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Thread Res for Personal Interest:
I'm not sure I could be a nurse for many of the reasons mentioned. However, I am a respiratory therapist and enjoy the hell out of it. I say an RRT is part therapist, part mechanic. There's a definite McGuyver component to the equipment work, plus most of the time you have about thirty seconds to figure out why the giant expensive ventilator is not working properly before someone dies. High pressure, meaningful work, tons of autonomy... I suppose if you're easy to gross out and/or horrify it might not be for you (Surgical rotations, ER trauma, Pediatric ICU...), but it's pretty ideal for me.
I'm not sure I could be a nurse for many of the reasons mentioned. However, I am a respiratory therapist and enjoy the hell out of it. I say an RRT is part therapist, part mechanic. There's a definite McGuyver component to the equipment work, plus most of the time you have about thirty seconds to figure out why the giant expensive ventilator is not working properly before someone dies. High pressure, meaningful work, tons of autonomy... I suppose if you're easy to gross out and/or horrify it might not be for you (Surgical rotations, ER trauma, Pediatric ICU...), but it's pretty ideal for me.
I started out working mostly ER, then I moved to take a job where I focused in Pediatrics, and from there I transitioned into my current and ideal RT role at a super-specialized birthing and NICU hospital. Pretty much all I do is NICU, these days -- I think I've done one ER breathing treatment in the past six months. NICU is a whole 'nother world from your standard Nursing/Respiratory experience.I was soooo pulled by that place. I wanted to work there in the worst kind of way. Seeing all those tiny babies lined up in little incubators, charts and monitors and equipment everywhere...God I just know that I could work there and love it.