A qualified respiratory therapist has a wide range of career options. He or she is also known as a respiratory specialist or a respiratory therapy technician and is in charge of preventing, evaluating, and treating cardiopulmonary and respiratory illnesses. The majority of respiratory therapists’ work is done in hospitals. These could be in the departments of respiratory care, anesthesiology, or pulmonary medicine.
Jobs as a respiratory therapist can be found in a variety of places, including private physicians’ offices, universities, laboratories, clinics, intensive care units, nursing homes, and even patients’ homes. A respiratory specialist may work with the elderly, infants, or accident victims in the intensive care unit. Respiratory therapy may be required for patients with lung disease, heart disease, or neuromuscular problems.
The majority of respiratory therapist jobs necessitate a standard workweek. Some respiratory therapists work on-call, so their schedules and shifts can be unpredictable. Chest trauma, asthma, cystic fibrosis, pneumonia, bronchitis, and emphysema are some of the most common disorders that respiratory therapists may encounter.
Respiratory therapist jobs typically entail creating patient care plans, providing therapy tailored to the patient’s needs, and performing diagnostic procedures, though duties vary location. Sleep studies, stress and exercise testing, sputum specimen analysis, cardiac tests, and arterial blood gas analysis are some of the diagnostic procedures. A patient assessment may be performed a respiratory therapist, which includes taking a medical history, reviewing symptoms, and performing a basic medical exam.
Biology, physics, mathematics, health, and chemistry are all good subjects to study if you want to work as a respiratory therapist. He or she should also be able to work with the general public. Because working in a high-stress environment is sometimes necessary, a person interested in this field should be able to work under pressure, both alone and with a team. In this field, strong attention to detail and the ability to follow instructions are also essential.
An Associate Degree is usually required to work as a respiratory therapist. A community or technical college, a university, a medical school, or the Armed Forces can all provide this. People who want to work as a respiratory therapist in a more advanced setting should get a bachelor’s degree. Mathematics, microbiology, pathophysiology, human anatomy and physiology, physics, pharmacology, and chemistry are some of the subjects that future respiratory therapists may study. Licensure and certification are usually required after obtaining a degree.
Respiratory therapist jobs are in high demand, owing to the continued growth of the elderly population. Advances in the treatment of premature babies and cardiopulmonary disease are also helping to propel this field forward. Other factors include smoking and various environmental factors that can cause or exacerbate respiratory diseases.