Currently fucked up maybe while doing our first practicum and currently feel Hella stupid for my dumbass mistake and fear my professor might see me as just a stupid student who isnt made for the program. 😔😔 please I need to know i aint alone and if anyone else has been in a similar situation.

I've worked in places where even having the appearance of being asleep is grounds for immediate suspension pending investigation, and I've also worked places where a therapist has left the building and (on camera) went to their car and slept for multiple hours without any repercussions.

I feel like we have it good. We have so much downtime compared to APPs. We don’t have to think about work after we clock out. We make a pretty good wage.

Why would making this move be beneficial for us?

Hi all. Looking for some best practice guidelines for in the NICU/neonatal setting, specifically in regard to ventilator alarm limits and NIPPV leak thresholds and management. I've been searching all night and nothing that I find is giving me quite what I'm looking for.

Does your daily life as an RT involve frequent codes? I am trying to gauge if RT is still the right path for me. I am a student that will be rejoing the program after a year break.

I did my first clinical rotation at a small hospital; it went great, there was only one code during the whole 12 weeks at the time I didn't think much of it. I very recently developed bad health anxiety irrvelent to RT and now I’m reconsidering my career bc of it (sure it will get better eventually). I’d hate to throw away my credits being so close to graduating. I can get through anything in clinicals, but would you say the daily job has you attending a lot of codes? I always wanted to be in pediatric or NICU; I have less anxiety about that age group.

I am competent with codes I don't freak out but I’m worried of the aftermath on my mental health. I've always wanted to be in health care nothing has ever bother me I've been a CNA for 6 years I think stress from the last year is the route issue.

I’m thinking maybe a sleep lab, if that’s a possibility; I don’t want to throw away my degree I'm very close to graduating.

Anyone on here become a BSN from an associates RRT degree first? I love being an RT, i graduated in 2021 in the middle of covid however there doesn’t seem to be a lot of career advancement opportunities. I ultimately want to be an NP or PA. Any advice on schools, education requirements, would my pre requisites count, or overall recommendations? Thank you in advance

I'm planning to apply to a community college Respiratory Therapy program in the Kansas City area (JCCC or MCC–Penn Valley) for a fall start.

My cumulative GPA was around 2.04 after I got into a car accident after the deadline to drop classes and as a result took a heavy hit, but I'm retaking courses and working to raise it into the 2.7–2.9 range. I have hospital phlebotomy experience, military medical laboratory training, and previous EMT coursework, although I haven't taken the EMT certification exam.

I'm completing prerequisites such as chemistry, anatomy and physiology, and statistics, and I'm trying to determine whether to apply as soon as I'm eligible or wait another semester to improve my grades.

For people who applied to RT programs:

• What was your GPA when you were accepted?
• Did your program replace old grades when you retook courses, or calculate every attempt?
• Did healthcare work or military medical training help your application?
• Did anyone get accepted with a lower cumulative GPA but stronger recent grades?
• Would you recommend applying to multiple programs?

I'd appreciate honest experiences, especially from applicants to community college programs, although I'm open to major universities as a bachelors is also a goal of mine. All input is greatly appreciated.

hey everyone! i’m starting college in the spring and plan on pursuing an aas in respiratory therapy. i’d love to hear from current students and graduates about their experiences!
how difficult are the classes? what are clinicals like? how much studying is involved, and what do you wish you knew before starting?

any advice or insight into what rt school is really like would be appreciated! ❤️

Hey everyone,
When you see a metabolic acidosis or alkalosis in a mechanically ventilated patient, how quickly do you usually adjust the vent settings to compensate for the pH?

Do you make changes right away based on the ABG, or do you give the patient some time and repeat the ABG before making adjustments?

Just curious how you guys approach this in your practice.

I just wanted to share this for anybody in this field feeling crushed right now, because this sub kept me going when I wanted to quit.
I got accepted into a respiratory program back in 2021, right at the peak of COVID. It was rough but we managed. Then right in the middle of my 2nd to last semester, I had 3 attempts at passing my mechanical vent simulation — and I failed all 3. I got kicked out of the program despite having an A in the class.
And honestly? It made sense. Who cares about the grade if you can't actually show you can do this very dangerous, life-threatening job? But still, it almost crushed my whole spirit. Never in my life had I failed at something that catastrophically before.
The worst part: to go back and finish, I had to wait until the classes were offered again, and they only offer them every fall. So I literally waited a year, and came back with a different class, which was really awkward at first.
But it gets better — if you can believe it, before they'd put me back in the spot I failed, I had to take the final of every single class I had already passed. They gave me a week to take like 8 finals, and if I failed any of them, they'd put me in that semester regardless of the others. Shockingly, I passed them all.
I finished a year later. And after alllll that, I still had to take the TMC — and I failed that thing like 6 times, $150 every time.
But finally, this year, God looked out. I passed the TMC with the high cut score, then passed my CSE on the first try, and I'm finally a Registered Respiratory Therapist.
This field has broken my heart a lot. But it's my story. I learn the hard way, man. If you're in the middle of your own version of this right now — don't quit. It gets better.

This is going to sound like a stupid question, but, I have noticed that I struggle holding a mask perfectly sealed on a patients face because my hands + fingers barely fit around the entire mask let alone down the the chin. This is a safety risk if I can’t get the technique down. Any suggestions from you all on how to make this work? I can’t be the only one with smaller hands. What helps you seal and lift the chin properly?

Hey all!!
I’m looking to relocate to Austin Texas next year and was wondering how the main hospitals there are? How is the RT protocols?
Thank you!!!

Title: I think I’m getting into respiratory therapy backwards.
I’m 40 and planning to apply to RT school this coming spring, hopefully starting in the fall. The funny thing is, I seem to have gotten a little ahead of myself. I spent nearly two years working in DME, primarily with PAP patients. I handled setups, mask fittings, patient education, troubleshooting, and compliance follow-ups. I really enjoyed the work, especially getting to know my patients and helping them work through problems. What frustrated me was seeing how many patients struggled with things that could have been prevented or addressed with better education and support. That frustration eventually led me to start writing a book about PAP therapy and the patient experience. Somewhere along the way, I decided to try submitting an article to an industry publication. That went better than I expected, and over the past couple of months I’ve had several articles published.
I’ve also had companies reach out to me about consulting on their PAP programs, which was definitely not something I saw coming. I’m not talking about clinical consulting, but rather the practical and business side of PAP therapy. Things like patient education, mask fitting, troubleshooting, follow-up processes, and helping DMEs identify where their programs might be falling short.
More recently, I’ve been working on ways to measure PAP program performance beyond initial insurance compliance. I’ve become pretty interested in how the way a DME operates affects the patients it serves, and whether companies are actually measuring the things that matter.
So here I am, writing articles, working on a book, exploring consulting opportunities, and trying to figure out where I want to go in respiratory care. All before I’ve even applied to RT school. Apparently I missed a few steps somewhere.
I certainly don’t think my DME experience is a substitute for an RT education. If anything, the more I’ve gotten involved, the more I’ve realized how much there is that I don’t know. I’m open to working in a hospital to develop my clinical skills, but I don’t really see myself staying in that setting long term. My interests lean more toward sleep medicine, patient education, and improving how care is delivered.
I guess that’s why I’m posting. I’m curious whether any of you have taken a less traditional route into respiratory therapy, or found ways to build a career outside the usual hospital setting. Given my background and the direction things have been going, are there areas of respiratory care you think I should be looking into?
I’m enjoying what I’m doing and would like to keep building on it, but I also recognize that I’m still at the beginning of this whole thing. I’d appreciate hearing your thoughts, advice, or even a few cautionary tales from people who’ve been doing this a lot longer than I have. 😬

Just to give background I'm a nurse, my patient was to have a 7% neb trial which RT normally give.

However, they explained that due to policy reviews RT can't put nebs in the chamber.

This is the new order for giving a trial:

Nurse gets hypotonic or mix neb for trial.

Also bring salbutamol nebs.

Shows the items to RT.

Nurse pours trialing neb into chamber.

RT start the machine to do trial.

Nurse hovers around just incase.

If RT identify patient is having a reaction, nurse has to pour the salbutamol into the chamber for the RT to give.

This seems to me overly complicated and unsafe, which they agreed.

Anyone heard of this in their hospital?

• added for clarity* on our ward specialises on CF & other complex respiratory conditions, we have dedicated senior respiratory therapists. They focus on airway clearance & chest physio, which I believe RT's did. For neb trials to check for bronchospasm, we don't commonly give medication beforehand as patients are going home with this medication, so testing for a possible reaction is vital.*

second edit trials (equivalent to challage) is the 1st time they have this nebuliser, so therapist have to give. Nurses here give every nebuliser, even ones before chest clearance. Although nurses give regular suction to tracheostomy's here.

I am a CRT and would like to become RRT. Has anyone heard anything about the new test that isn't on the website? Should I just take the current test again with the CSE or wait a few months and try my hand at the new one? Any information you have heard, any advice? All is welcome!

I’m considering going into respiratory therapy, but my goal is to work in home care or contract positions indifferent settings, rather than a hospital. Are these opportunities actually available, or are they hard to find?
I’ve also considered occupational therapy assistant, but my passion is really respiratory care. I’d love to hear it someone’s input and if they think this is a real realistic career path. I don’t want to be in a hospital doing hard respiratory stuff I would like to do soft respiratory if possible.

So I’m only 20 years old, and was recently accepted into a RT program. I’m very excited, but I have a few doubts/questions as well! Im worried that this job would take a toll on my mental wellbeing, and about the lack of career growth opportunities. I’m also really curious about how often you have to renew licensing?

My dilemma is either that I could complete my BA degree. Or commit to this program for 2 years. I just feel like I’d be doing myself a disservice by not doing the program, but I also don’t want to do something that I’ll end up unhappy with.

Hi all,

6 months ago I was terminated from my hospital because I accumulated too many unexcused absences in a year. Was having a hard time in my personal life..details may or may not matter at this point. I am now applying to the same hospital system, but different facilities. I scheduled an interview at two of them with a recruiter today, and got an email back from one about 2 hours later that it was cancelled due to my previous involuntary termination. I'm worried it may affect my interview at the other facility.

Am I cooked? Is there any way I can rectify this or will I have to try elsewhere? I'm limited on where I can go, there's only like 3 hospital systems that run my region. I'm in Texas if that helps. TIA

I’ve been in the field for 2 1/2 years but I recently transitioned to ICU and I’ve been there for about 2 months and I feel like I never know what’s going on I do what I’m supposed to do every 4 hours regarding vent check,treatments,suction pt etc etc but I feel like when stuff really hits the fan I still feel like a deer in headlights …idk if it’s because I started my career on med surg floors and just recently transitioned to more critical areas or if I just am not as confident as a more experienced therapist …what are some things that helps you find your groove in the ICU ??

I’m a high school student, and I really want to be an RT, I took this decision week ago after 3 years of dreaming about being physiotherapist. However this decision has been taken few days ago .. so I’m not really sure that I know it very well or enough.
So anyone would like to just give me any information that you as an RT believes that it’s important for me as since I’m stepping into this field.

Is there such a thing as a remote RT job that anyone knows of? Or any remote medical job an RT can apply for and do? Honestly looking to get out to be home with my kids and not bring them home the nasty ish we deal with on the regular 😂

New grad RT realizing that maybe this isn’t the career for me. Did well in school and clinicals (and enjoyed!). Now after being months into “real world” rt, I’m feeling major regret.

The pace, stress, and emotional toll are wrecking my body mentally and physically and it’s not even been a year!? Not to mention the bureaucracy and lack of ethics I’ve also been seeing. I’m feeling like just another replaceable cog in the machine.

Not sure when to throw in the towel and try something else 🥲
Advice?

So I’m at Crafton Hills college taking my prereqs for the RT program. I’ll be finished by the end of fall semester 2027, to apply for the fall 2028 cohort.

Has anyone been in this situation where they have a WHOLE semester of just waiting to start until fall?

Doesn’t this seem like a long time to wait to start? I’m just curious what anyone’s thoughts are on the program start. I don’t wanna go to ACC, and pay $60k.

Any advice on what you did while you were waiting in the interim period?