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Who are Respiratory Therapists?
Respiratory Therapists or respiratory care practitioners (RCPs) make up a critical sector of the allied health care workforce. RCPs work under the direction of physicians to diagnose, treat, and manage care for patients with cardiopulmonary problems. Our responsibilities range from delivering temporary relief to persons with asthma, pulmonary edema, or emphysema, to providing emergency treatment for asphyxiation, heart failure, stroke, drowning, or shock.

Most RCPs work in a hospital setting and are key staff in critical care units and emergency rooms. Next to nurses, respiratory therapists are the most frequently seen health care providers at the patient bedside. In addition, RCPs are present in the emergency room for resuscitation and are always a member of response teams that rush to the side of a patient who experiences sudden cardiac arrest.

The primary practice of respiratory therapy is to evaluate, treat, educate and rehabilitate patients who have difficulty breathing as a result of heart or lung disorders. The most common conditions RCPs treat are asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer, stroke, cystic fibrosis, premature birth, birth defects, and emphysema. Additionally, RCPs: obtain blood specimens to analyze levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide, interpreting test data, study disruptive sleep patterns, conduct chronic respiratory disease management and smoking cessation programs.