Most Nurses will acknowledge that the RTs are really worked hard, especially in the ICUs. Still, the requirements for ICU nurses are impressive. I do know nurses who switched to resp. because some of the physical demands are very challenging, such as turning very heavy patients. People do no desiret to break their backs.
I have seen ambulance companies send in 2 teams for a single patient. I have also seen local Fire Department crews called on for a patient who somehow fell out of bed. It is incredible how heavy people can be. A nurse who 5'4” or shorter has no possibility of picking up such a person. This is why 1 or 2 I know made the change.
The explanations you give about your job and your medical observations are really interesting and add a lot of context to things we non-medical people know nothing about. I may have thought “What a waste” upon hearing of multiple ambulances dispatched to a single residence until you noted the patient might be enormous. Thank you for broadening our frames of reference.