A respiratory therapist is a medical professional that applies scientific principles in order to prevent, detect and provide treatment to acute and chronic dysfunctions of the cardiopulmonary system. These medical professionals are specialists in promotion of the cardiopulmonary system and its functions and health. The knowledge that respiratory therapists possess lies in the scientific principles of cardiopulmonary psychology, biomedical engineering and pathophysiology. A respiratory therapist job description is as follows;
The biomedical engineering and technology enables them to have more effective assess and education to treat patients who suffer from cardiopulmonary disorders. Regardless to their abilities and education, all respiratory therapists must practice under medical attention. The respiratory care is explicitly focused on how to:
- Prevent
- give assets
- provide treatment,
- provide better management
- control
- give diagnostic evaluation
- education
- Provide better care treatment for patients with abnormalities of the cardiopulmonary system.
Respiratory therapists are medical professionals who have graduated from university or college and completed the national board examination. They work under the supervision of a nurse practitioner or physician, but they are most often supervised if they work in operating rooms, outpatient clinics or intensive care. They are educators and specialists in pulmonology and cardiology. Respiratory therapists have advanced practice in maintaining the airway in patients who are in trauma or intensive care.
They can also administer anesthesia or conscious sedation for surgery. They are in charge of patients who are in intensive care or emergency departments, providing a proper treatment and managing hospital to hospital transport to patients along with the paramedic’s services are few of their main duties along with the life support management for patients who are critically ill. Most respiratory therapists work as educators in the asthma clinics, pediatric clinics as well as they help patients who have sleep-disorders.
Respiratory Therapist’s Clinical Practice – Operating Room & Intensive Care
Their job is to educate, diagnose and provide proper treatment for people who suffer from lung and heart problems. Respiratory therapists are specialized in both; pulmonary and cardiac care. They must collaborate with pulmonology and anesthesia specialists in every aspect of the clinical care for patients. They provide a fundamental role in medicine and nursing.
Home health care services
Home health care means that respiratory therapists are specialized in managing home oxygen needs to patients by providing their services quickly and fully equipped for all kinds of conditions including sleep apnea.
Public education
Respiratory therapists may be found often working as asthma educators along with teachers or coaches to teach patients and their families how to spot an emergency. They are certified as asthma specialists and they work side by side with physicians in diagnosing sleep-related illnesses.
Salaries
The median and expected salary for respiratory therapist in U.S. from 2018 is $60,280 or 28.98 per hour. Their salary may vary by state, like for example: those respiratory therapists who are located in Alabama earn $ 63,000 and those who are employed in Alaska earn $52,000. However their salary is expected to grow by 23% from 2010-2020, which is much more than in the other healthcare professions.
