Respiratory Therapy: Bachelor of Science

People who succeed as Respiratory Therapists enjoy using technology to manage breathing problems as well as working with patients and their families. Respiratory therapists must be highly skilled in physiology and pathophysiology in order to help people who have difficulty because of illness or injury, including disorders such as COPD, heart failure, trauma, asthma, sleep disorders, and cystic fibrosis. Patients can be found in intensive care units (newborn, pediatric, and adult), emergency departments, general medical/surgical units, extended care facilities, pulmonary testing laboratories, rehabilitation programs, sleep testing centers, transports including ground, helicopter and fixed wing, and in their own homes.

Respiratory therapists treat patients by using: ventilators, medical gas, humidity, aerosols, intermittent positive pressure breathing (IPPB), bronchopulmonary drainage and exercises and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Therapists also are involved in:

airway management, emergency resuscitation, pulmonary function and exercise testing, obtaining and analyzing arterial blood gases, and multiple types of physiological monitoring. Therapists work with patients and families to help them manage their respiratory problems and improve their quality of life.