Reflections on Being a Respiratory Therapist

Healthful Vitality | 04/16/2019 | By MaryAnn DePietro, B.S., CRT | Reflections on Being a Respiratory Therapist

Careers in the medical field, such as physical therapy, nursing, and x-ray technology, are pretty well known. But for students considering a healthcare career, there are also many other allied health jobs including respiratory therapy. Here are my reflections on being a respiratory therapist.

Learning more about the field and getting a peek at what’s it’s really like to work as an RT can help you decide whether respiratory therapy school is the right choice for you.

How I Became a Respiratory Therapist

I come from a medical family. My mom is a nurse. My brother is a doctor, and my sister is an occupational therapist. But I thought I wanted to do something different. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation education and landed my first job as a caseworker. I believe recognizing my background is crucial when forming my reflections on being a respiratory therapist.

Shortly after I started working, my dad had a massive heart attack the day after Christmas. We called 911, and I watched as the EMT’s saved his life. They were calm, professional, and compassionate. My family was unsure if he would survive. But we knew the EMT’s gave him a shot. My dad was only 51 at the time, and fortunately, he did survive.

At the time, I was not sure if working in an office as a caseworker was the right fit. I decided to take an EMT class at a local college. After completing the course, I got a job with an ambulance company working as an EMT. Something about helping people when they may be having the hardest time of their life seemed appealing to me. But I wanted more responsibility, so I went on to become a respiratory therapist.

The Respiratory therapy school

Respiratory therapy school is typically two to four years depending on whether you choose an associate degree or bachelor’s degree program. Both options allow you to work as an RT in various healthcare settings including hospitals, rehab centers, and home health. But a bachelor’s degree gives you increased marketability to work in management or education. If you go for an RT education, plan on taking classes, such as biology, chemistry, and microbiology. Respiratory specific courses include pharmacology, lung anatomy, and pulmonary diseases.

A clinical component is also part of the respiratory therapy curriculum. RT students have the opportunity to complete an internship in various healthcare settings. Different RT programs structure their internships differently. But this is where you get to put your education and skills to work with real patients. You are supervised by a licensed RT, so it’s not as stressful as it may sound.

The Rewarding

Working as a respiratory therapist is an absolutely rewarding career choice. The work is varied, fulfilling, and interesting.

Each shift may bring something different. But there are many days when you know you made a difference. Sometimes it is catching symptoms before a patient goes downhill. For example, you might perform an assessment and make changes to a current treatment plan that improves the patient’s condition and prevents a critical event.  

Respiratory therapists also provide education to patients and their families. Many of the people that you’ll treat have chronic lung diseases, such as COPD or pulmonary fibrosis. These diseases are progressive and currently not curable. But they are manageable. Teaching people with chronic lung diseases ways to control their condition, instead of it controlling them, often improves their quality of life.

It helps you realize working as an RT is not just about improving someone’s physical health. It’s also about helping a patient enhance their overall well-being if possible. It’s also fulfilling to work as part of a team with a common goal of helping someone. RTs work alongside physicians, nurses, and other allied health professionals in a collaborate effort to provide care.

Whether it’s having a role in a code that saved a life, educating a patient, or even helping a man die comfortably, you’ll know someone benefited from your efforts. In fact, you may never know the full impact you have had.

The Challenging

When writing reflections on being a respiratory therapist, I should discuss the challenging part also. There are several challenging aspects of the job.

Like many jobs on the frontlines of patient care, there are tough days too. As a respiratory therapist, you will be part of a team that is not always able to save someone. Despite the team’s best effort, people do not always survive. It is a reality of healthcare.

You often forget their names. Sometimes you even forget their stories. But other times you don’t. Some patients stick with you, and their stories don’t always have happy endings.

There may be patients that come in after an assault or an accident or other equally tragic situation. But even in those times, you may make a difference. For instance, you’ll provide care that helps a patient that is dying remain comfortable. Maybe your compassion assists family members dealing with a hard situation. In other instances, you may play a role in the organ donation process, which might provide comfort to the donor’s family and hope to the organ recipients.

The reality is working with patients that are in life-threatening situations can be challenging. But challenging does not always mean bad. Because even in those difficult moments you’ll find some of the most rewarding experiences of your career.

Why Working as a Respiratory Therapist is Worth It

Although there may be some challenging days, working as a respiratory therapist is definitely worth it. RTs get to make a difference every day. They provide education and care that improves physical health and quality of life.

The variety of work is also a plus. Respiratory therapists work with everyone from newborn babies to the elderly. They work with people with acute injuries and chronic diseases.

If you do become an RT, there is something important to remember. Whether you are assigned to the NICU, emergency room, or oncology, don’t forget you are taking care of someone’s loved one. Regardless of how busy your workload or how many shifts in a row you did, your patients are more than a disease or injury. They deserve your best and your compassion, and at the end of the day, if you left them with that, you’ll know it was a job well done.

The bottom-line is if you are passionate about helping people and would use the challenges to have a positive impact on people’s lives, you should definitely consider going for an RT education.

(Related Article: Respiratory Therapist Salary)

(Also Read: “My Experience with Specialty Higher Education in Nursing” – By Sarah Schulze, BSN, MSN)

Resources: 

1. Goal-setting tips for healthcare students and professionals
2. The Secret to Surviving hard professional schools
3. List of accredited respiratory therapist programs