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”

• Relay blood analysis results to a physician.
• Monitor cardiac patients, using electrocardiography devices, such as a holter monitor.
• Perform pulmonary function and adjust equipment to obtain optimum results in therapy.
• 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.
• Make emergency visits to resolve equipment problems.
• Explain treatment procedures to patients to gain cooperation and allay fears.
• Set up and operate devices such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.
• Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information.
• Demonstrate respiratory care procedures to trainees or other healthcare personnel.
• Transport patients to the hospital or within the hospital.
• Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
• Perform endotracheal intubation to maintain open airways for patients who are unable to breathe on their own.
• 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.
• Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition.
• Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary.
• 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.
• Enforce safety rules and ensure careful adherence to physicians' orders.
• Teach, train, supervise, or use the assistance of students, respiratory therapy technicians, or assistants.
• Determine requirements for treatment, such as type, method and duration of therapy, precautions to be taken, or medication and dosages, compatible with physicians' orders.
• Perform bronchopulmonary drainage and assist or instruct patients in performance of breathing exercises.
• Use a variety of testing techniques to assist doctors in cardiac or pulmonary research or to diagnose disorders.

Related Technology & Tools

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

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