What To Expect From A Respiratory Therapy Degree
Are you interested in earning a respiratory therapy degree but are unsure what to expect
? This article will provide a brief description of a respiratory therapy degree program as well as provide information about a career as a respiratory therapist. It will also discuss common courses of study that are associated with a respiratory therapy degree as well as provide a brief job outlook for respiratory therapists. This article will also provide information about occupations that are related to respiratory therapy.
Respiratory therapy is a health care specialty that focuses on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, management and rehabilitation of patients with breathing or other cardiopulmonary disorders. Graduates of a respiratory therapy degree program provide treatment that can range from giving emergency relief to patients with asthma to long-term care for chronic conditions such as emphysema.
Common areas of study in respiratory therapy degree programs include pathophysiology, anatomy and physiology, physics, chemistry, pharmacology, microbiology and mathematics. Other common respiratory therapy degree courses deal with diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and tests, patient assessment, equipment, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, patient care outside of hospitals, the application of clinical practice guidelines, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, medical recordkeeping and reimbursement and respiratory health promotion and disease prevention.
Once an individual earns a respiratory therapy degree, he or she will be qualified to treat and care for individuals with problems breathing or other cardiopulmonary disorders. A respiratory therapist practices under the direction of a physician and assumes primary responsibility for therapeutic treatments, respiratory care and diagnostic procedures. This includes supervising respiratory therapy technicians. Individuals who have earned a respiratory therapy degree and found a job as a respiratory therapist also consult with other health care staff to develop and alter patient care plans and provide complex therapy such as caring for individuals on life support.
Respiratory therapists also evaluate and treat a wide variety of individuals, ranging from elderly individuals with diseased lungs to premature infants with underdeveloped lungs. They provide temporary care to individuals with emphysema or chronic asthma and give emergency care to individuals who are having a heart attack, stroke, drowning or in shock.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, respiratory therapists held nearly 106,00 jobs in 2008. Nearly 81 percent of these jobs were in hospitals, mainly in the departments of anesthesiology, respiratory care or pulmonary medicine. A majority of the other jobs held by individuals with a respiratory therapy degree were in offices of physicians and other health care practitioners, nursing care facilities, consumer-goods rental shops that supply respiratory equipment for use in homes, home health care services and employment services.
Respiratory therapists, under the supervision of a physician, administer respiratory care and life support to individuals with lung and heart difficulties. Other health care workers that care for, train and treat patients to improve their physical condition include: athletic trainers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, radiation therapists and registered nurses. Respiratory therapists also work with advanced medical technology, as do other health care practitioners such as diagnostic medical sonographers, nuclear medicine technologists, cardiovascular technologists and technicians and radiologic technologists and technicians.
by: Beth Glick
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