COVID-19 Has Created New Roles For Us RTs

COVID-19 has brought about a new era of respiratory therapy. We are showing the world that we are needed. And our roles have expanded beyond being "just" respiratory. As we enter a COVID-19 room, we are now finding ourselves doing janitorial, nurses aide, and nursing chores. 

Today I entered a COVID-19 room. The patient was on a ventilator. The poor nurse was in and out of the room all morning. She finally was able to sit down and eat and chart. And then I came along. I gowned and gloved up, put on my PAPR, and entered the patient's room. Once inside I heard a slight beeping sound. 

It was not my ventilator. It was one of those beeps we have learned to ignore, as they are not our beeps. But being that we are in COVID rooms, we have learned to scope the room once inside to see if there is anything beyond our services that need to be done. 

And here, I saw that the feeding tube thing (RT term for whatever it is), was beeping. I pushed the door open slightly. I saw the Hot Boss standing outside the door. I said, loudly through the blowing of air from the PAPR into my ear, "Something is beeping in here. It is the food thingy-ma-jig." 

The nurse must have heard me. She stood up at the nursing station. Once I saw her, I shouted, "Is it something I can fix." 

I did hear a, "Yes!" But the rest of what she said was muffled by that blowing in my ear. Damn if you can't hear jack crap inside those PAPR hoods. And, I responded with a, "WHAT!"

She mouthed something once again I did not hear. And I think she must have realized I couldn't hear her. She (mask on of course) came to the door. She said, "Bla Bla Bla Bla Bla."

"Aha," I said in return, "I got it." I walked around the bed to the pump that was beeping. I looked around for the "bla bla bla" that she was said I need to do. I pointed to what I thought it was. She nodded, and said, "Yes. It needs to be turned so that it's pointing towards you." I did what she said. Oh, it was a stop cock on the feeding tube line. Yes, that is what it was. The name came to me, finally. And I hit continue on the machine. And the beeping stopped. 

"Did the beeping stop!" I heard the nurse yell. I gave her a big thumbs up. I was happy to have learned something new. I was happy to help her out so she did not have to go into this room again. 

And nurses have helped me to at times. You have an inhaler that needs to be given. I have had nurses since they are in the room already anyway, do the inhaler for me. It is such a big help. So, it's unusual times, so we find we do unusual things to help each other out. 

In the past, I would never touch a urinal. Although, these days, I have held a urinal up to a guy's middle and helped him pee. I will not do the other side though. I do draw the line there. Although, maybe, if I was asked, I might even do that. I don't know though. Would you? 

I have also helped a patient to the commode once. I have emptied garbage bags for environmental services. I have done lots of little tasks to help out. So, you get your work done. You say, "Is there anything else I can do before I leave?" Sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes it is yes. And you do what needs to be done.