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.