slideshow widget

Friday, August 2, 2013

The great RT dilemma, as noted by one of you

One of the things I wish I could get my readers to do is write their names when making a comment, or even give me a fake name.  Of course I understand why you guys and gals don't give names, because you don't want to get into trouble.  I duly respect that.  And that's the only reason I leave you with the option of responding anonymously.  

So, while I cannot give the person who left this comment due respect, I believe he or she has made a great point, and a point worthy of a discussion.  The comment went as follows: 
Respiratory Therapy is a strange profession in that we often take our orders from people who know less about our field than we do. Doctors go through 4 years of college, 4 years of med school, 3-7 years of residency... but they have to know about gallbladders and kidneys and glandular issues and depression, among other things. 

We get a fraction of the schooling and training, yet it is all about one subject and becomes more in depth on that subject. So we take orders that we know are wrong or not ideal, and we learn to take it with a smile. It's an interesting concept. Often, disagreeing with ICU nurses and ER nurses can get RTs in trouble.
It's no wonder that many RTs just stop learning and become doers rather than thinkers... what good is that knowledge if it you're just going to defer to someone else and do what you're told? What good is that knowledge if other RTs will just see you as a show off?
I'm just going to leave it at that and let you folks ponder the thought.  Once you've rolled the idea around in your minds a while, or have discussed it among your fellow RT buddies, leave a comment below.  I'm just interested to learn your take on this.  Please feel free to complain, but hold off on obscenities.

If you're the brilliant RT who wrote this comment on "Low information doctors," you're probably smiling right now, and maybe even surreptitiously covering your smile.

1 comment:

Cheri Purk RRT-NPS said...

Who ever wrote this comment is right on the money. It is rare that we have the autonomy to be able to do what we are trained to do. I believe a lot of it has to do with egos be that either the doc's or ours and knowledge base. Is it any wonder why certain RT's choose to leave the profession? Some times it's not worth the fight, some times it is.