5 reasons to become a respiratory therapist
If you’re in the middle of choosing a career, then you should also get advice, sometimes unsolicited, from friends, family and well-wishers. Your constant stream of advice may be making the already difficult decision-making process seem a thousand times more difficult.
Take comfort in the fact that you are not alone! Right now, hundreds and thousands of people are probably on the same day as you.
To help you and others who are having trouble deciding on a career, we offer an option to consider: respiratory therapy. Let’s look at the top five reasons why you should consider enrolling in respiratory therapist school.
Reason to become a Respiratory Therapist #1
Less Education Required: Compared to most other healthcare careers, the training requirements to become a Respiratory Therapist (RT) are much less extensive. A two-year Associate of Respiratory Therapy degree from an accredited university, college, or vocational-technical school is the basic requirement to pursue a career in respiratory therapy.
Respiratory therapist programs typically include courses in life and health sciences, such as microbiology, chemistry, anatomy, and physiology; Topics related to respiratory care and management, including pulmonary anatomy and physiology, cardiopulmonary pharmacology, airway management, and ventilation theory; and clinical experience including supervised hands-on patient care.
All US states except Alaska require respiratory therapists to be licensed as a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) or Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT). For both credentials, applicants must graduate from an accredited respiratory therapist program and meet other licensing requirements beyond the degree.
Reason to become a respiratory therapist #2
Excellent Job Outlook: According to the US Department of Labor, RT employment is expected to grow at a faster rate than the average for all occupations: 28 percent through 2020.* The growing number of seniors in the country that are more vulnerable to respiratory diseases, in addition to an increased awareness and focus on disease prevention, has led to this growth in demand for RT.
This means that people employed as RTs should enjoy excellent job prospects for the next decade.
Reason to become a respiratory therapist #3
Options for Career Growth – Once you graduate from respiratory therapist school and gain some experience in direct patient care, you can start thinking about taking the next step in your career.
Advance to roles such as shift manager, department head, hospital administrator, educational program leader, etc. possible with experience and additional training. If this is the direction in which you would like to grow your career, earning an advanced respiratory therapy degree should be part of your career plan.
RTs can also explore the option of branching out into business roles with equipment manufacturers, or joining the world of research and academia.
Reason to become a respiratory therapist #4
Median Income: The Department of Labor reports that the median annual salary for respiratory therapists was $54,280 as of May 2010, based on geographic location, education, and experience.**
The income of an RT also varies depending on the type of health center in which they are employed. For example, RTs employed in nursing care facilities earned an average annual salary of $57,450, while those working in physician offices earned an average of $52,500 per year (depending on location, education, and experience). ***
Reason to become a respiratory therapist #5
Rewarding work: This may be the most important of all reasons to consider a career as an RT. At the end of a hard day at work, there’s nothing like the feeling of knowing you’ve worked to cure your patients, and that’s what a career in respiratory therapy promises.
Through all emergency cases of heart failure and severe asthma attacks; fall accidents; the heartbreaking cries of premature babies; and the helplessness of patients with respiratory support equipment, the feeling you will probably remember is the joy of seeing them breathe life once more.
Sources:
* bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Respiratory-therapists.htm#tab-6
** bls.gov/ooh/Healthcare/Respiratory-therapists.htm#tab-5
***Ibid.