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Friday, August 10, 2012

10 Great things about being a respiratory therapist

Nearly every night I work I hear discussions along the lines of "Why don't respiratory therapists get more respect?"  A great question, and I answered it here.  I would like to counter that discussion by listing the 10 greatest things about being a respiratory therapist.

1.  It's a good, clean job.  We work inside where the air is fresh and clean.  The air is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.  

2.  We work 12 hour shifts.  This is nice because you get more days off to either spend with your family or, if you want, do a second job.  

3.  It's a fun job.  When your work is done there's plenty of time to socialize, gossip, eat, play games, surf the net, pay your bills, or watch TV.  

4.  It's rewarding. It's simply a rewarding feeling when what you did, or said, made someone feel better.  It's also rewarding knowing you did your part to save a life.  

5.  We bring joy to people. Sometimes just by you lending an ear to a sick patient, or having that discussion, is all it takes to make some one's day.

6.  We are ubiquitous.  Seemingly, we are everywhere in the hospital all at once.  We have free reign.  This beats being stuck in one spot all day, in one room, with one patient.  

7.  A great variety.  We do all sorts of tasks, and offer a variety of skills.  And every day offers a new challenge.  

8.  Teamwork is fun.  Skills you've obtained through education and experience come in handy as you participate as part of a team to benefit a patient.  

9.  We are educators.  We educate about lung diseases, and are trained to guide people through the changes they'll have to make in their lives to overcome their illness.  

10.  You develop skills.  Your expertise on managing the airway is essential to saving a life, and keeping someone alive so the doctor has time to work his or her magic.  

What do you like best about being an RT?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like helping people feel better. It's kind of warped and selfish of me but it feels good to make others feel better especially if you know that they will appreciate it. Most of the time it does feel like respiratory therapy does go unnoticed, but there are those patients who do give a crap that you cared enough to do your job and do it well because it saved their life. That kind of karma comes back around.

Therapy sites said...

Wow! Being a respiratory therapist is a great job or work. I'm hoping that I could be the one, too because I'm willing to give happiness to every client I will have. And I know that's an easy job. This post is great and I learned from it.