Realized I’m now a 59 year old RT doing PFTs. I’m not sure if I call all these 35 years of practice a career or just a stable job. I don’t wear my white coat anymore. The younger RTs always ask me why I wear a white coat if I’m not a doctor smh.

I was performing a PFT the other day telling my patient to blow blow blow and came to the realization that wow, this is it huh?

Many self-proclaimed medical professionals making an ass out of themselves in the comments on this post. Thought you all would get a kick out of this. Biggest thing in school was to read the question carefully, what do you treat first? Not "what is the most dangerous".

Spo2 is the second least picked answer :(

So I get this patient who coded after a C Section. Intubated in the OR was a shit show trying to get this poor patient comfortable and sedated. I’m in the room with the patient trying to worry about all my responsibilities blood gas, vent check, XRAY, tube positioning, and asking what the ICU doc wants done. I also ask nursing what they need form me and I stayed with the patient until she was stable. I come in today hearing from the risk manager who claims a nurse said I was unprepared. I talked to my co worker who’s been an RT for many years and they said, they would’ve done the same things I was doing. Is it common for nurses to be so worried about RT? I am a new grad to be fairly. This just made me feel so defeated. I did everything I was supposed to. I even spoke with the doctor about the situation and he said I did great.

Honestly, it was probably the most difficult test I ever took. Far more pharmacology, and far fewer advanced vent mode questions than I expected.

BTW, I graduated in 2024, and turned 61 this past week.
If I can do it, anyone can.

To all my central FL RT’s, which hospital gives you the most autonomy? And by autonomy I mean intubating and placing Art lines. Currently living in Ocala and I want to work somewhere with this kind of culture/autonomy.

I got a PRN offer there starting at a base of $39 plus whatever they diff are for nights & weekends. I live in NWA so it’s about 2hrs from where I stay but I’d be working every other week 2 straight 12s while staying 1 night with a friend in between. Still waiting on my Oklahoma licenses to go through but the fact that they willing to wait & do all these things to accommodate me seems like a red flag but maybe I’m just overthinking. Hospital is a level 1 which I’ve never worked at (I’ve done level 2) but I’m pretty comfortable with critical care for the most part. It’d be cool to hear from people who know this place before I make my decision.

This course is very very fast passed. This course is about 10 months long including clinicals. Do any of yall have tips on learning in school and what did you do to be successful in class?

Hi! I'm currently working towards my associates in RT. I wanted to know which bachelor's degree is better when it comes to RT. I was leaning towards a bachelor's in biology just because it's flexible and I'm not sure in the long run if I'll change my mind and a bachelor's in RT strictly sticks to that profession any thoughts?

We have been using the Sedaconda system to deliver inhaled sevoflurane to both patients who are hard to sedate or have life threatening bronchospasm.

In the beginning we delivered continuous nebs concurrently with the inhaled sevoflurane (against my advice) but quickly found that the ACD/vaporiser (with its integrated HMEviral/bacterial filter) were rapidly becoming saturated and adding significant resistance to airflow.

I'm using aerogen neb chambers which are synchronised to inspiration and the neb chamber is placed between the ACD and patient.

Has anyone else used Sedaconda effectively?

Have you been able to deliver nebs without significantly affecting airflow resistance?

What lifespan do you get out of an ACD.

Continuous nebs seem incompatible with this therapy with everything I know about filters and continuous nebs.

The expected lifespan of an ACD is 24hrs but we barely get 8-12 out of ours.

I had a chat with the rep who couldn't offer any ideas.

We are using a dry circuit.

Open to all input or ideas, thanks.

I'm trying to find some data about ECMO programs that utilize respiratory therapists as their ECMO specialists, specifically the ones where the specialists perform respiratory tasks and then cover ECMO once someone is cannulated. I'm looking for the following:
1. Pay scale: did you get a general raise or do you get paid differently if you are sitting pump
2. Shift landscape: Do you have scheduled ECMO shifts under a different pay code, or do you have specified RTs during a shift who are designated to cover ECMO, but take an assignment if there are none in house?
3. Education requirements: how frequently do you present case studies and who is the audience? Do you have to do general ECMO education for your fellow specialists or do you have a designated educator/coordinator that provides it?

Any information would be greatly appreciated. If you could include the state, or even the region, you are working in, that would also be handy. Thank you!

Hello, I graduated as a rt about a year ago and just recently got my license so I started working as a rt at a hospital, less than a week and so far I am lost and always just needing some guidance. I mean I can do things on my own like give treatment and stuff but I seem to take too long at times. And when it comes to rapid/comes, I’m very overwhelmed and go blank at times. And so I just wanted to know is this normal? To be very lost and overwhelmed, so I want to know as someone like me who never worked in a hospital before and had a year no exposure to rt since school, or someone who is a new grad and just started their first job as a RT, how was it for you? People tell me I’m doing alright, my boss expects me to be really good in 5 days but my manager tells me at least 1 month, so I’m really pressured and want to know how is everyone’s experience and how did you get thru this and advice for me. Is there a good YouTube videos or study guides or anything that can really help me ease up? I use Lindsay shoes but doesn’t really give me confidence as it doesn’t really teach me real situation scenarios

Hi 👋 has anyone graduated from
• highline college
• seattle central
Or Tacoma CC

I’m curious to hear what your experiences are :)! Thank you 😊

Can anyone share their experience from RT to PA? Was it worth it? Lifestyle balance? Money? Anything would be appreciated!

My local CC that I want to go to requires you to be and RN or an MA before you are able to apply? That seems kind of ridiculous to me. I don’t need to be either to know I want to be an RT.

The school I’m in does not require that, but you can’t get federal aid at this school, and I feel like that’s going to be an issue.

Idk what to do😭😭😭

CORRECTION:Nurse aide or MA

I’ve applied for my license, do I wait until it comes in to start applying for jobs? Or is it okay to apply while you’re waiting for it? Sorry if this is a dumb question lol

Hi everyone. I’m studying to take my NPS exam for the second time and am unsure how to go about it. For my first go I focussed heavily on cardiac disease processes and vent settings but missed passing by 3 points.

For those who have taken the exam recently, what study materials have worked for you? What should I focus on?

Any advice is appreciated! I’m feeling panicked that I couldn’t pass this one on the first try…

hi I would love some feedback from Chicago rts on u of Chicago vs Loyola medicine appreciate it ! I’ve Heard some reviews but I would love some more input . I’ll Be moving soon to the area ! #respiratory #respiratorytherapist

Just like the title says I’m experiencing a lot of anxiety right now. Currently taking mechanical ventilation and we reached the midpoint of the course. For the program at my school we need a 75 to pass and I currently have a 76 and got a 73 on the midterm. Still have the lab finals left (20%) and finals left (25%). I made a lot of dumb mistakes on the midterm that I had the chance to look over and realized how I was overthinking certain things. Meeting up with the teacher next week to review it. It feels like I’m on a very thin line right now and may be seriously facing termination from the program so I’m honestly just looking for some encouragement I guess, thank you.

Specifically asking as it relates to California licensure. What would happen if you renewed when short or renewed before all the necessary CE credits were obtained but had enough once audited?

Are there any students here that have recently been accepted into the Mt.Hood Community College RT program? I have questions about admissions.

Which body systems do I really need to be knowledgeable of? I know the respiratory system anatomy for sure, but anything else?

I am not a manager nor am I a lead therapist. I’m just a regular RT who knows you’ve been needing a more consistent income. Please, we ARE short staffed and we DO need RTs. Prove you are an asset so that we can vouch for you. We WANT to be able to vouch for you.

But we see you. We know you sit in the department during the rapids and codes. We know you start acting busy when we call and ask for an extra set of hands. Sorry (but not sorry) you didn’t get picked for the staff position. But our leads did not see a reason to vouch for you. Your contract did not get approved for renewal and there’s a reason other travelers did. I hope you will use this as a learning experience. Take care ✌️