Things all respiratory therapists have in common

Things common among most respiratory therapists.

1.  Usually listen to lung sounds from bottom up, side to side, and without telling the patient to take a deep breath. Because...

2.  We know that when they take a deep breath you hear adventitious lung sounds that are not bronchospasm noises (such as rhonchi and crackles)

3.  We understand that bronchospasm wheezes are only heard upon auscultation.

4.  We understand that if a wheeze is audible it's not bronchospasm but secretions or fluid sitting over the vocal cords (or upper airway wheeze, or rhonchi)

5.  After we listen for bronchospasm wheezes (which are not present for 80% of the treatments we do) we have the patient take deep breaths so we can hear those hidden crackles that are so often missed by others.

6.  We generally develop an apathetic approach to our work

7.  We develop dry senses of humor.

8.  We think we know more than doctors about anything respiratory

9.  We think we know more than nurses about respiratory stuff

10.  We can tell the difference between pneumonia and heart failure from bronchospasm without even looking at the patient.

11.  We can solve all the problems in the hospital because we have been exposed to so much ventolin to obtain the increased wisdom that results from it; in essence, we know more than administrators, but most of us still don't want to be them (why not?)