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What are some downsides of being a respiratory therapist?

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Sarah’s Answer

In some areas there are problems between nurses and RTs. The nurses like to adjust our ventilators or give a breathing treatment, etc. when they have hardly any training in it. When we correct them they don't like it. Most RTs are respectful and don't do anything outside of their purview but nurses get very picky in dealing with us. Stay in your lane and be extra nice to the nurses and all should be well. But also stand up for your patient when they get in your lane. The patent is always first. And sometimes not being able to do enough for your patient can be hard. Working with COPD, cancer patients and the like can be hard. We do what we can but it feels like we just can't do enough to help their suffering. I guess it really depends on department. I loved the NICU which many RTs find too hard on the heart. Dealing with neonates and the high death rate takes its toll. If working in the ED you must be ready for lots of blood and gore at times. Car vs. Train was my first case as a student and it was a mess. But I loved the adrenaline spike and the flurry of hands working to save the patient. Overall, for me the good I did outweighed the bad. Like any medical field it's going to be both hard and rewarding.
Thank you comment icon I find it that Respiratory Therapists in most community hospitals don’t have the policies in place to Intubate or have Respiratory Therapy protocols like for example you can change the frequency of the patients breathing treatment or if they need Non Invasive ventilation or High flow therapy for poor oxygenation. And unlike nurses we can’t go into every specialty it’s only Respiratory Therapy so jobs outside of bedside care are very hard to come by. Honestly Nursing is a better profession or if I didn’t have kids I would go the Physician Assistant route. Michael Iglesias, BSRC, RRT
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Tracy’s Answer

The biggest downside is the lack of options outside of direct patient care.
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Ibeth’s Answer

Every specialty has its ups and downs. Specifically speaking from personal experience working with fragile pediatric patients in a long-term care facility, can be a lot for some people. The care itself is not hard, what I find difficult at times is processing their background and why they ended up here. Most patients were born with medical conditions but some were horribly abused and now rely on a ventilator. We try to offer them the best care and quality of life that we can, and it's very rewarding.
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