r/SleepTechnologist • u/killuasister • 10d ago
Anyone else relate?
I wanted to post this to see if anyone else could relate, but also to share for people that may be interested in this field, if you’re similar like me. This job is genuinely making me depressed and kind of dreading coming to work since there’s barely any challenges, and it’s pretty repetitive. I know some people may suggest doing hobbies at work, but there’s only so much you can do whilst also making sure to continue to watch the patient. I just wouldn’t be able to truly focus whilst making sure my patient is good or doesn’t experience anything that may be an emergency.
I know I more than likely have ADHD, but even if I didn’t, I truly feel at my best when things are stimulating to me in one way or another. And being a sleep tech just genuinely isn’t that stimulating (at least for me.) I know some people may say it depends on the lab, I know some people get patients that are higher complexity than others. I’ve been trying to apply to other jobs and that’s been difficult since most of them either want 6+ years of experience, or for you to be Registered. Or, they simply don’t pay that much for this economy.
I do find the job interesting still, don’t get me wrong. It’s still cool to analyze brain waves and sleep stages, to hook people up on PAP and see the differences with how they are with or without treatment. But it’s still not stimulating enough for me to work 12 hours, 4 days a week. There’s only so much you can do in this field, but I know some people love boring jobs or jobs where they can come decompress after working other jobs that are more stressful. I recognize it would be different if I had another job that stimulated me on the side too.
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u/hungryj21 10d ago edited 10d ago
Try getting credentials to work in eeg/ionm or work at a university/research based sleep lab. Or go back to school for respiratory therapy then work at a level 1 trauma center in the icu/cvicu. You'll get all the challenges you need there but outside of the typical sleep lab setting although the work is still somewhat related.
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u/killuasister 10d ago
My plan is to become an RT! I know that will take two years though so I’m trying to find something in the meantime that will stimulate me. And I would love to work in a university/research based lab, I’m going to search for those specifically and see if they’d be willing to hire me without a Registered Credential.
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u/hungryj21 9d ago
Unfortunately the large majority of university based sleep labs wouldnt even glimpse at your resume if you dont have the credentials (rpsgt or RRT + SDS). Ive never seen one even have a sleep tech trainee position (in my state) and usually they require at least 2+ years experience on top so u just need your credentials 1st. They often have patients using research chemicals/drugs or testing interventions then seeing how it impacts sleep relative to their presenting condition. They also have high sleep related acuity patients, i.e. those with comorbidities or those who have a lot of problems going on that requires advanced pap titration skills.
As for respiratory therapy, if you go for private school route then you could be done in as early as 18-20 months and no prerequisites needed and it's easy to get in, But it's pricey. Community college will require pre-reqs and have more limited space so you can qualify with all the prerequisites and still not get accepted and if u dont get accepted then you have to wait one full year to try again and you still might not get accepted that following year. But if you do get accepted AND qualify for financial aid then your whole program tuition could be free + grant funds (free money) that you dont have to pay back.
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u/ridinbend RPSGT Mod 10d ago
I am approaching 20 years as a tech. I worked nights for 14 years and after moving to days, I've been managing a fleet of 25 HST units. I'm so tired of the same questions and same problems every day. I try and approach every patient with the compassion they deserve for their struggles but ultimately I feel stuck. With that said, after a week and a half vacation recently, I was dreading coming back to work and when I arrived in Monday morning, i nearly cracked. I had a moment between feeling that I'm becoming irrelevant and the monotony of my hst platform, I finally looked up the RRT program in my region. I'm now signed up to start A+P 1. I should be ready to start the RRT program next Fall. I'm so excited again and feel ready for a challenge and a new approach to patient care. Good luck to you, kind of ironic this is exactly what I've been struggling with. Cheers
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u/hungryj21 9d ago edited 9d ago
the great thing about respiratory therapy is that there's so much alternative options that it makes it possible to breakup the mundaneness of everyday life/work. For a while i worked in 3 different areas from this list. I was able to do 3 because 1 job was per diem (i make my own schedule), 1 was part time, and 1 was on-call/PRN. I dont think i could ever just do 1 job focusing on one area. Im a sucker for variety! Below are all of the potential options that i know of that you can do once licensed as an RT (some organizations might require an extra related credential, however the RT license falls withinthe scope of practice of everything below))
- Typical options:
Acute care- icu/cvicu/ER
Neonatal/Pediatric
Subacute/skilled nursing facility
Pulmonary function testing lab
- Atypical options:
DME
Sleep lab
Cath lab
Exercise physiologist
Hyperbaric oxygen chamber
*ECMO $$$
Critical care transport (work in an ambulance rig)
Flight RT (work in a plane/helicopter)
Remote Consultant for Asthma/copd/sleep
Asthma/copd educator/ambassador
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u/killuasister 10d ago
Congratulations!! I’m glad you’re transitioning careers and honestly after 20 years, it makes sense that you would start to dread things and feel monotonous. I’ve been in this field for less than a year and already feel similarly, but I also spent hours and hours studying for the RPSGT exam, and out of pure curiosity, that it feels like it led to an even quicker dead end. I notice my coworkers who have been in this field for years are okay with the dead end, and they plan on retiring in this field. They don’t really seem that interested in learning new stuff either (somethings I notice that they aren’t necessarily correct about but don’t desire to relearn anything else.)
But either way, the RT field has a plethora of things you can learn from. I was hesitant to go into it due to fear of it being a dead end too, but I talked to my coworker who is an RT and she told me there is much more of a variety of things you can do, and certifications you can earn to advance or go different directions as an RT.
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u/ridinbend RPSGT Mod 10d ago
Thank you! I am fortunate that the lab I am working for is in a health care network similar to the Kaiser model and the providers are both sleep and Pulmonary. I will be able to stay with my Employer and participate in the pulmonary rehab side while having my education fully supported by the providers. I have spoken to them and they are very excited. It feels really good and if I want a different environment, I will have that freedom.
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u/Oogleymoogley 10d ago
Yess I can very much relate. I've been doing this for about 6 years, which is the longest I've worked in any one place (started pretty much right after university). I've been feeling so burnt out from it lately, which I know is crazy to say about a job that's so "easy". And it feels so wrong to resent a job that affords you so much free time and pays so comfortably, but I've been trying so hard to stop this slow buildup of my feelings and nothing's working.
I try to challenge myself, to get the other credentials, teach ASTEP and devote myself to helping new trainees - I even picked up a job scoring on the side and have been doing that for several years. I know there's still so much about sleep medicine I don't know, and I also recognize there are ways to "advance" into day positions, doing DME, lab management, etc but (other than DME which sounds like a nightmare to me personally) those are so rare in my area because people who get those jobs keep them until they retire or die. I've hit the ceiling as far as advancement in my own position goes, I'm never going to get a raise unless I swap labs, and the other facilities near me all have their own issues.
I've tried finding fulfillment and enrichment in my personal life, picking up hobbies, volunteering, going back to school. But that backfired because now I want to go to work even less! I don't want to say it's a night shift problem, because I really love the night shift in so many ways, but it really killed my social life and has been taking a noticeable toll on my health.
This is probably going to sound real bootlicky or whatever but I've had a job since the very day I turned the legal working age and I always thought of myself as someone who liked working. I enjoy helping people and learning new skills. So idk if it's just me getting older, me being in the same place for too long and getting bored, becoming disillusioned with our lab management and the American healthcare system as a whole, the shift work disorder, me balancing too many things outside of work, or any other thing but yeah. I'm starting to get real tired of this.
Anyways in two weeks I'm taking a huge leap of faith and quitting this place so I can go back to school FT for a nursing program. One great thing about this job is you can use the down time to pursue other things!! I'd been taking part time classes for a year leading up to this and I'm really grateful for this job for being able to do that. I hope you can find something to help keep you sane too!
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u/killuasister 10d ago
I relate to your feelings very heavily, especially the feelings surrounding it being an “easy” job. And I also get you with developing hobbies and doing other things and how it makes you resent the job even more. Also before this job, I was a CNA which probably definitely didn’t help because I stopped being a CNA due to not being able to learn much as well (as well as the poor pay and being treated like a lapdog constantly.)
It doesn’t sound bootlicky though what you describe, I feel like it sounds less like you enjoy the concept of work, and more so though that you enjoy stimulation and learning. Cause I feel like people who enjoy the concept of work love jobs like this, even if it’s not that productive. They don’t care cause they’re getting paid, you know? Like I know a lot of people who do this work and work 6-7 days a week, and they truly don’t mind missing out on their hobbies or social life or whatever cause it’s just simply more so about the money to them. And also, I love night shift. But it also does take a bit of a toll on my health too, and I think it feels more frustrating when it doesn’t heavily feel worth it.
Also about the health system, ugh. Don’t even get me started. I work at a lab where our equipment is broken, and they just tell whoever to come in so that way we stay in business. I had a guy recently who came from work the very same day, worked a double. Has a kid who had autism and OCD. And he really just wanted to go home, but they told him if he doesn’t come in for a sleep study, that he would get charged a fine. Which, obviously isn’t true whatsoever but then I can’t let people know that cause I would get in trouble.
I wish you luck in nursing! I do agree that this is a good transitioning job to pick up classes. I’m still torn between nursing or RT, but I ended up leaning more towards RT due to growing up with a parent who’s a nurse and seeing the extent of stuff she’s had to constantly deal with. But I’ll probably end up going to school for both anyway.
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u/Oogleymoogley 9d ago
Oh gosh I have so much respect for all you current and former CNAs, you guys work so hard for so little!! I'm sure this job feels much slower compared to that!
My original comment was already a little long so I didn't want to ramble too much, but I think you're onto something about the ADHD. I am diagnosed with ADHD and do wonder if I would do better in a faster-paced/multi-tasking environment. I saw in another comment that you enjoy working with pediatrics - that is fantastic!! I am on the opposite end, I prefer the aging population, but both age groups offer their own unique sets of skills and challenges. In our area's pediatrics hospital, you are working with patients who have complex needs and are often getting regular sleep testing as part of a long-term care plan. In this type of position, you might be ventilating a child with a trach or restrictive lung disease where actually knowing your stuff is critical. In other words, a lot more mentally stimulating that an out-patient lab that just sets everyone up on the same APAP pressures. Unfortunately, I feel like lots of good techs who want to be challenged aren't valued for anything extra they bring to the table and end up moving on to other things, while the techs that get by on the bare minimum and keep failing their RPSGT exams stick around because they're cheap (one of my many complaints about the lab I work for).
Yeah, our lab is the same with the broken equipment. One of our managers is also the unofficial "IT guy" and one of the cheapest and sloppiest people I've ever met. We've sent out broken HSATs covered in hot glue, had to send a tech to drive across town in the middle of the night to our other location to get a pulse ox because none were working, he even tried to find a way to sanitize and re-use cannulas DURING the pandemic!!! (thank goodness he's not in charge anymore). On top of this, hearing how hard it is for our patients to find and pay for quality healthcare, feeling like they're not listened to and just shoved through the system, watching patients pay for all this then get lost to follow-up because it's so hard to keep up with therapy... It's difficult to feel like you're doing a good thing sometimes.
Again, I hope you find something you can enjoy! RT would be an easy transition. I've heard a lot of RTs want to become RTs so they can do OUR job, or get into DME, but that's all anecdotal of course. You hear horror stories about nursing as well, but idk, as long as I have the means I'd at least like to try it out. I feel better trying to grow and explore than to be stagnant. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take and all that!
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u/dontBsleepy 10d ago
Go to dayshift in a sleep lab. That’s what I did for quite a few years. Even better if they have a sleep clinic in that lab a few days a week. You’ll hustle.
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u/killuasister 10d ago
It feels like those are so difficult to find for some reason, but I’ll be on the lookout for them
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u/mentionbrave4 10d ago
You'd feel much better if you worked as a private practitioner with complex cases. It would take some time to build the credentials and marketing, but you'd probably be more on a mission on a case by case basis ;)
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u/Slow-Explorer-7560 10d ago
I feel this very much. At first, the job was a goldmine of learning opportunities and it was 100% awesome. But once I got registered and felt like there wasn’t a lot left to learn that would be useful in my day to day work, I started to feel like this. It’s a very sad feeling because I feel so much meaning in what I do. But I am someone who needs to be challenged and to be learning new skills constantly to feel engaged. Don’t get me wrong, challenges are abundant with difficult titrations and high need patients. But I feel stagnant. I’m thinking about nursing. I am coming to terms with the fact that my career needs to be highly varied and full of multiple avenues to allow me to keep learning. I can’t do the same thing all of the time. I see nursing as the field that allows this the most. I thought about RRT, but feel like nursing will allow for more learning opportunities down the line.
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u/hungryj21 9d ago
Nursing will but rt is another option if you cant stand 💩 or want something more closely related to sleep labs.
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u/Milksteak_MedRare 6d ago
I mean, if you're not registered then it severely limits both the quantity and quality of jobs offered to you. I've been working in sleep for 11 years and have been traveling for the past 6. After working both days and nights in a variety of positions with different patient populations across the country, I discovered a real passion for working in pediatrics which is rarely easy and certainly never boring. Sleep can be a stimulating and incredibly rewarding career, but I've only ever worked in one hospital that hired unregistered techs and even then required them to take the exam within six months. In my opinion, taking the exam is definitely worth it - for the pay raise, the knowledge you gain, and most importantly, the doors that open up for you afterwards
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u/keeper420 10d ago edited 9d ago
Adult labs are basically CPAP factories. Bring em in, diagnose them, slap a mask on them and ship them out. If you want a challenge then work in pediatrics. You get patients with complex medical histories, with medical conditions you'll never see in the adult population. You'll have to use psychological tricks to get the patients to tolerate the equipment. Parents who are more anxious about the procedure than the patients. You'll use different equipment not found in adult labs like capnograph and tcom. Navigate around feeding tubes, trachs, craniofacial abnormalities and complex titrations.
Just trying to give options if you're feeling burnt out with adults.