I was thinking of going to school to become a respiratory therapist...?

Question

Can anyone tell me what they do exactly. The schools make it sound really good. I want to know the truth...

Answer 1

I'm a respiratory therapist, not a technician. In my area, you must be a Registered Respiratory Therapist to have a job. There are no squad jobs around here, only hospitals and home care. Done both, but like hospitals better. I work in a Trauma Center so I see a lot of blood and gore; RTs put severely injured patients on ventilators, as well as CPR and intubation (at some hospitals--not mine). We draw arterial blood gases, determine what therapies patients need, and work closely with the docs.

You must have a strong stomach for hospital work; you see a lot of infected (and smelly) sputum that sometimes you suction out. In the trauma room, you may see blood splattering on the floor. And sometimes, no matter how hard you try, the patient dies and you must be able to deal with it.

All that said, do I like my job? I love it! I love to help people, and at my hospital we see so many bizarre things, it's never dull. And I made $60,000 last year. And there's the great health insurance.

Answer 2

I also traveled for about 2 years a few years ago and, while experience after graduation may not be specifically listed as a requirement, with what hospitals are paying the company to have you there, they really expect a fully functional therapist right from the beginning, and that it difficult to get with a new grad. Also, as a therapist, it will help you to get some experience to gain confidence and sharpen skills before being put in frequent unfamiliar situations where you do not know other people or your surroundings. It should also be said that ALL of my previous travel assignments had a minimum experience requirement. a couple of them were one year, but all of the others were two years. Good Luck!

Answer 3

Respiratory therapists and respiratory therapy technicians—also known as respiratory care practitioners—evaluate, treat, and care for patients with breathing or other cardiopulmonary disorders. Practicing under the direction of a physician, respiratory therapists 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; furthermore, the two have the same education and training requirements. However, therapists generally have greater responsibility than technicians. For example, respiratory therapists will consult with physicians and other health care staff to help develop and modify individual patient care plans. Respiratory therapists also are more likely to provide complex therapy requiring considerable independent judgment, such as caring for patients on life support in intensive-care units of hospitals. In this Handbook statement, the term respiratory therapists includes both respiratory therapists and respiratory therapy technicians.

Answer 4

it's a pretty good job. you could either work in a hospital or work with critical care on the ambulance with nurses or paramedics. there's only one ambulance company i know that employs RT's and that's AMR. what RT's do basically is they perform CPR, suctioning (i hate it), ventilate, monitor ventilators, breathing treatments, and insert airways. i'm not really sure if they could also intubate. they get paid pretty good too for someone who doesn't run calls very often. they get paid to sit in their bums at the station until a call comes in. pretty sweet huh? the course usually take about 20 mos- 2 yrs. i'm not sure if that includes clinical study.

Answer 5

give nebulizer treatments, cpr, blood gases(abg's), rsv cultures, monitoring patients on ventalators.

Answer 6

GREAT!!! I'm a smoker!