Have any respiratory therapists found jobs OTHER than being a clinical RT? I want to possibly change careers, but I am finding that a lot of jobs (clinical liason, utilization review, etc) want you to have a nursing degree, not a respiratory degree. I feel like as an RT we are limited to jobs.
We have multiple RT’s at our org who are Epic Analysts. Specifically working on ClinDoc, Orders, and Ambulatory teams. You do not need to be “tech savvy” to be an analyst. If you are tech savvy however, we also have RT’s who work in IT integration services as well.
I do the same thing, but we use Cerner at our hospital. We have an RT on our team as well. The pay is actually higher in our position (Clinical Informatics) than any clinical respiratory positions at our hospital.
I worked with an RT that was an adjunct professor at the community college
I did that previously but it wasn’t enough pay
Keep trying. I do not agree that you need to have a nursing degree to be doing clinical liaison or utilization review. Some long term care facilities like to have RTs on their team to evaluate trach and ventilator dependent patients. Other than working in the hospital setting, pulmonary rehab, cardiac rehab and PFT, I have seen people transition into sales, administrators, educators, and IT.
I’m not sure what area you are in but I have been a clinical liaison for LTACH for 7 years. I am a RT.
……and I agree with you. Our field is limited. I have a BS in Health Administration and in 4 weeks I’ll have a MBA. I’m worried that I will struggle to get into quality or operations management bc I am not a nurse