Top 10 Reasons to Become a Respiratory Therapist
I wrote the original ‘Top 10 Reasons to Become a Respiratory Therapist’ a few years ago. The post exploded on social networks on Respiratory Week of last year. The post was shared over 30,000 times. This year’s Respiratory Week is from October 22, 2017, to October 28, 2017, and I hope to double the number of shares. Thus I’ve updated the original post and have added some extra content.
1. Being part of a Multidisciplinary Team
Hospital Respiratory Therapists (RT) are part of an elite team of Doctors, Nurses, and many other Health Care Professionals. This team works together in the most intense experiences life can offer, from emergency traumas to neonatal resuscitation. In addition, outside the Hospital, Respiratory Therapists are part of a collaborative process involving medical and healthcare professionals in developing care plans for the patient and the patient’s family.
2. The vast amount of areas to work
Respiratory Therapist work in a variety of areas inside and outside the hospital, these areas include:
- Adult Intensive Care Units (AICU)
- Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU)
- Emergency Departments (ED)
- Medicine Wards
- Surgical Wards
- Pulmonary Wards
- Operating Rooms
- Pulmonary Function Labs
- Bronchoscopy Suites
- Respiratory Educators
- Respiratory home care
- Respiratory Sales
- Respiratory Sleep Labs
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation
3. Respiratory Therapist Salaries
How much money does a Respiratory Therapist earn? In Canada, a Respiratory Therapist can earn $80,000 – $100,000 a year, depending on the province you reside. Respiratory Therapists in the United States make around $40,000 – USD 80,000. There are multiple ways to bring double your income. See below for how I’m making some Respiratory extra earnings.
4. Drawing and Interpretation of Arterial Blood Gases
The Respiratory Therapist’s interpretation of arterial blood gases (ABGs) is an essential assessment skill. ABG analysis can be fun, exciting, and crucial to patient care. Using ABGs as an assessment tool, the Respiratory Therapist can determine the patient’s acid-base status and initiate prompt, appropriate respiratory intervention and medical consultation.
5. Ventilator Management
Mechanical ventilation is used to treat patients with respiratory failure from inadequate ventilation, oxygenation, or both. You are the ventilation specialist, and with today’s sophisticated machines, what seems like a simple change may require multiple adjustments to optimize the settings for a particular patient.
6. Respiratory Therapist’s Circle of Friends
I love the fact my best friends are Respiratory Therapists too. They understand how fun and how hard the job can be.
7. Perks of wearing scrubs
There are many perks to wearing scrubs at work; here are my favourites.
- Not having to worry about what to wear at work, no need for planning outfits.
- No buttons; thus, you don’t have to buy new scrubs when weight fluctuates.
8. The Great Debate: Respiratory Therapist vs Nurses
The debate is officially on! It’s a question that comes up quite often: Whose job is better, Respiratory Therapists or Nurses? Choosing a career in the medical field can be a daunting task, with respiratory therapy and nursing being two of the best and most popular options.
9. Build Website about Respiratory Therapy
You can make residual income by building an online business that takes advantage of what you know as a Respiratory Therapist. A respiratory website can be the springboard for your respiratory products. I have successfully used RespCalc.com to help inform people about the RespCalc app, respcalc.com online equations, and RespCalc medical calculations ebook.
Best WordPress theme and the theme I’m currently using can be found at Elegant Themes.
10. Best Respiratory Therapy Tip for School
