Respiratory Care is a health care specialty that offers unique challenges in the areas of prevention, evaluating diagnoses, treatment, management, and rehabilitation of people with lung problems. This field is a life-supporting, life-enhancing allied health care profession practiced under qualified medical direction. A major aspect of Respiratory Care is working side by side with physicians, nurses, and other health care team members managing life-supporting equipment and life-threatening situations.
Services provided to patients with disorders of the cardiopulmonary system include diagnostic testing, therapeutics, monitoring, and rehabilitation:
The staff in the Respiratory Care Department sets up, operates, and monitors devices that provide oxygen or medicine in the form of a mist or gas to patients. They use and maintain equipment such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, and aerosol generators. Respiratory therapists are also responsible for teaching patients about breathing exercises, monitoring patients’ physiological responses to therapy, and maintaining natural and artificial airways.