Take a deep breath. Now relax.
If that was easy for you, be grateful. There are people for whom a simple breath is, well, not so simple.
That's where respiratory therapists come in.
Respiratory Care is an allied health specialty. Respiratory care practitioners assist physicians with the treatment, management, control, diagnostic evaluation and care of patients with deficiencies and abnormalities associated with the cardiopulmonary system.
The respiratory therapist sees a diverse group of patients ranging from newborn and pediatric patients to adults and the elderly. Disease states or conditions often requiring respiratory care include asthma, emphysema, chronic obstructive lung disease, pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, infant respiratory distress syndrome, and conditions brought on by shock, trauma or post-operative surgical complications.
Respiratory therapists are also involved in many specialty areas in the hospital such as newborn labor and delivery, neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, pulmonary function and sleep study laboratories, and adult intensive care units. The respiratory therapist with a baccalaureate degree is prepared to deliver respiratory care in the hospital, home, and alternate care settings.
