Respiratory therapistsRespiratory therapists and respiratory therapy technicians—also known as respiratory care practitioners—evaluate, treat, and care for patients with breathing or other cardiopulmonary disorders. Respiratory therapists, practicing under physician direction, assume primary responsibility for all respiratory care therapeutic treatments and diagnostic procedures, including the supervision of respiratory therapy technicians. Respiratory therapy technicians follow specific, well-defined respiratory care procedures, under the direction of respiratory therapists and physicians. In clinical practice, many of the daily duties of therapists and technicians overlap, although therapists generally have greater responsibility than technicians. For example, respiratory therapists will primarily consult with physicians and other healthcare staff to help develop and modify individual patient care plans. Respiratory therapists are also more likely to provide complex therapy requiring considerable independent judgment, such as caring for patients on life support in hospital intensive care units. In this statement, the term respiratory therapists includes both respiratory therapists and respiratory therapy technicians. To evaluate patients, respiratory therapists interview them, perform limited physical examinations, and conduct diagnostic tests. For example, respiratory therapists test patients� breathing capacity and determine the concentration of oxygen and other gases in patients� blood. They also measure patients� pH, which indicates the acidity or alkalinity level of the blood. To evaluate a patient�s lung capacity, respiratory therapists have the patient breathe into an instrument that measures the volume and flow of oxygen during inhalation and exhalation. By comparing the reading with the norm for the patient�s age, height, weight, and sex, respiratory therapists can provide information that helps determine whether the patient has any lung deficiencies. To analyze oxygen, carbon dioxide, and pH levels, therapists draw an arterial blood sample, place it in a blood gas analyzer, and relay the results to a physician. Physicians rely on data provided by respiratory therapists to make treatment decisions. Respiratory therapists treat all types of patients, ranging from premature infants whose lungs are not fully developed to elderly people whose lungs are diseased. Respiratory therapists provide temporary relief to patients with chronic asthma or emphysema, as well as emergency care to patients who are victims of a heart attack, stroke, drowning, or shock. To treat patients, respiratory therapists use oxygen or oxygen mixtures, chest physiotherapy, and aerosol medications. When a patient has difficulty getting enough oxygen into their blood, therapists increase the patient�s concentration of oxygen by placing an oxygen mask or nasal cannula on a patient and set the oxygen flow at the level prescribed by a physician. Therapists also connect patients who cannot breathe on their own to ventilators that deliver pressurized oxygen into the lungs. The therapists insert a tube into the patient�s trachea, or windpipe; connect the tube to the ventilator; and set the rate, volume, and oxygen concentration of the oxygen mixture entering the patient�s lungs. Therapists perform regular checks on patients and equipment. If the patient appears to be having difficulty, or if the oxygen, carbon dioxide, or pH level of the blood is abnormal, therapists change the ventilator setting according to the doctor�s orders or check the equipment for mechanical problems. In home care, therapists teach patients and their families to use ventilators and other life-support systems. In addition, therapists visit patients several times a month to inspect and clean equipment and to ensure its proper use. Therapists also make emergency visits if equipment problems arise. Respiratory therapists perform chest physiotherapy on patients to remove mucus from their lungs and make it easier for them to breathe. For example, during surgery, anesthesia depresses respiration, so chest physiotherapy may be prescribed to help get the patient�s lungs back to normal and to prevent congestion. Chest physiotherapy also helps patients suffering from lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, that cause mucus to collect in the lungs. Therapists place patients in positions that help drain mucus, and then they thump and vibrate the patients� rib cages and instruct the patients to cough. Respiratory therapists also administer aerosols—liquid medications suspended in a gas that forms a mist which is inhaled—and teach patients how to inhale the aerosol properly to ensure its effectiveness. In some hospitals, therapists perform tasks that fall outside their traditional role. Therapists� tasks are expanding into cardiopulmonary procedures such as taking electrocardiograms and administering stress tests, as well as other areas—for example, drawing blood samples from patients. Therapists also keep records of materials used and charges to patients. Related news articles Computerized Protocol Found to Cut Ventilator Weaning Time - 16 Oct 2006 MedPage Today,Some physicians, he said, may find computer-based protocols more acceptable than sharing responsibility with a respiratory therapist or a nurse. ... Lung Association on Eastern Shore holds Asthma Walk to raise funds - 16 Oct 2006 Delmarva Daily Times,...physician, the family and the school are all on the same page about how to manage the child's asthma," says Valerie Nozea, a respiratory therapist and director ... A Respiratory Therapist Who Showed Others The Way - Oct 15, 2006 Hartford Courant,...follow.". "The field was just starting," said Bill Walker, a respiratory therapist who trained at the same time as Dixey. Previously ... Minooka therapist was 'kind' - Oct 9, 2006 Joliet Herald News,He was a respiratory therapist on the midnight shift at Morris Hospital and Healthcare Centers when he died April 30 of lung cancer. ... Local Hospital Recognized for Safety - Oct 13, 2006 WVLT,...in danger. Made up of a critical care nurse and a respiratory therapist, the teams are taking patient safety to the next level. A ... A Survivor's Story: On the Occasion of National Breast Cancer ... - Oct 15, 2006 International News Service,The respiratory therapist at Fort Walton Beach Medical Center realized she had been focusing so much on her two sons and her husband for so long that she ... TC offers respiratory program - Oct 14, 2006 Temple Daily Telegram,...they were stuffed with cotton, or had a loved one kept alive with a chest tube and a breathing machine, be sure to thank a respiratory therapist - the unsung ... Local Health Briefs - Oct 14, 2006 Kitsap Sun (Subscription),Support Group will meet to talk about sleep disorders and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with Susan McInturff, respiratory therapist for Harrison ... Don't let tobacco firms increase the nicotine kick - Oct 12, 2006 Times Herald-Record,As a respiratory therapist, I have always had a keen interest in how the lungs absorb and allow nicotine to enter the blood that then transports the nicotine ... Shawnee Mission Medical Center taking part in Surviving Sepsis ... - Oct 9, 2006 Kansas City Nursing News,...regular floor has to be able to recognize sepsis and call the Rapid Response Team (which includes a critical care nurse and a respiratory therapist), and ICU ... Nichols named to undercard of Riverfront event - Oct 13, 2006 Alexandria Town Talk,...equal ability," Nichols said. Nichols, a respiratory therapist at Rapides Regional Medical Center, made his pro debut Aug. 12 with a ... ‘Hobby of Birding’ presentation today at Bonifas Arts Center - Oct 13, 2006 Escanaba Daily Press,Berg has been an active birder for years, working with the Forest Service to complete bird surveys in the area. Currently a respiratory therapist with St. ... Training for the future - Oct 1, 2006 York Daily Record,Pinto is studying for her respiratory therapy degree, which she expects to complete. Kay Pinto is studying to be a respiratory therapist. ... Big Isle hospital gets $1M for care teams - Oct 9, 2006 Honolulu Star-Bulletin,Funding from the Oak Foundation will support a CARE team comprised of a nurse practitioner or house coordinator, a respiratory therapist and physicians who ... A change for the better - Oct 10, 2006 Sun-Sentinel.com,The North Broward Medical Center respiratory therapist decided to change her life in 2004, while caring for patients whose excess weight caused preventable ... County finance issues loom over local races - Oct 10, 2006 Montrose Daily Press,Richardson, a respiratory therapist who currently serves as director of respiratory care and sleep medicine at Montrose Memorial Hospital, emphasized the need ... Medical center to offer cessation classes - Sep 19, 2006 Baxter Bulletin,Registered Respiratory Therapist Kathy Meyer will conduct individual or group classes, which can be arranged for either weekdays or weekends. ... More information on Respiratory therapists from The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook Overview of Respiratory therapists occupation Number of Respiratory therapists in the U.S. Salary and earnings for Respiratory therapists Working conditions for Respiratory therapists Significant points for Respiratory therapists Training requirements for Respiratory therapists Labor Information Home | Occupational data by city | Search Rainforests | Madagascar | What's new |