Respiratory therapy a growing field
What a respiratory therapist does.
Respiratory therapists treat patients on supplemental oxygen, provide breathing treatments of several different types and monitor patients being mechanically ventilated. “At MeadowBrook Specialty Hospital, all of our respiratory therapists are ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) certified,” Tollison said. “They draw and analyze blood gases, perform EKGs and PFTs, and intubate patients. We work closely with occupational and physical therapists doing pulmonary rehab then arrange home oxygen for those patients who need it.”
What are the educational requirements?
An associate degree is required to become a respiratory therapist, although a limited number of associate degree programs lead to jobs as entry-level respiratory therapists. Training is offered at the postsecondary level by colleges and universities, medical schools, vocational-technical institutes, as well as the Armed Forces. Most programs award associate or bachelor’s degree and prepare graduates for jobs as advanced respiratory therapists.
What areas are studied?
Among subjects studied are human anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, pharmacology and mathematics. Other courses deal with therapeutic and diagnostic procedures and tests, equipment, patient assessment, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the application of clinical practice guidelines, patient care outside of hospitals, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, respiratory health promotion and disease prevention, and medical record keeping and reimbursement.
Where do they work?
A majority of respiratory therapist jobs are in hospitals, mainly in departments of respiratory care, anesthesiology or pulmonary medicine. Most of the remaining jobs are in offices of physicians or other health practitioners, consumer-goods rental firms that supply respiratory equipment for home use, nursing care facilities and home health care services.
How much can they make?
According to Salary.com, the average salary for a respiratory therapist is $55,000.
Why did you become one?
Tollison said she had worked in a physician’s office and scrubbed in surgery “and was looking for something ‘more.’ I didn’t have a clue what I was getting into, but am glad I did. There is a lot of flexibility.”
Traits of a good respiratory therapist.
A good respiratory therapist has the clinical skills, Tollison said, but a great therapist is compassionate, organized, hard-working and able to be one step ahead of any potential emergency. “A warped sense of humor might help,” she added.
Most enjoyable part of being a respiratory therapist.
“When a patient or family member thanks you for what you’ve done to help them,” Tollison said. “When you’ve done your job with grace under pressure, when you’ve made a patient laugh or held their hand when they really need it, that’s priceless.”
Biggest challenge?
Tollison said the schedule can wear as therapist down, and the work can be physically challenging. “Besides,” she added, “not everyone looks good in scrubs.”
Advice to heed if you are thinking of becoming one.
“Make sure you know what you’re getting into because it’s not easy, but it’s worth it.”
Departments
Features
Three Hillcrest Medical Center volunteers were queen for a day last week as the health system recognized the women – all whom are over age 90 and still actively volunteer at the hospital.
Opal Carlton, left, Eleanor Fitch, center, and Estelle Norvell were honored for their continued dedication to Hillcrest.
”It would be difficult for any organization such as Hillcrest to function without a loyal group of volunteers,” said Hillcrest Chaplain Ron Nofziger. “These three ladies are a real inspiration. They keep serving and giving, and are truly engaged in helping others.”
Guest Columnist
Medical care and education in Iraq is slowly but steadily improving. As a population, Iraq is medically underserved with nearly a 100,000 physician need to provide care for its citizens and only approximately 15,000 to 20,000 physicians currently working in Iraq.
Level of care, formal education and training are greatest in the larger urban areas while most of rural Iraq is without sufficient primary, emergency and specialty care or formal educational opportunities. Most of the universities, teaching programs and hospitals are currently working to
rebuild their health system infrastructure and educational capabilities.
Health & Fitness
As the health-care reform debate rages on and gains emotional steam, more and more emphasis is being put on prevention.
Finally.
This message of prevention hit home a couple of months ago as we were going through some things in my parents’ home in Missouri. There, deep in a closet, was a box containing a worn notebook. Although we were all raised in this home, the box was something neither I nor my siblings had ever seen, but were so glad for its discovery.
Contained in the tablet were the thoughts of my maternal grandmother just after being diagnosed with cancer. She titled the message “The Two Greatest Gifts: Love and Good Health.” Through her writing she admits good health was something she had always taken for granted. After all, she was rarely, if ever, sick as a child – a trend that continued well into adulthood.
Shortly after having her sixth child, however, her world would be turned upside down after the diagnosis. The message was penned over numerous pages, apparently during several months, including the time she underwent radiation to battle the cancer.
I never had the opportunity to know my grandmother as she succumbed to cancer when I was less than 2 years old. But the worn memo pad gave me a whole new perspective and appreciation into who she was.
Click below to read "The Two Greatest Gifts; Love and Good Health."
Job Profile
It’s no surprise that the health-care job market is booming. With the aging population and technology changing the way medicine is performed, new health care jobs are constantly popping up. In each issue of the Tulsa Health Care Journal we take a look at some of the jobs out there, some of which are familiar, some not so. Here we look at the respiratory therapist. Helping us gain a better perspective on this growing field is Jill Tollison, director of respiratory therapy for MeadowBrook Specialty Hospital in Tulsa.
Health Files
The Tulsa State Fair wrapped up this weekend with fewer medical incidents being reported than in the past several years.
According to Tina Wells, EMSA vice president of marketing, paramedics responded to fewer medical incidents this year than they projected.
