Respiratory Therapist

Career as Respiratory Therapist is about the detection and treatment of the breathing problems. The problems could be asthma, a pulmonary disease etc. Career as Respiratory Therapists are much in demand as these diseases can occur due to any health problem and to a person of any age. As the pollution is increasing, the respiratory problems are also increasing. Some patients can have the respiratory problems by birth; they need regular check-ups to make sure their health is fine.

Tasks:
Career as Respiratory Therapist has a variety of work to do. Some of the specific works are listed as under:

• Setting up the operative machines such as oxygen cylinders, ventilators etc.
• In case of emergency, they have to give the patient artificial respiration.
• Monitoring the patient's condition after regular intervals for the treatment given. This will help them to evaluate whether the patient is benefited with the treatment or not.
• Describing the process of treatment to the patient and their relatives so that they lend a hand.
• They teach the patients to use different life-support machines at home.
• Performing different kind of tests such as Electrocardiograms, to assess the lung functionality.
• Measuring the level of oxygen and acid in blood, this will help in performing different operations.
• Preparing the reports of the patients in for the future reference.
• Must have a detailed knowledge of all the equipments. This will be helpful in the time of emergency.
• Must be ready to work all the time.

Educational Qualification:
Career as Respiratory Therapist has larger area to work. The necessary educational qualifications are:

• Diploma, Respiratory Care
• Associate of Science, Respiratory Therapy
• Bachelor of Science, Respiratory Therapy
• Master of Science, Respiratory Therapy
• Doctorate, Respiratory Therapy
• Several Certification Courses, Respiratory Therapy

Apart from the cited set of qualifications, the person must have the skills to correlate the different problems of the patients. This will help them to detect the basic problem.

Other Necessary Skills:
In Career as Respiratory Therapist the person has to deal with the patients of all age, ranging from infants to old age people. So the person must have some interpersonal skills also.

• Must be good in inspecting the patient's health minutely.
• Must be very precise about their work. The work performed should be error free.
• Must be able to deal with the patients who have become disagreeable and impolite due to illness.
• Must be good and cooperative in team work as they generally work with a set of doctors in case of emergencies.
• Must have good stamina as they have to stand for longer periods.
• Must speak clearly so that the patients could understand easily.
• Give patient the list of do's and don'ts, health tips etc.
• Must have good knowledge of computers

Place of Work:
To carry out the Career as Respiratory Therapist, the work place of the person is similar to the other doctors:

• In extensive care centers of hospitals / health care organizations
• In trauma centers of hospitals / health care organizations
• Operation Theaters of hospitals / health care organizations
• Can have their own clinic
• Visiting Faculty in Medical Institutions

Job Opportunity:
Career as Respiratory Therapists generally start as Staff - Respiratory Therapists. The opportunities are fine, but they have a long ladder to walk on acquire the highest position. The different higher positions are like registered practitioners, director - respiratory therapy etc. They can even work in the athletic fields. The respiratory therapists also, often give visits to the patient's home. Since the number of hospitals is increasing, so the job opportunities are also increasing.

Remuneration:
The Career as Respiratory Therapist is financially strong as no operation theater; no trauma center can run without them. The field is equally important during any intense treatment procedure there has to be a respiratory therapist. As demand is more, so the money paid is also good. Some of the Respiratory Therapists are paid on salary basis, while some visiting doctors are paid according to the number of visits. Other highly qualified and experienced doctors are paid on hourly basis. The therapists who have their own clinic earn more that the salaried therapists. So overall, the earning is good in this profession.

Job Progress:
The job progress in Career as Respiratory Therapist is excellent. As there are many chances to achieve the higher-level positions. They start their career as junior therapist, after working for years they can acquire the posts as lead respiratory therapists. Some respiratory therapists can opt to study further to acquire more knowledge and higher posts. Many continue to practice, and later go in the field of experimenting and inventions as well. So the growth rate is quite good.

Employment forecast:
As the environment is changing day by day, the people get more prone to the respiratory diseases. The disease can vary form a small problem in inhaling to acute lung diseases. It's actually sad to see that the number of patients is increasing, but as far as employment is concerned the increased number of patients has elevated the employment opportunities. Hence, the Career as Respiratory Therapist is promising to work in concern with the future scenario.