You can live without food for a few weeks. You can live without water for few days. But if you are deprived of air, you will die within minutes. In terms of survival, breathing is your most immediate need.
Most people take breathing for granted. It's second nature, an involuntary reflex. Yet for thousands of Americans who suffer from breathing problems, each breath is a major accomplishment. Those people include patients with chronic lung problems, such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema, yet may also include heart attack and accident victims; premature infants; and people with cystic fibrosis, lung cancer or AIDS.
In each case, the person would most likely receive treatment from a respiratory therapist (RT). Respiratory therapists work under the direction of a physician and assist in the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients with these types of breathing disorders.
The American Association for Respiratory Care offers a short video on respiratory care: Life & Breath 2000 To view this video, you will need to download RealPlayer, if you don't already have it.
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W
orking ConditionsMany respiratory therapists work in hospitals, which operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. However, there are career opportunities in nursing homes, home health agencies, with medical equipment supply companies and in physician offices.
Career Opportunity Outlook
The need for Respiratory Therapists is expected to grow faster than the national average for all job growth. Opportunities for employment exist in hospitals and other acute care facilities in both urban and rural areas through out the country. Additional employment opportunities may be found in home care, subacute care, disease management, physician's offices and clinics as well as education, management, research and industry. As the number of older people increases and as new treatment advances are made for heart attack and accident victims, premature babies and those with chronic illness, the demand for respiratory care will grow. Respiratory therapists holding the bachelor's degree enjoy good job security and an excellent opportunity for advancement into the areas of management and supervision, clinical and academic education, research and clinical specialization.
Approximately 110,000 respiratory therapists are employed today. Respiratory Care is considered to be one of the hottest jobs, with projected need for 123,000 more therapists by the year 2008. The respiratory care profession has a bright future with a great deal of job security and opportunity for advancement.
Once you enter the profession, you may wish to specialize in an area such as neonatal care, critical care, helicopter transport, rehabilitation, education, cardiopulmonary diagnostics or management.