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Respiratory Therapist Certification

October 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

With permanent lifestyle changes taking place at a very rapid rate, and advancements in technology and medicine, the demand for highly trained, qualified, certified, and competent health care professionals is on an upsurge. There is a demand for competent health care practitioners who can be able to operate state-of-the-art medical equipment used in hospital and clinical settings today. There is also need for highly skilled individuals who can be able to take on the rising demands of the health care sector and take care of needy patients.

With that being said, if you are thinking of starting a career in the health care sector, you can rest assured you are setting yourself up to a very bright and promising career future, a career that is not only rewarding but also potentially lucrative with the right qualifications and credentials as required by the industry.  In order to remain competitive in the job market and gain that competitive edge against your competitors, you will need to present the strongest credentials in the market and also have up-to-date training.

Once these are taken care of, you can rest assured of a rewarding job opportunity in private hospital settings, public community hospitals, and long-term health care facilities. It therefore goes without saying that the best possible training is a must for a rewarding and fulfilling career in the health care sector.

One of the rapidly growing career paths in the health care sector is respiratory therapy, a filled that is composed of respiratory technicians and therapists who will evaluate, treat, and progressively monitor the condition of patients who have respiratory complications i.e. breathing difficulties and complications associated with the cardiopulmonary.

As a respiratory therapist or technician, your work will revolve around determining the lung capacity of a patient, the levels of oxygen in a patient’s blood, and computing data by use of diagnostic state-of-the art equipment to help in diagnosis the underlying cause of respiratory complications, and subsequently formulate the best treatment option to be taken.

In order to be a certified and registered respiratory therapist, you will need to attend school and graduate from a thorough and comprehensive accredited and recognized respiratory therapy program. This is a requirement as per the state licensing board so certification can be issued. The program involves class work and practical work and continuous assessment tests and examinations all which aim at honing the skills of students to produce the most competent and competitive workers to the health care industry.

So, the first course of action when looking to start a rewarding career as a respiratory therapist is to research the best institution that is accredited and recognized to ensure you get the best quality education.


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Respiratory Therapist Salary

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Because of the alarming rate of people acquiring cardiopulmonary disease, the rising need for medical professionals like the Respiratory Therapists has risen as well. To get into this kind of work can be a challenge, because it’s very complex, one of the most complex within the medical field. While the minimum requirements for working as an RT is the ‘associate’s degree’, that doesn’t mean this work will be as simple as just completing a 2 year course. This work will require you to handle patients who are under intensive care. These well trained professionals are always being assigned to patients who suffer from sever illnesses, some even on life support. To see people suffering or just barely surviving can be a hard thing to witness every day, but it’s part of this kind of work if you’re going to be a respiratory therapist.

The salary for a Respiratory Therapist can range from $52,000 to $70,000. The ones earning over $65,000 are the ones who got their bachelor’s degree, or their master’s. They’re the ones working with critically ill patients. There are many requirements within this profession, not just skills alone. You need patience, determination, and an ability to think fast and maintain composure at the same time. You have to possess a keen eye for detail, because one small error can cause major complications in the life of a patient.

If you still like the thought of being an RT, but you can’t handle the hardships that go along with the patient care, then you can choose to work on the respiratory equipment side of this profession, and sell medical apparatus to hospitals. These firms have rentals that cater to home care services. You could also choose to teach in colleges, or in some part of the pharmaceutical industry.

Earning the kind of salary that comes from being a Respiratory Therapist may be great, but there’s a lot of hardship and hard work that comes along with it. It’s complex and it’s challenging, and that’s why the pay is so good for this particular profession. When it comes to careers, you want to choose one that makes you happy, not what pays you a lot. In the end the money won’t matter, but being happy in your life is something that’s priceless. So find yourself something to do that makes life worth living. Why work if it’s not to try to live a happy life?


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Respiratory Therapist Jobs

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

For many people, a rewarding and good career can be defined as more than what they do to earn a living. It gives one an opportunity to make a great difference in the community, an opportunity to earn self-respect, an opportunity to start a voyage of self-discovery, and more importantly, an opportunity to earn a decent living helping people live their best. As is therefore expected, a career with the fattest pay check in itself cannot help one fulfill such lifelong aspirations.

The health care sector is one of the few employment opportunities that promise a career that will be very rewarding and meaningful at the same time. Health care though is a very wide field with a very wide gamut of sub-fields, and finding the perfect career path can prove to be a daunting task. One career path though that is currently taking the world by storm is the respiratory therapy field. This is a medical profession that deals with helping with the respiratory functioning of individuals suffering from severe disorders of their respiratory systems.

Otherwise referred to as respiratory care practitioner, a Respiratory Therapist (RT) is responsible for assessment, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and continuous patient care for people with cardiopulmonary and breathing complications. An RT works hand in hand with physicians and nurses, mostly in emergency situations, to give patients care to people of all age groups, ranging from infants born prematurely to elderly individuals whose respiratory systems get compromised as they age.

The role of a respiratory therapist in a typical setting include responding to emergency calls, performing resuscitation operations, administering oxygen, and helping in the operation and management of ventilators. Those are just few of the many responsibilities of a graduate respiratory therapist in a typical health care setting. Of course the job description will vary from one setting to another, based on the employer and the situation at hand.

To become an RT, you are supposed to enroll in any recognized university that offers a program in respiratory therapy. Being conferred with a degree in respiratory therapy will help you earn essential skills and knowledge that will not only prepare you for the certification examination as required by the National Board of Respiratory Care (NBRC), you will also be able to earn invaluable skills that will make you a competent care giver in the job market.

With that being said, the employment opportunities for RTs are very promising and bright hence the consumer demand for qualified RTS is rapidly growing. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment for respiratory therapists is projected to have an upsurge thanks to an aging population that is very vulnerable to cardiopulmonary and respiratory disorders.


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Bachelor’s Degrees in Respiratory Therapy

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What comes to your mind whenever you think about maybe starting a career in the healthcare field? Do you conjure up images of very somber-faced doctors and their nurses scooting off to one medical emergency to another? Do you get discouraged at the thought of having to go to school seeming forever?

Well then, it’s time somebody told you that there’s more to this healthcare profession than just doctors and nurses. You’ll find a whole army of professionals specializing in giving various types of patient care, and something even more encouraging is that most of these professions won’t require you to have extensive training or schooling.

You’ll find within these groups of lesser known warriors, they are the respiratory therapists, the ‘RTs’. They give treatment, evaluations, and good care to their patients who suffer from cardiopulmonary disorders or breathing.

They work in conjunction with physicians within the respiratory or cardiopulmonary departments of hospitals, clinics, or some with centers for home health services. Some of their duties will include:

- Patient And Family Education About Breathing Disorders
- Manage Breathing Devices And Ventilators
- Physical Exams For Patients
- Breathing Disorder Diagnosis

If you’re thinking that being a Respiratory Therapist might be your cup of tea, then you should start planning early. Maintain your grades in chemistry, biology, math, and physics throughout your high school years. This could be the key to your career as a Respiratory Therapist.

Having a solid foundation on these subjects ensure you’ll sail smoothly through your college courses. It’s possible to get started with the use of one of the Allied Health degrees, and you can find direct programs that will specifically train you for your career in the RT field. These are some good choice for anyone who’s interested.

2 Year training programs can lead to your Associate’s degree. These degrees in Respiratory Therapy can be found available in many career schools, community colleges, the armed forces, and in hospitals. The Associate’s degrees includes classroom training and clinical training as well. The clinical training is actually a vital component of the whole RT program. It enables students to work around real life situations, and an actual healthcare environment.

You can land some entry level jobs with the Associate’s degree, but the Bachelor’s Degree indicates a much higher expertise level. This might be necessary for your professional growth, and for accessing more complex roles. The Bachelor’s Respiratory Care programs also include courses for management as well as non-clinical healthcare.


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Associate Degrees in Respiratory Therapy

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A respiratory therapist, otherwise referred to as a respiratory care practitioner is one of the many health care professionals in the wide health care field that work directly with patients especially those having breathing related complications. A respiratory therapist works with aged citizens because of their compromised lung functioning, infant babies who are suffering from breathing complications because of premature respiratory systems, and everyone else in between to help improve life and give the much needed relief.

A respiratory therapist is also tasked with keeping a close watch on the progress of a patient, keeping track of the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels of the patient in question, ensuring all diagnostic medical equipment are in good shape and functioning as expected, and more importantly preparing the patient and the equipment such as a ventilator for the physician. An RT can also administer medication to help improve how a patient is breathing before, during, and after surgery.

Employment of Respiratory Therapists

Job opportunities for respiratory therapists are in abundance and will continue to grow very rapidly in the near future as the demand for qualified and competent individuals to take care of the rapidly growing baby boomers continues to be on the rise. Qualified respiratory therapists with a specialty in infant care and treatment of heart related complications are also expected to be in very high demand.

Most of the graduates work in typical hospital settings in respiratory care, pulmonary, or anesthesiology departments. They can also work at shops that rent or sell respiratory care machines that can be used in private home settings to help improve breathing. Apart from hospital settings, one can also work in doctor’s offices, nursing homes, and such like long-term health care facilities.

How to earn a degree in respiratory therapy

In order to qualify for admission in a recognized and accredited institution that offers a degree in RT, you will need to have a minimum of an associate’s degree in the same or related field. Training opportunities can be found in universities, colleges, medical schools, and community vocational training institutions. After extensive coursework and pre-determined hours of practical experience, you will be expected to sit and pass a qualifying examination that will earn you accreditation and show that you have acquired the necessary skills and competence level required to work in a competitive job market. You will then be conferred with your associate´s degree in respiratory therapy.


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Traveling Respiratory Therapist

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

What is the Job Description Traveling Respiratory Therapist?


Due to the rising cases of health complications, today the demand for traveling qualified and professional medics is on the rise in the US and throughout the world, competent professionals who will be able to give the much needed assistance to fellow medics as well as the patients so as to facilitate good patient care. One of the rapidly growing fields in the health care industry is respiratory therapy, and it sure presents a very bright potential especially for young adults looking to join the ever-challenging, dynamic yet rewarding health care sector.

If you are interested in being a traveling respiratory therapist, you might want to take your time to familiarize yourself with the job description of one, so you can know in advance if this is your career path or you should pursue other fields.

1. A respiratory therapist works under the supervision of a doctor and is responsible with ensuring that the process of respiratory care that starts with diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic treatment goes on smoothly. They will evaluate, test, and care for patients who suffer from any complications found in the respiratory system
2. Still on point, a respiratory therapist therefore will work hand in hand with a patient’s doctor to know the general health status of the patient so they can be able to alter the patient care plan to suit the patient’s needs.
3. Technically, a respiratory therapist will remove mucus from a patient’s congested chest and lungs by carrying out chest physiotherapy, which helps facilitate easy breathing in patients. While conducting chest physiotherapy, a respiratory therapist places the patient in a strategic position that will facilitate the excretion of mucus, and through the use of specialized tools, the therapist will stir some vibration in the rib cage to help get rid of the mucus.
4. Under the general respiratory therapist job there are those who specialize to become research therapists, and there job mainly entails carrying out various tests to help determine the health status of a patient’s respiratory system. Things like the breathing system of a patient, and the concentration of gas in a patient’s blood are some of the things a respiratory therapist does.
5. By the same token, a respiratory therapist will test the capacity of a patient’s lungs i.e. the patient’s ability to inhale and exhale oxygen to help determine lung complications

With that being said, you can rest assured that the research therapist job is a great medic job that opens up a whole lot of career opportunities towards a rewarding and well paying job in a growing field.


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Respiratory Therapist Licensing Requirements

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Having a job as a respiratory therapist means helping patients who face a wide variety of health problems. These patients can be babies who have breathing problems because of immature respiratory systems, or seniors who suffer from lung ailments. A respiratory therapist is sometimes called a respiratory care practitioner. The kind of treatment they give is mainly related to various breathing disorders.

This kind of work will also involve keeping a watchful eye on the progress of patients, as well as the medical equipment. That means monitoring the patient’s levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide, and setting their ventilator up for their attending physician. They are responsible to ensure that equipment is still functioning properly. They administer medications as well, for improving the patient’s breathing while undergoing surgery.

There are a lot of respiratory therapist jobs available. This is a trend that’s expected to continue for many years into the unforeseeable future. Especially in the area of infant care and heart conditions.

Most of the work of the respiratory therapist takes place within a hospital setting. It involves respiratory care, pulmonary, and anesthesiology units. RTs can find work with businesses who sell or rent out their machines for use in homes for improving breathing. They can also find working doctor’s offices or nursing homes.

The education requirements for respiratory therapists is no less than an associates degree for becoming a respiratory therapist. The students can easily find training programs being given at medical schools, universities and colleges, and at many vocational institutes. These Respiratory Therapy Schools can be acquired through the Armed Forces as well.

These education programs are mainly made up of a curriculum of health and science. Preparing for secondary education, as a high school student wanting to be a respiratory therapist, you need to focus on excelling in math, physics, chemistry, and biology. These are the necessary skills for becoming a successful respiratory therapist and landing a good job. You’ll be dealing with measuring medicine and calculating oxygen levels.

The course for the respiratory therapy programs will include some anatomy, pharmacology, and microbiology. Students are also required to study some cardiopulmonary resuscitation, equipment, out-patient care, and therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. It’s vitally important that students get their education in a respiratory therapy program with an accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation and Allied Health Education Program. Almost 400 RT schools all over the U.S. have this accreditation.

Many states will require their students to obtain a license, and it’s considered part of the training. They can do this once they’ve earned their degree in respiratory therapy. Alaska and Hawaii are the two states who don’t require this. All respiratory therapists are required to know CPR as well. All licensing requirements are set by the NBRC.


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Respiratory Therapist Educational Requirements

March 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Educational Requirements to be a Respiratory Therapist


You might be someone who’s interested in becoming a respiratory therapist. If so, then you can certainly become one, once you have all the qualifications and skills. The jobs are there for those who manage to get the education and qualifications. At least we know what things are needed.

To get yourself a respiratory job you have to be knowledgeable in the medical field. You have to study procedures and techniques used for detecting diseases, injuries, and malformations. You also need to learn to recognize symptoms and to deliver alternative treatments. Be sure you learn about which medicines are required for specific diseases or injuries, and total overall health care.

You should be good at customer service skills. You have to be able to deliver good personal service and evaluate yourself to see that you’re on the right course for giving customer satisfaction.

Be sure to have some mechanical knowledge as well. You’ll be working with equipment, maintaining it and repairing it. So you need to be familiar with the mechanics of the machines you work with and the tools to keep them functioning properly.

Psychology is yet another concept that you need to be brushed up on. You have to deal with human behavior to be involved with respiratory jobs. So studying an individuals behavior can help you to better deal with treating that person.

Be very sure you have a strong base in chemistry. There are vitally important chemical compositions to deal with, along with structures, substance properties, and chemical processes. They’re all required for you to be a good respiratory therapist.

Once you have the chemistry down, then you want to hone your math skills. There will be lots of math involved in this job, like stats, geometry, algebra, calculus, and basic arithmetic.

Now add to the chemistry some biology. Remember that all the data regarding tissues from living organisms, cells, and the functions and interactions of these things will be needed. As well as a knowledge of how they all are interdependent.

The jobs are available, and in big demand, if a person properly prepares themselves for getting qualified for doing Respiratory Therapy work. But start preparing early if you can, in high school. It can be a long hard road and lots of work to get certified and licensed, but you can do it.


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Respiratory Therapy Programs

March 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Respiratory Therapist is one of the many health care specialties focusing on the prevention, the diagnosis, the prognosis, the treatment, the management, and finally the rehabilitation of individuals who have breathing complications among other cardiopulmonary complications. When you graduate with a respiratory therapy degree, you will be in a position to provide the much needed care and treatment to patients with respiratory complications, ranging from giving urgent relief to asthmatic patients to giving long-term care to patient’s chronic conditions like emphysema.

A typical respiratory degree program will cover topics including anatomy, pathophysiology, chemistry, physics, physiology, pharmacology, mathematics, microbiology, patient assessment, use of medical equipment, diagnostic plus therapeutic tests and procedures, cardio resuscitation, long-term outpatient care, cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, how to apply clinical practical guidelines, keeping of medical records, disease prevention and mitigation, and the promotion of respiratory health to mention but a few.

A qualified respiratory therapist graduate will work under the direct and constant supervision of a doctor and is tasked with therapeutic treatments, diagnostic procedures, and respiratory care. You should also work hand-in-hand with fellow medical staff to help formulate the best patient care plans so as patients can get the most comprehensive care, even for those on life support.

Respiratory Therapists will also assess and treat a wide gamut of individuals, ranging from old people with compromised lung systems to preterm babies bone of underdeveloped functional lungs. As a qualified RT, one gives temporary assistance to people suffering from chronic asthma and cases of emphysema, and will always give emergency medical attention to people having stroke, heart attack, etc.

According to statistics released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, RTs held over 106,000 jobs in the year 2008, where more than 80 percent of the jobs being reported in hospitals, mostly in the respiratory care, anesthesiology, and pulmonary medicine departments. Other jobs held by qualified RTs were in doctor’s offices among other health care practitioner offices, nursing care facilities, and private residential homes.

In a nutshell, a respiratory therapist will work under the direct supervision of a qualified physician to help administer continuous respiratory care, formulate a practical care plan for patients, and offer life support to people with heart and lung complications. Respiratory therapists will work with state-of-the-art advanced medical equipment and tools, the same way other professionals in the health care sector do, to help diagnose and treat underlying respiratory complications.


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Respiratory Therapy Schools

March 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Most Respiratory Therapy Schools are to be found in leading medical schools, but this shouldn’t mean it is limited to that. If you want to earn your degree in respiratory therapy, you can do it from a technical school, vocational school, a trade school, a community college, or even a respiratory college and/or university that offers this specialized course.

One thing though that you should ensure is that the institution should be recognized and accredited to avoid wasting your time and money in a training that by the end of the day you will not be registered. According to the National Board of Respiratory Care (NBRC), you can only be licensed if you pursue your education to become a respiratory therapist in a recognized and accredited institution.

But who really is a respiratory therapist? A respiratory therapy technician, otherwise referred to as a respiratory care practitioner or simply a respiratory therapist, is a highly qualified and skilled individual tasked with helping patients who have cardiopulmonary and breathing complications i.e. basically the respiratory system. An RT works under the direct and constant supervision of a qualified and highly experienced physician, and assumes the responsibility of giving the much needed respiratory care to patients, helping in diagnosing, evaluation, and giving therapeutic treatment.

Note that just like other medical practitioners, RTs work according to well-defined and set patient care procedures, and adheres to set rules and regulations when administering therapeutic treatment to patients. In a typical therapeutic course of study, you will cover pharmacology, human anatomy, chemistry, physiology, mathematics, microbiology, physics, and use of medical equipment, procedure in diagnostic and therapeutic methods, how to conduct tests, and how to do first aid to needy patients among many other things.

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A typical course can also cover specialized patient care, patient assessment and evaluation, resuscitation procedures, clinical guidelines, applications of pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation, promotion of respiratory, how to keep medical records, and more importantly disease prevention and cure.

As is with other courses in the medical field today, the respiratory therapy course has options of associates, bachelors, degree, masters, and doctorate programs, with each level presenting an extra opportunity for advancement in expertise, an opportunity for advancing your occupation, and more importantly to improve your employment.

You will need to have a minimum of an associate’s degree in order to qualify to apply for a degree in this rewarding and fulfilling career as an RT. Your associates or the bachelor’s degree will prepare you for advanced positions at work. Respiratory therapists can work in surgical and medical hospitals but be advised that most states will require licensure in RT preceding employment.


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