I freaking hate my job.
I hate hate hate it.
I’ve been a therapist for a little over 2 years now.
Why did I become an RT?
There is no freakin’ respect from nurses, even though I went to school the same length of time they did, and no respect from anyone really.
I feel like I just wasted 4 years of my life in school for something that I am misreable in.
Plus I am an asthmatic and I get sick all the time from the sick little patients that I take care of.
I like taking care of people, I’m just not liking the stuff that I have to deal with: the lack of respect, the low pay and getting sick all the time.
I am frustrated.

Respect is earned. There are M.D.s I don’t respect or trust in an emergency. If you have knowledge and skill, respect will come, even from RNs.

Now, to the question. I have just started blogging. I gave up the hospital work for the more lucrative medical equipment gig. I developed http://www.oxygenfreedom.com and just started blogging on Blogger.

I wanted to do a blog for respiratory patients. There are so many changes happening in Respiratory right now. Some are exciting. Others disturbing. We’ll see how it goes and if I can provide something useful for someone else, it will be worth the effort.

I’m real glad to have found this blog.

Hey Joe!
I’m Jen, a RT from Chicago (land) and I’m so freaking upset right now… UGH!!!! I want to drive to Kansas right now and make some misery at NBRC headquarters, they suck sooooooo much!!!

I graduated from an RRT eligible program in 1992 with honors, took my CRT exam in Nov of 1992, and my RRT exams the following year. I’ve worked at some of the best hospitals in Chicago, and faithfully completed my CEU’s and licensure every year. The state of Illinois requires 30 CEU’s every two years with the license renewal.
About five months ago, I received a post card from the NBRC about submitting my CEUs to them before my “credentials expired”. it was very vague and contained no dates. NOTE: I HAVE ALL OF THE CEUS required!!! Stupidly, I went and asked everyone what this meant, and was told over and over that I shouldn’t worry about it as long as I had fulfilled the requirements for my state CEU’s, I was covered for the NBRC. I admit- I didn’t pursue it, kept forgetting about it, should have looked it up on the internet to see what the hell they were talking about!!The stupid postcard disapearred into oblivion, although I did start digging up proof of five years worth of CEU’s last month, with the intention sending them in.

ApparentlyMy credentials “expired” June 30th, eight days ago.

I casually went on line today, DUG through the NBRC’s site to find out how to fulfill their CEU expectations, paid them $25 for the pleasure of what? I don’t know, and then was looking for where I would have to submit the CEU proof.
Guess what? My credentials have expired- and the #@!!?**^ conniving (sp) back stabbing soul-less bastards at the NBRC require that I :

(A) RETAKE ALL OF MY EXAMS
(B) PAY $190 FOR THE CRT, $300+ FOR THE RRT, AND $300 LATE FEE TO THEM OR I CANNOT WORK IN THE FIELD!!!!
(C) I HAVE TWO YEARS TO PAY NEARLY $900 AND RETAKE BOTH OF THE EXAMS (RRT IS REQUIRED IN MOST CHICAGO HOSPITALS).

Quite the punishment for not typing in some information, isn’t it!!??

I am just sick, sick, sick!!! I’m a single mother who’s killed myself in this field, for half of the pay that our nursing buddies are making!I made a great effort to better myself and become an RRT before it was required of me, and the cost of these exams was no small feat back four years ago when I was just making my way into the field. I was NOT and have not been rewarded monetarily for making that RRT effort.

I think this must be a sign from God to get out of this field- we are not and have not been rewarded for our hard work… we have a board that does not support us and has been widely known for constantly trying to suck suck suck more and more blood money out of its members… blood sucking soul-less vampire bastards- I hope you all burn in hell!!!

EIGHT DAYS!!!

Isn’t there anything that can be done about this?? Does anyone know of another way? I honestly won’t retake and repay these ?*#@!! PEOPLE another blinking DIME of my very hard earned money… I would rather crawl in bed with my next MRSA infected patient and french kiss them than give these bastards ANYTHING!! I really really understand what people have been saying about the NBRC all along- And what kind of national board FORCES you to pay annual dues? The desperate disliked kind, that’s what….

Anyhow, Joe- thanks for letting me beef- I’m not the gun-toting violent kind, don’t worry. I never thought I’d call myself an Ex- RRT, but as said, it looks like the gods have a different career in mind for me….

Sick in Chicago

Thanks Bob, but unfortunately the two are seperate things- we’re all required to get CEU’s and pay for our state licensure (I think everyone is), and in Illinois, we’re required to get 24 (not 30 like I posted last) every two years with our $100 licensure charge. I have those for the last 5 years, and in fact, was audited the second year… so Illinois has actual hardcopies of my CEU’s for 2005 and 2006.
THe NBRC is saying that I had to send or type in the CEUs for them prior to June 30th, my fifth year since I received my last credential. They apparently passed a law in 2002 that says every NEWLY credentialed therapist has to do this as of July 2002. I wasn’t aware that we needed to do anything seperately for the NBRC- I thought they would be able to look at my Illinois licensure and SEE that I had fulfilled my CEU requirement. I also had NO IDEA that they would do something this serious.They say that we were notified when we received our credentials- but I swear to you the only thing I received from them was a Congrats! letter for becoming an RRT, and then a card/patch. No “Here are your requirements to keep your credentials”. That was five years ago. Then six months ago, I received a lame loseable vague postcard with NO dates/requirements and nothing that relayed quite how serious this was. And then NOTHING ELSE!! You would think they would have sent one more notice prior to taking away my credentials!!
So, if I don’t retake my boards and pay the money in two years, then it will in turn effect my license- because the NBRC reports to the state of Illinois (and all other states) that I/we have lost my/our credentials.
So, anyhow- Bob, you’ve never had to send in CEU proof because you got your credentials prior to July 2002, see?

Looking forward to hearing anything else my fellow therapists might have to say,
Sick in Chicago. Jen

Louis, thank you for your comments… but unfortunately, this new law was put into effect on July 2002, and only affects those who got certified/ and or registered after that date… the NBRC will not require anything of you. All of the post 2002 RTs do have expiration dates on their cards/certificates (five years after passing the exams)- I’ve just asked some of the newer graduates to show me theirs. However, they too HAD NO IDEA what the NBRC is/will require of them. No one is clear on what they expect, and I am just now walking around and telling folks what they will need to do. Great for everyone else, sucks to be me.

Please, I’m begging you all out there- please look into this…
Do you all agree that the punishment does not fit the crime? Remember please that I HAVE fulfilled all of my CEU requirements, all of my licensure requirements, have passed all of my exams, DID pay the NBRC a fee to be active, blah blah. The only thing I didn’t do was to send in Proof of the CEUs I’d ALREADY TAKEN on time! (although the state of Illinois does have proof of the CEUs I’ve already taken!)

Is this reason that I should lose all of my credentials and eventually licensure??? If you commit a crime on the job (IE steal on the job) you are at least given a hearing before possibly losing your credentials and licensure!! I am not even eligible for that!!

I’m still sick, jen in chicago

Forget not getting respect from the Nurses, Nurses aren’t supposed to undestand Respiratory Therapist as much as a Respiratory Theraist would, myself and other Day Shift Respiratory Therapist are constantly being backstabbed by the RT’s that work night shift. The Director of Respiratory is the wrong man for the job, he actually enourages this type of behavior. After one of our Chronic, end stage Lung Disease Pts. passed he, the Director of Respiratory mentioned in morning Report that we had gotton rid of her, that she was a Pain in the @$$, this was back in March of 2016. I reported this to the DOR’S Boss, but they are good Friends. Its 11/2016 two of the long time RT’s have gone prn and another one of the two finally put in a two week notice because of this Man. Profanity is allowed with this DOR, he dosent seem to realize what a Director of a Department is supposed to allow and not allow or even how he himself is supposd carry himself, he is partial and part of the gang. Talking here with other Respiratory Professionals gives me an opportunity to get it out there.
Respiratory is a good Profession, it was bettera while back, with larger staffs, but with tighter budgets, Departments have cut back on Staff, now its a 12 hour marathon, most of the time its a sprint. The pay is better than average, the pay hadn’t kept people from leaving the Field, some have gone into Nursing, some have gone into Business and struck it Rich, I’m talking really Rich. I’m looking to get out of the Respiratory Circus all together and leave these Clowns, especially that cold hearted, apathethetic, pathetic disrespectful Director for Greener Pastures, yea, a lot of times, the Grass is greener on the other side, its as Green as you want to make it.