What is a respiratory therapist? Well, they are skilled health care practitioners that evaluate, treat and care for patients that have breathing problems.
Working under the direct supervision of a doctor a respiratory therapist will assume the primary duty of providing all respiratory treatments and breathing related diagnostic procedures and might supervise a group of respiratory therapy technicians.
As part of the patient’s medical team they consult with physicians and other staff to develop plans for the patient’s treatment.
Independent judgment is exercised by therapists who must make critical decisions while providing complex therapies for patients being treated in intensive-care units or on life support.
What Is A Respiratory Therapist – A Caregiver For All Ages
A respiratory therapist will make evaluations and treat all ages of patients from the elderly to premature babies with underdeveloped lungs.
Patients with chronic asthma will often gain temporary relief from breathing treatments administered by a therapist and they are also trained to be able to aid emergency victims suffering from anything that would hamper breathing like a heart attack or stroke and even in cases of drowning.
What Is A Respiratory Therapist – A Breathing Diagnostician
Besides doing patient interviews and limited physical exams the respiratory therapist also conducts a wide variety of diagnostic tests to identify breathing problems.
One such test measures a patient’s breathing capacity while determining oxygen and other gas concentrations in a patient’s blood. Often the pH level of the blood is also checked at this time.
Lung capacity tests are done by having a patient breathe into an instrument designed to measure the volume of oxygen while breathing in and out.
These results are then checked against established standards based on a patient’s age, sex, weight and height to determine if there are any lung deficiencies that need to be treated.
The analysis of oxygen levels in the blood along with other gasses such as carbon dioxide require the therapist draw a blood sample and have it analyzed in a blood gas analyzer. Based on the analysis the physician can decide on a proper treatment for the patient.
What Is A Respiratory Therapist – A Healer
Patients that need therapy are often given oxygen or aerosol medications which are liquid medicines that have been suspended in an inert gas to create a mist that can be inhaled.
The therapist will teach the patient how to properly inhale the aerosol to gain maximum benefit from the medicine.
During times that a patient is not getting enough oxygen into their blood a respiratory therapist will use an oxygen mask or nasal cannula to provide higher oxygen concentrations based on what was prescribed by their doctor.
For those patients that can’t breathe on their own the therapist will connect them to ventilators that will deliver pressurized oxygen into their lungs. This is done by inserting a tube into the trachea (windpipe) and after connecting it to the ventilator making the prescribed setting for oxygen concentration, volume and flow rate.
Regular assessments of patients and equipment used is done by the therapist and if there seems to be any breathing difficulties or abnormal oxygen levels in the blood the therapist will consult with the doctor and make any changes needed.
During respiratory therapy a patient can have mucus build up in their lungs and the therapist will periodically perform chest physiotherapy to help drain the mucus so they can breathe easier.
By placing patients in certain positions and tapping on their chest the patient can then cough to expel the mucus.
This is often required after surgery because anesthesia can depress the respiratory system and is also helpful for people with lung diseases like cystic fibrosis that cause mucus to accumulate in the lungs.
Respiratory Therapist – A Teacher, Technician and Responder
Respiratory therapists that work in home care need to be able to teach patients and family members how to use life-support systems such as ventilators and they must periodically check to make sure the equipment is clean and in working order and that it is being used correctly and at times they might even have to make an emergency visit if there are equipment problems.
So what is a respiratory therapist? Simple, it is someone that helps you to breathe better and becoming one can be a very rewarding career choice.