Is Most Of What We Do A Waste Of Time

There's an old saying about respiratory therapy. It goes something like this: "Most of what we do is a waste of time or delays time." And there is lots of truth to it. 

So, what do we do that is a waste of time. Well, there are a lot of things we do that waste time. I could probably write a novel side document on this topic. Back in the 1970s and 1980s we gave IPPB therapy to just about everyone. The evidence was none that it did any good. But there was a theory postulated that forcing ventolin into your airways with positive pressure would make the medicine get deeper into your lungs. 

And there was a study done once along these lines. It went something like this: 

100 post op patients were given IPPB therapy. They all eventually got better. Therefore, our conclusion is that IPPB therapy works and should be given to everyone.

See, that is the logic of healthcare. We did IPPB therapy into the 2010s until those little green machines were pushed to the back of the storage room, and eventually taken to the third floor to collect dust. Now they are probably either in some third world medical tent or buried under a pile of filth in some distant trash yard.  

So, that was one waste of time treatment sent to the trash bin. 

Another old treatment we did was to give sodium chloride 3% to people with the hopes it would help them hawk up a goober. The idea was the extra salt in the water would suck sputum out of a person's lungs. And then they'd cough it up. 

Evidence? Yes, it was lacking. So, by the 1990's this old treatment was used less and less. And by the 2000s we never used it anymore. Sadly, this old treatment has now made a comeback. So, once again, I find doctors ordering it for some patients. And, much like when it was used in the 1970's, it still is a waste of time. 

Oh, so many albuterol breathing treatments. I could go on and on all the things albuterol is ordered for. The most common being any knnoying lung sounds or any lung disease when the doctor thinks something along the lines of, "Oh, we have to do something. So let's order albuterol. At the very least it can do no harm." 

"It can't hurt." How many times have I heard that to justify giving a breathing treatment to someone who is not experiencing bronchospasm. And, along the lines of bronchospasm, doctors are trained that every disease of the lungs cause bronchospasm. Yes, indeed, this must be true. That would explain why they order albuterol for pneumonia when it is an inflammatory disease and heart failure when it is fluid in the lungs and nothing to do with the airways.

Ah, I could go on and on and on. And I may. Even if I am repeating myself ad nauseum, at least I am getting the word out. But, sadly no doctor reads this blog or ever will. And that is because we RTs only have a lowly associate's degree and doctors are, well, doctors: they have doctorate's degrees. 

And, as our national elites will tell you, the more education you have does not corrupt you, it makes you smarter. But, I would disagree with that, and you may too. For example, I now some nurses who are only LPNs who know a lot more about how to care for patients than nurses with Bachelor's degrees. And that may be due to experience in the field as opposed to hearing words and theory in the classroom. 

So, that's my rant for the day. We will delve further into this topic in the upcoming days and years. We will continue on this path until all the stupidity is sucked out of the world. Have a great day.