time. The field is so saturated that most hospitals starting to drop the pay rate. All new rts find it hard but the old school rts are set. Good field to be in just not at the moment, due to all the trade schools pumping out rts. Rts only make 100k if you work two jobs and that's like 5-6 days a week so your looking at 60+ hours a week to get 100k a year. Advice to you is get your RRT, acls pals nrp and every other certification just to seperate you from the rest.

 

[hrelos]

Originally Posted by w0odTactics

If you Cali forget about it, I'm RT and bout to be RRT and it's hard to find a full time job or part time. The field is so saturated that most hospitals starting to drop the pay rate. All new rts find it hard but the old school rts are set. Good field to be in just not at the moment, due to all the trade schools pumping out rts. Rts only make 100k if you work two jobs and that's like 5-6 days a week so your looking at 60+ hours a week to get 100k a year. Advice to you is get your RRT, acls pals nrp and every other certification just to seperate you from the rest.

Sorry but what is RRT?

 

[hrelos]

Arite thanks for the info I knew i could trust my NT fam hahah hopefully Ill be able to make a living off of being an RT or something....

 

[paul is on tilt]

Originally Posted by w0odTactics

If you Cali forget about it, I'm RT and bout to be RRT and it's hard to find a full time job or part time. The field is so saturated that most hospitals starting to drop the pay rate. All new rts find it hard but the old school rts are set. Good field to be in just not at the moment, due to all the trade schools pumping out rts. Rts only make 100k if you work two jobs and that's like 5-6 days a week so your looking at 60+ hours a week to get 100k a year. Advice to you is get your RRT, acls pals nrp and every other certification just to seperate you from the rest.

That's why you take a per diem position. Some of my classmates took a per diem postion at different hospitals in the San Francisco area. I'd say about half took per diems and the other half took benefited positions. Per diems get paid a higher rate than full time or part timebecause you don't pay for benefits. Per diems aren't that bad. When a benefited RT position opens up, you will get first dibs on that vacant position compared to a new hire. If you're working with other per diems though, it'll depend on seniority, but hey, at least you move up the ladder and get closer. Some per diems don't even want to get a full time position because they get benefits elsewhere (another employer or spouse's employer), so they'll pass on the benefited position.

That's good, I forgot to mention that, too. Get your ACLS, PALS, and NRP. I have my NRP and that helped.

Like I said, it's like that everywhere with the way our economy is. But I've been told that health care is one of the 1st industries to pick up quickly. So even if it's tough now, health care is going to pick up before most other industries do.

Originally Posted by I AM NAS

my girl was just talking about becoming a RT, since she doesnt want to pursue nursing anymore, what does the job entail? i had never even heard of the career until she brought it up

This is just a quick run down...

The job entails working with the ventilator or as what other people see it as, a "life support" machine. Basically, it's a machine that breathes for you. A person would have a tube down their trachea and the machine would be ventilating for the person. This is our "money maker." It's what we do better than RN's and MD's. We are the experts when it come to these ventilators.

RT's administer respiratory medication to patients, too. Those commercials for Advair is an example of a medication we administer. Other meds are those inhalers that you see asthmatics use.

RT's are involved in patient care and assessment of the patient. RT's are involved during physician rounds and give their 2 cents.

RT's respond when there's a patient coding to give CPR and possibly put down those aforementioned tubes down the patient's trachea to ventilate for them.

What else is there? Let me see if I could find something online.

*Edit*
Found it... I put it in the spoiler.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler [+]

Spoiler

• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Diagnosing lung and breathing disorders and recommending treatment methods. [/font]

• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Interviewing patients and doing chest physical exams to determine what kind of therapy is best for their condition.[/font]

• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Consulting with physicians to recommend a change in therapy, based on your evaluation of the patient.[/font]

• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Analyzing breath, tissue, and blood specimens to determine levels of oxygen and other gases. [/font]

• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Managing ventilators and artificial airway devices for patients who can’t breathe normally on their own.[/font]

• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Responding to Code Blue or other urgent calls for care. [/font]

• [font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Educating patients and families about lung disease so they can maximize their recovery. 
  [/font]

http://www.aarc.org/career/be_an_rt/what_rts_do.cfm

Originally Posted by HRelos

Originally Posted by w0odTactics

If you Cali forget about it, I'm RT and bout to be RRT and it's hard to find a full time job or part time. The field is so saturated that most hospitals starting to drop the pay rate. All new rts find it hard but the old school rts are set. Good field to be in just not at the moment, due to all the trade schools pumping out rts. Rts only make 100k if you work two jobs and that's like 5-6 days a week so your looking at 60+ hours a week to get 100k a year. Advice to you is get your RRT, acls pals nrp and every other certification just to seperate you from the rest.

Sorry but what is RRT?

RRT stands for Registered Respiratory Therapist. Like I mentioned before, you have 2 sets of board exams. One to get "certified" and one to get "registered."

Basically, Registered Respiratory Therapists > Certified Respiratory Therapists.

 

[messyyy]

i was considering taking physical therapist assistant, but i might go for RT. so can i apply for the program already even though i'm stil taking pre req classes??

 

[adamsd11]

Physician Assistant is another great option. Lemme know if you have any questions about it.

 

[paul is on tilt]

Originally Posted by Messyyy

i was considering taking physical therapist assistant, but i might go for RT. so can i apply for the program already even though i'm stil taking pre req classes??

I would probably say that it depends on where you're located and how the program is set up.

Try looking at the school's website that offers RT and the program's page should have a downloadable brochure of some sort.

 

[mronegative]

post for later [when I'm in a serious money mood]

 

[daddychill]

Originally Posted by Adamsd11

Physician Assistant is another great option. Lemme know if you have any questions about it.

I'm in a nursing program right now.

can i apply to a PA program once i graduate?

 

[jt solemates lm]

^ eternalist34, how's that nursing program doing? is it hard? if so, what's the hardest part about it? thanks.

 

[shogun]

Damn.  This thread brings back bad memories.  I got kicked out of my RT program last year.  I thought I was a good student but those classes overwhelmed me.  Hardest classes i've ever taken.  I have a bad memory so memorizing everything that was required was hell.  Pharmacology and Laboratory FTL.  I started drinking again after I knew I wasn't going to move on to the next semester.  

Oh yeah, good luck OP.  

 

[w0odtactics]

I'm still waiting on my paper work to be sent to NBRC for me to register for RRT. I am working per diem as of now but I hardly pick up shifts. Anyone know of a cheap NRP class to take in socal?

Also was thinking of going back to school and follow up on PA program.

 

[mf doomer]

This career is associated with radiography techs, would anyone have info on the saturation rate in CA?

 

[Los Angeles]

I knew Paul would be in this thread shutting it down

Damn, I hatedddd the respiratory system when I was in my nursing program.

Overall, the recession has hurt the medical field big time (never thought it would be like this when I was in school).

IMO, it's also tough for RTs to get a job because most facilities only need 2-3. Maybe you can confirm this Paul?

@ the mention of a Medical Assistant, you might as well become a CNA.

 

[theabove]

State and National Trends
Openings spots of roughly 420 positions.


http://www.careerinfonet.org/occ_re...1&nodeid=2&soccode=291126&stfips=06&x=63&y=20

 

[bangtcg]

Originally Posted by jumpman247

Is that like giving mouth to mouth all day?

 

[daddychill]

Originally Posted by jt solemates lm

^ eternalist34, how's that nursing program doing? is it hard? if so, what's the hardest part about it? thanks.

it's not easy. it takes plenty of studying.

the hardest part is the theory classes (pathophysio, med-surg) and the tests (really have to take your time and read the questions thoroughly). pharm was #!!& for me but i pulled thru in the end.

 

[omelette king]

Haha...hella funny. I was wondering if there were other RT's on NT. I work @ Kaiser Oakland medical center for 4 years now. Its chill here and Kaiser pays nicely. I made $90K last year working 4days/week($40/hour).Homeboy is right though about it getting over-saturated. probably another 3-4 years before its gonna suck for people trying to get into the field. My suggestion to you is to get your RRT and become Neonatal ICU, Pediatric ICU and Nicu/Picu transport trained. I do all three and they bug me all the time to come in and do overtime. It'll def give you more pulling power when trying to land a job. I went to school at Napa JC. Best RT school in the bay in my opinion. They are very thorough and make sure you know everything. The classes arent too bad as long as you dont get lazy/stay focused. Ive heard most of the JC's have waiting list now so that might set you back some time. There are those trade schools that you can get into right away but I heard their taking kids for BIG loot. Good luck man

 

[jt solemates lm]

Originally Posted by bright nikes

Damn, I hatedddd the respiratory system when I was in my nursing program.  

what part of the nursing program was the hardest (besides respiratory) for you? do you really have to use A LOT of what you've learned from microbiology and physiology when you're in the program? if so, did they "help you refresh your memory" or did they expect you to have memorized EVERYTHING from micro & phys? thanks a lot.

 

[paul is on tilt]

Originally Posted by bright nikes

IMO, it's also tough for RTs to get a job because most facilities only need 2-3. Maybe you can confirm this Paul?

It depends on the facility really. In the bay area, Stanford is a big institution and so is UCSF. SF General is pretty big, too, but not the size of UCSF. They usually have I think 6-7 RTs on a given shift. I'm sure Omelette King can speak on Highlands in Oakland, seeing as he's working in Oakland (granted for Kaiser, but he's still in Oakland). For a fact, I know UCSF has over 80 RTs.

Originally Posted by Omelette King

Haha...hella funny. I was wondering if there were other RT's on NT. I work @ Kaiser Oakland medical center for 4 years now. Its chill here and Kaiser pays nicely. I made $90K last year working 4days/week($40/hour).Homeboy is right though about it getting over-saturated. probably another 3-4 years before its gonna suck for people trying to get into the field. My suggestion to you is to get your RRT and become Neonatal ICU, Pediatric ICU and Nicu/Picu transport trained. I do all three and they bug me all the time to come in and do overtime. It'll def give you more pulling power when trying to land a job. I went to school at Napa JC. Best RT school in the bay in my opinion. They are very thorough and make sure you know everything. The classes arent too bad as long as you dont get lazy/stay focused. Ive heard most of the JC's have waiting list now so that might set you back some time. There are those trade schools that you can get into right away but I heard their taking kids for BIG loot. Good luck man

Skyline > Napa.

He's right, though. It is getting over saturated. Those trade schools are pumping out RTs and just over saturating the bay area. He's also right about getting cross trained in different areas. Working with the pediatric and neonatal populations definitely helps you. You'll be look as a one of the stronger RTs and you'll be more valuable than one who is just trained to work in the adult population.

 

[airblaster503]

Originally Posted by eternalist34

Originally Posted by Adamsd11

Physician Assistant is another great option. Lemme know if you have any questions about it.

I'm in a nursing program right now.

can i apply to a PA program once i graduate?

Most likely as long as you are getting a Bachelors degree in Nursing.  I was going to school for PA but didn't focus and the science classes were killing me, to much partying and no studying.  It is a 2 or 3 year masters program to become PA, but the job outlook for them is looking really good plus the pay is great.  Right now I am looking at going into Ultrasound or Echocardiography, with Respiratory Therapist being my 3rd option.  I still have some pre reqs to take and probably retake some to get A's so I have a better shot at the Ultrasound or Echocardiography school, but for now I am going to get certified as a Pharmacy Tech to just get a job to work while in school.  Can get certified for that in an 8 week program and hopefully get hooked up with a position in a hospital pharmacy rather than retail.

 

[shogun]

^
My friend from class was a pharm tech.  Pharmacology class was a breeze for him while the rest of us were pulling our hair out.

 

[hlfblkhlfnike]

Omelette, Paul, Just out of curiosity, how long does it take to get a license to practice in Cali?  Thinking about applying to grad schools in Cali next year...

 

[nomoplayinga]

wow this thread is very informative. I just got my masters in microbiology and going the med school route, but i might have to reconsider and look at some of these other options. Why go to school for another 6+ years when i can just do a 2-3 year RT or PA program.

 

[utvol23]

Originally Posted by Paul Is On Tilt

Originally Posted by w0odTactics

If you Cali forget about it, I'm RT and bout to be RRT and it's hard to find a full time job or part time. The field is so saturated that most hospitals starting to drop the pay rate. All new rts find it hard but the old school rts are set. Good field to be in just not at the moment, due to all the trade schools pumping out rts. Rts only make 100k if you work two jobs and that's like 5-6 days a week so your looking at 60+ hours a week to get 100k a year. Advice to you is get your RRT, acls pals nrp and every other certification just to seperate you from the rest.

That's why you take a per diem position. Some of my classmates took a per diem postion at different hospitals in the San Francisco area. I'd say about half took per diems and the other half took benefited positions. Per diems get paid a higher rate than full time or part timebecause you don't pay for benefits. Per diems aren't that bad. When a benefited RT position opens up, you will get first dibs on that vacant position compared to a new hire. If you're working with other per diems though, it'll depend on seniority, but hey, at least you move up the ladder and get closer. Some per diems don't even want to get a full time position because they get benefits elsewhere (another employer or spouse's employer), so they'll pass on the benefited position.

That's good, I forgot to mention that, too. Get your ACLS, PALS, and NRP. I have my NRP and that helped.

Like I said, it's like that everywhere with the way our economy is. But I've been told that health care is one of the 1st industries to pick up quickly. So even if it's tough now, health care is going to pick up before most other industries do.

Originally Posted by I AM NAS

my girl was just talking about becoming a RT, since she doesnt want to pursue nursing anymore, what does the job entail? i had never even heard of the career until she brought it up

This is just a quick run down...

The job entails working with the ventilator or as what other people see it as, a "life support" machine. Basically, it's a machine that breathes for you. A person would have a tube down their trachea and the machine would be ventilating for the person. This is our "money maker." It's what we do better than RN's and MD's. We are the experts when it come to these ventilators.

RT's administer respiratory medication to patients, too. Those commercials for Advair is an example of a medication we administer. Other meds are those inhalers that you see asthmatics use.

No offense but you do not know more than MD's especially not Critical Care docs or Pulmonologists.