Your Question: Do RTs who come from 2yr respiratory therapy programs share the same responsibilities as those from 4yr programs? Do new grads get treated differently from the seasoned veterans?
My humble answer: Pretty much. It's the same with nursing. The main advantage of earning a higher degree is opportunity. New grads are generally orientated as appropriate. RT school is so intense that most RTs come out of school fully prepared to function as an RT, and most are not treated differently than a veteran.
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I received my bachelors in Respiratory about two years ago. So I've been working for over a year now, I can tell you I am not treated any different by staff or my supervisors, although I did have a small pay raise, which I had to ask for. I simply asked if they give any pay differential for Bachelor degrees. A few days later they got back with me and did give me an increase in my starting pay. It seemed during my interview they were a bit interested in why I went with the bachelors, may help me in the future for advancements. But really doesn't do much more than that. You may be hearing some rumors going around about RTs will all require Bachelors. This may be true in the far far distant future, but defiantly not anytime soon. The bachelors program I graduated from was recently cancelled due to budget cuts because there were three RT associate programs in the area.
ReplyDeleteI did feel like I learned a lot more, all my professors had master degrees which made me feel like they were quite knowledgeable and dedicated. It's all really what you want to bring out of it. If you have the time and opportunity, and plan to advance in this career quickly I say go for a bachelors.