Home > Respiratory Therapy Academic/Professional Guidelines .:
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions related to physical therapists with hearing loss, please contact: Diane Jennings at respiratorytherapy@amphl.org.
______________________________________________________________________
Respiratory Therapy has expanded greatly over the years. What once was considered a hospital job is now an open door to numerous opportunities in various settings. You can now find Respiratory Therapists in hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, home health facilities, patient homes, rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, educational institutions, sales and even the political arena. One of the main areas a respiratory therapist is utilized is in the assessment of patient lung sounds (breath sounds and some heart sounds). This function is necessary every day, multiple times a day. We have branched out from merely administering respiratory medications, into other areas including cardiac monitoring, ventilator management (life support), diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases, rehabilitation, and education of patients and the general public. We want to help you as best we can to make your career in Respiratory Therapy the most fulfilling possible. The most challenging areas I have found in working in Respiratory Therapy, isn't discerning breath sounds. My stethoscope does the bulk of that work for me. My biggest challenge is understanding the spoken word. I talk to hundreds of different people every day, from patients, to nurses and doctors. So many of those we deal with are older patients and speak very softly, or use pronunciations that I am not familiar with. So I attempt to repeat what patients, nurses and staff members say to me, in order to clarify everything I have heard. It has helped that most of the employees around me know I am hard of hearing and they help me understand what is being said a lot of the time. In a hospital setting we are a team, and as members of that team we try to work together with the ultimate goal of meeting our patients needs in full.
As the population gets older, more and more patients will need treatment from Respiratory Therapists. The demands for our services are increasing every day. Our unique vantage point makes us a valuable asset to any health care setting.
The Forums here on the AMPHL website can be very useful in sharing thoughts and ideas about promoting Respiratory Therapy as a career, educating others, locating assistive devices, and furthering the field of Respiratory Therapy.
|
