RT Student Blog

Next Monday I start the last semester of the program. From what I've heard from many people it's just a review semester with a lot of clinicals. That means that I only have one semester left of this blog. I mean, after May 20th I'll no longer be an RT Student, so I can't exactly have a RT Student blog. Now I was a blogger before I was a student (you can see my old blog here). I'm even quite proud to say that I am friends with some of the more famous bloggers out there (Ted, Julie, Colleen, and Amy).

Even though I'll be a full time Respiratory Therapist I definitely plan to reconnect with the blogging world and starting a new blog. I doubt I'll make money from it like I did before. Now I just have to decide what to blog about and what the theme will be. First I need a domain name. My old one was http://willifordblog.com. Not very original, I know. I'll tell you about the idea that came to me tonight.

As a graduation present to myself, I plan to buy myself an Acer Aspire One laptop (the mini netbook that myfriend, the domestic diva uses). It has a built in webcam, an 8 inch screen, and is tiny and very, very portable. I was thinking I could take it everywhere and somehow use that as the blog theme. That's where you guys come into play. Maybe you can help come up with domain name ideas and blog themes. Leave me a comment and I'll get back to blogging about Respiratory school for the time being.

I don't know about you but I have finals next week and I'm not really excited about them. One of them is a 140-160 question practice CRT exam. To prepare for it we have been taking various practice tests every day for the past 2 weeks. My classmates and I are all in the same boat at the 60%-70% range for our grades. Anyway, I was searching online and found a free practice CRT exam at the NBRC's website. I started to take it but then decided it was too late in the evening to begin a 140 question test. I'll take it tomorrow night (maybe) and definitely a couple of times in the next week. If you want to take it and post your scores in the comments that would be great.

Well, I started my first day on the new job today. I am officially not a secretary in the emergency department. I am now a Respiratory Care Assistant. That is pretty much the job we are eligible for once we complete the first year of the program. I was pretty much shadowing a couple of therapists today but I did learn the scope of what I'm allowed to do. I can give breathing treatments, O2 checks, and suctioning. I did suction a trach patient today. There are a few things I can't do though. I can't do ABG's unless there is another therapist there, critical care (vent patients), and the emergency room assignment. I did go from about 10 bucks an hour to about 13 bucks an hour. When I'm done training I should get up to the 24 hours a week I had before. I can't wait to tell you more about the job. I'll try to get a picture in my new, all black scrubs for you tomorrow.

I applied for a position as a Respiratory Care Assistant at the hospital I currently work at. It's pretty much a student job that is for senior RT students. At this hospital they get to do mostly breathing treatments and some ABG's. I think that I have the inside track because I already work at the hospital. Wish me luck,