Introduction
Respiratory therapists are care practitioners who offer treatment, access, monitors as well as manage patients with problems in breathing. The role of a respiratory therapist include providing oxygen support, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, overseeing of the functioning of mechanical ventilators, medication of drugs for the lungs as well as ratting the functioning of the lungs. They attend to a wide rage of patients such premature infants partially developed lungs to adults with lung disease. (Alphonso, 2003).
Roles of respiratory therapist
Respiratory therapists manage patients and support equipment on a regular basis to find out if they have difficulties. They diagnose any abnormality regarding the level of oxygen and carbon (IV) oxide as well as the blood’s PH. They adjust the settings of the ventilators as ordered by physicians and access all the equipment to find out if they have developed a mechanical problem. They also carry out chest physiotherapy in order to remove mucus in the lungs thus improving the breathing. This is applied mostly during surgery to make the patient fully recover his/her breathing mechanism fully after the administration of anesthesia which depresses the normal breathing. After surgery, the patients are prescribed with physiotherapy to help the lungs resume their functions fully and ease congestion.
Therapists providing home care train the patients on using ventilators and other equipment for life support and pay them regular visit to inspect as well as service the equipment. They also access the environment at home and provide the required knowledge to the patients regarding their diseases. They also offer emergency help at home incase a problem arise. (Alphonso, 2003).
Work environment
Because most hospitals work 24hrs a week respiratory therapists work on shifts generally for about 40hrs. Most of the time they work while standing and make frequent walks from one patient’s room to another and during emergency cases they have to bear with the stressful situation. Frequent travels have to be made by therapist providing homecare to give follow-up treatment and care for their patients. They are trained to handle gases under high pressure to avoid risks during maintenance and regular tests of the equipment. They also require careful adherence of procedure so as to minimize the risk of infectious diseases, which they are always exposed to.
The minimum requirement for a student pursuing this course is an associate degree but for advancement on the course one requires a master’s degree. Respiratory therapists must have a license before being allowed to operate. The main areas of study in the therapy are chemistry, human anatomy, microbiology and mathematics, procedures to diagnose, equipments, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and application of guidelines in clinical practice.
A respiratory therapist require to be sensitive to physical as well as physiological requirements and all the details must be properly attended with a lot of teamwork. Proficiency in computers is also very necessary for any respiratory therapist handling advanced equipment. In 2006; the average annual salary for a median respiratory therapist was $ 47,400 while that of the lowest paid therapist was $35,000 and the highest earned $64,000. (Cynthia, 2002).
Conclusion
Future prospects for respiratory therapy are positive because of the rapid growth in employment of therapists. The job opportunities are good especially for therapists providing cardiopulmonary care as well as those with experience in attending infants. By 2016, the growth rate of employment in this field is expected to be at 19% in all the occupation in this field. (Cynthia, 2002)
Bibliography
Alphonso B. (2003): Recruitment in allied health: Journal of allied health.
Cynthia A. (2002): Linking minority with health professions training: Educational Gerontology.