Respiratory Therapist or Nursing or ????

Hello everyone...

I have been contemplating getting into the healthcare field for some time now and STILL trying to figure out what I should do.... I am older, with four children (three of them adults). I did recently study and just got my real estate license -- which I've always wanted to do also -- but with the market/economy the way it is, I still really want to have another "career" in the healthcare field esp with it being stable...I've thought about a lot nursing, respiratory therapist, and even diagnostic medical sonographer. Dental Hygienist has crossed my mind as well. As you can see, I'm torn. I've done some research trying to get a feel of what each career would be like. ANY/ALL feedback and info of the expectations of each would be great!

THANKS!
Gina

grose58 said: Hello everyone...

I have been contemplating getting into the healthcare field for some time now and STILL trying to figure out what I should do.... I am older, with four children (three of them adults). I did recently study and just got my real estate license -- which I've always wanted to do also -- but with the market/economy the way it is, I still really want to have another "career" in the healthcare field esp with it being stable...I've thought about a lot nursing, respiratory therapist, and even diagnostic medical sonographer. Dental Hygienist has crossed my mind as well. As you can see, I'm torn. I've done some research trying to get a feel of what each career would be like. ANY/ALL feedback and info of the expectations of each would be great!

THANKS!
Gina

I had to make a decision between resp and nursing myself. I am 34 with 2 kids and I am a cna now. I decided on respiratory for a couple of reasons, one the job market is really opening up at least here in the south for therapists and the pay has increased along with that. Second, because I like the idea of having a job where I can move around and stay busy. Now nursing is wonderful, don't get me wrong but working as a cna for 9 years I have seen that people get really stressed in nursing and I mean REALLY stressed. My advise to you would be to shadow a respiratory therapist and shadow a nurse. Go to the local hospital and set up times where you can come in and just follow for a few hours to see which one peaks your interest. Thats the only way to see what the job is and if you would like it or not.

christy in Mooresville, North Carolina said: I had to make a decision between resp and nursing myself. I am 34 with 2 kids and I am a cna now. I decided on respiratory for a couple of reasons, one the job market is really opening up at least here in the south for therapists and the pay has increased along with that. Second, because I like the idea of having a job where I can move around and stay busy. Now nursing is wonderful, don't get me wrong but working as a cna for 9 years I have seen that people get really stressed in nursing and I mean REALLY stressed. My advise to you would be to shadow a respiratory therapist and shadow a nurse. Go to the local hospital and set up times where you can come in and just follow for a few hours to see which one peaks your interest. Thats the only way to see what the job is and if you would like it or not.

THANKS, Christy...Sounds like a good idea; maybe I'll do that! I just need to figure out what's going to work best for me...and have the patience to WAIT for that degree/certification, going to school. I've also considered getting into medical billing/coding/transcription -- which would probably work well for me because of my extensive admin skills, combined with the medical field...but still feel I want to be more involved with people and making a difference. Someone also told me to look into becoming a phlebotomist. Not sure what that career would be like or what it actually pays. Any other insight from all out there would be appreciated.