A Respiratory Therapist is Professional

The respiratory therapists (RTs) are specially trained healthcare professionals.  The primary job description of an RT is to evaluate, treat and care for patients with breathing or other disorders.  Because this is a fairly broad set of responsibilities, RTs tend to have some of the most diverse work days of any health professional. 

On any given shift, an RT can be found interviewing patients, performing limited physical exams and conducting diagnostic tests to determine the extent of a patient’s respiratory disease, consulting with physicians to determine the best course of treatment for a patient, providing aerosol breathing treatments, chest physiotherapy and other treatment options, analyzing blood samples, chest x-rays and other laboratory tests to evaluate treatment, managing artificial airways and ventilators for patients who are not able to breathe sufficiently on their own, providing education on pulmonary disease processes and prevention and performing many other tasks to help their patients breathe easier, both in the hospital and out.

The kind of places an RT can work is as varied as the job description.  Most therapists work in the hospital setting.  In these facilities, RTs work on general medical floors to provide therapy to the chronically ill, in intensive care units managing ventilators, in emergency rooms giving lifesaving therapy to asthma, trauma and many other patients, working with high-risk deliveries with premature babies, on rapid response teams who try to prevent serious illness from becoming critical, and on “code teams” for resuscitating patients in dire straits.

RTs treat patients of all ages, from neonates whose lungs have not yet developed enough to patients of advanced age with chronic disease. There are many opportunities outside the hospital for RTs as well.  Many home medical equipment companies staff RTs to set up and monitor equipment for patients needing long-term oxygen therapy and nebulizer treatment, as well as to instruct these patients on proper use and safety with the equipment. 

Doctors’ offices employ RTs to develop and run smoking cessation and asthma education programs.  Therapists also work in specialized facilities such as sleep labs, pulmonary function and rehabilitations centers and emergency transport programs. In other words, wherever there are people with breathing troubles, an RT is usually not far away.

The average income of RT’s is over $50,000 for a forty hour workweek, and if you’re willing to work overtime, you can make a lot more than that. One of the best things about respiratory therapist jobs is that you don’t have to go to college for four years to become one. You can get licensed and hired as a respiratory therapist with an associate’s degree. Some RT jobs will require a bachelor’s degree, of course, but not all. You can begin working in as little as two years, and then go on to complete the additional course work toward a bachelor’s degree. Few positions offer as much satisfaction as a respiratory therapist job, and if you’ve got a desire to help people, and are comfortable working with technology, it may be the perfect job for you.