Clinical Practice
- Respiratory therapy is a variety of treatments to help with breathing and support the heart's work.
- Examples include giving oxygen and drugs to ease breathing.
- Respiratory therapists also perform patient assessments.
- Respiratory therapists educate, diagnose, and treat individuals with heart and lung problems.
- They collaborate with specialists in pulmonology and anesthesia.
- Respiratory therapists play a vital role in mechanical ventilation and critical care.
- Respiratory therapists conduct tests to measure lung function.
- They teach individuals to manage conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.
- Respiratory therapists manage home oxygen needs and provide support for equipment like ventilators.
- They assist with diagnosis and serve as educators for patients with cardiac and respiratory illnesses.
- Respiratory therapists work in schools as asthma educators, educating teachers and coaches about childhood asthma symptoms.
- They collaborate with physicians in sleep clinics to diagnose sleep-related illnesses.
- Respiratory therapists are increasingly taking on autonomous roles similar to nurse practitioners or physician assistants.
Licensing and Regulation in Different Countries
- Graduates from accredited schools of respiratory therapy in Canada are eligible to write the national exam administered by the Canadian Board for Respiratory Care.
- Success on the examination allows respiratory therapists to register with any licensing body in Canada.
- Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan are the Canadian provinces with provincial licensing bodies.
- In France, respiratory therapy is a sub-specialty of physical therapy regulated by the Fédération Française des Masseurs Kinésithérapeutes Rééducateurs.
- The German Respiratory Society introduced the dedicated respiratory therapist role in 2004, with further work needed to define and position the role within the healthcare system.
- In Italy, the title of respiratory therapist can be acquired through a master's degree program in respiratory therapy.
- In the Philippines, respiratory therapists hold a minimum of a Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care degree, and licenses are regulated by the Professional Regulatory Board of Respiratory Therapy and Professional Regulation Commission.
- Yemen has accredited respiratory care programs and is a full member of the International Council for Respiratory Care.
Specialised Roles and Certifications
- Anesthesia assistants in Canada have an advanced and specialised role in the operating room, providing technical support to anesthesiologists.
- Asthma specialists work as educators for clinics, hospitals, and schools, diagnosing and treating asthma and educating patients and practitioners.
- Certified asthma educators (AE-C) are credentialed by the National Asthma Education Certification Board.
- Respiratory therapists educate and modify treatment plans for people with cystic fibrosis, both in hospitals and through home treatment plans.
- Respiratory therapists can fulfill the role of a perfusionist with appropriate training, supporting cardiac surgical patients.
- ECMO specialists manage the ECMO system and the clinical needs of patients with life-threatening cardiac or respiratory failure.
- Neonatal and pediatric respiratory therapists manage life support for young patients, with specialised training in antenatal and intrapartum care.
- Sleep disorder specialists interpret and diagnose findings from sleep studies, performing sleep disorders testing and therapeutic interventions.
Respiratory Therapy Organizations
- American Association of Respiratory Care (AARC)
- Canadian Society for Respiratory Therapy (CSRT)
- Fédération Française des Masseurs Kinésithérapeutes Rééducateurs (France)
- German Respiratory Society
- Professional Regulatory Board of Respiratory Therapy and Professional Regulation Commission (Philippines)
- Yemeni Association for Respiratory Care (YARC)
Other Concepts
- Respiratory therapists in Taiwan require a minimum four-year Bachelor of Science in respiratory therapy for a license and can set up their own home respiratory care offices after five years of experience.
- Physiotherapists in the UK must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, and there are postgraduate programs for respiratory physiotherapy.
- Critical care scientists are involved in respiratory therapy and other aspects of critical care.
- The National Board for Respiratory Care awards a specialist certification for pediatric respiratory therapists.
- In Canada, respiratory therapists can become Registered Polysomnography Technicians.
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A respiratory therapist is a specialised healthcare practitioner trained in critical care and cardio-pulmonary medicine in order to work therapeutically with people who have acute critical conditions, cardiac and pulmonary disease. Respiratory therapists graduate from a college or university with a degree in respiratory therapy and have passed a national board certifying examination. The NBRC (National Board for Respiratory Care) is responsible for credentialing as a CRT (certified respiratory therapist), or RRT (registered respiratory therapist),
 A clinician listening to the chest of a pediatric patient. | |
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Occupation type | Specialty |
Activity sectors | Resporation Therapy, Medicine, Allied Health, Pulmonology, Critical care medicine |
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Education required |
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Fields of employment |
Flight Transport, Air Ambulance Teaching or nursing home |
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The specialty certifications of respiratory therapy include: CPFT and RPFT (Certified or Registered Pulmonary Function Technologist), ACCS (Adult Critical Care Specialist), NPS (Neonatal/Pediatric Specialist), and SDS (Sleep Disorder Specialist).
Respiratory therapists work in hospitals in the intensive care units (Adult, Pediatric, and Neonatal), on hospital floors, in emergency departments, in pulmonary functioning laboratories (PFTs), are able to intubate patients, work in sleep labs (polysomnography) (PSG) labs, and in home care specifically DME (durable medical equipment) and home oxygen.
Respiratory therapists are specialists and educators in many areas including cardiology, pulmonology, and sleep therapy. Respiratory therapists are clinicians trained in advanced airway management; establishing and maintaining the airway during management of trauma, and intensive care.
Respiratory therapists initiate and manage life support for people in intensive care units and emergency departments, stabilizing, treating and managing pre-hospital and hospital-to-hospital patient transport by air or ground ambulance.
In the outpatient setting respiratory therapists work as educators in asthma clinics, ancillary clinical staff in pediatric clinics, and sleep-disorder diagnosticians in sleep-clinics, they also serve as clinical providers in cardiology clinics and cath-labs, as well as working in pulmonary rehabilitation.
respiratory therapist (plural respiratory therapists)
