Will “Staff Respiratory Therapist” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔

Job Description

Assess, treat, and care for patients with breathing disorders. Assume primary responsibility for all respiratory care modalities, including the supervision of respiratory therapy technicians. Initiate and conduct therapeutic procedures; maintain patient records; and select, assemble, check, and operate equipment.

Job Details

• The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 29-1126.00
• The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 60,640.00
• The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 29.00
• Currently, there are 126,770 people on this job

☝️ Information based on the reference occupation “Respiratory Therapists”.

Also Known As…

• Respiratory Therapists
• Staff Therapist
• Respiratory Therapy Director
• Respiratory Therapist (RT)
• Respiratory Care Practitioner (RCP)
• Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT)
• Clinical Coordinator of Respiratory Therapy
• Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT)
• Cardiopulmonary Technician and EEG Tech (Cardiopulmonary Technician and Electroencephalogram Technician)
• Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Respiratory Therapist
• Staff Respiratory Therapist
• Oxygen Therapist
• Inhalation Therapist

Tasks for “Staff Respiratory Therapist”

• Transport patients to the hospital or within the hospital.
• Enforce safety rules and ensure careful adherence to physicians' orders.
• Teach, train, supervise, or use the assistance of students, respiratory therapy technicians, or assistants.
• Work as part of a team of physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals to manage patient care by assisting with medical procedures or related duties.
• Use a variety of testing techniques to assist doctors in cardiac or pulmonary research or to diagnose disorders.
• Monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy, such as vital signs, arterial blood gases, or blood chemistry changes, and consult with physician if adverse reactions occur.
• Perform pulmonary function and adjust equipment to obtain optimum results in therapy.
• Set up and operate devices such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.
• Perform bronchopulmonary drainage and assist or instruct patients in performance of breathing exercises.
• Monitor cardiac patients, using electrocardiography devices, such as a holter monitor.
• Conduct tests, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), stress testing, or lung capacity tests, to evaluate patients' cardiopulmonary functions.
• Educate patients and their families about their conditions and teach appropriate disease management techniques, such as breathing exercises or the use of medications or respiratory equipment.
• Demonstrate respiratory care procedures to trainees or other healthcare personnel.
• Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition.
• Determine requirements for treatment, such as type, method and duration of therapy, precautions to be taken, or medication and dosages, compatible with physicians' orders.
• Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information.
• Relay blood analysis results to a physician.
• Make emergency visits to resolve equipment problems.
• Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
• Explain treatment procedures to patients to gain cooperation and allay fears.
• Perform endotracheal intubation to maintain open airways for patients who are unable to breathe on their own.
• Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary.

Related Technology & Tools

• Volume ventilators
• Air compressors
• Capillary catheters
• Endotracheal ET tubes
• Hemodynamic monitors
• Bilevel positive airway pressure BiPAP ventilators
• Nasal airways
• Blood gas kits
• Humidifiers
• Pulse oximeters
• Christmas tree adapters
• Pulmonary function testing PFT equipment
• Electrocardiography EKG units
• Surgical suits
• Manometers
• Oral airways
• Manual blood pressure equipment
• Blood gas machines
• Percussors
• Intra-aortic balloon pumps IABP
• Apnea monitors
• Incentive spirometers
• Personal computers
• Electronic blood pressure equipment
• Notebook computers
• Oxygen hoods
• Oxygen tents
• Personal digital assistants PDA
• Oxygen masks
• Tracheotomy masks
• Nebulizers
• Tracheostomy tubes
• Aerosol masks
• Bedside spirometers
• Negative pressure ventilators
• Oxygen flowmeters
• Mechanical stethoscopes
• Oxygen monitors
• Internal positive pressure breathing IPPB machines
• Tourniquets
• High-frequency ventilators
• Indirect calorimeters
• Blood collection syringes
• Wright's spirometers
• Saturation of oxygen SaO2 monitors
• Bronchoscopes
• Small particle aerosol generators
• Medical aerosol tents
• Cannulas
• Continuous positive airway pressure CPAP ventilators
• Therapeutic treadmill exercisers
• Ambu bags
• Infant incubators
• Cell savers
• Medical suction equipment
• Oxygen tanks
• Medical oxygen masks
• Evacuated blood collection tubes
• Portable flat computers
• Sputum traps
• Oxygen regulators
• Oxygen concentrators

• Microsoft Office
• MEDITECH software
• Electronic medical record EMR software
• Calendar and scheduling software
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Outlook
• HMS
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Database software