Jump Start your interesting and challenging career as a Respiratory Therapist in Macomb's Respiratory Therapy Program. Visit each link for requirements; hospital affiliates; to see why you are making an excellent choice in choosing Macomb; check admission requirements, visit links and contact the director.
As a Respiratory Care Practitioner (RCP), you will develop the patient assessment skills needed to monitor, evaluate and treat patients with pulmonary disease. As a consultant, you will be able to recommend therapy, and make changes to the treatment plan, as indicated by the physical examination and the laboratory data. The routine duties of a RCP include oxygen administration and monitoring, drawing arterial blood gas samples, delivery of aerosol medication, pulmonary hygiene and lung volume expansion.
In the emergency and critical care areas, therapists are trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and are valued members of the hospital resuscitation team. You will also be responsible for setting-up, monitoring and evaluating life support machines in the neonatal and adult intensive care units. Using the aid of sophisticated technology and equipment, you will give around-the-clock care to these patients who, otherwise, would not survive these life threatening conditions.
RCP's also work in pulmonary laboratories where they help evaluate various cardiopulmonary diseases. By performing diagnostic procedures, such as measurement of lung volumes, they assist the physician in determining the type and extent of the patient's disease and how well the prescribed therapy may be working. In pulmonary rehabilitation, RCP's work with patients who have chronic lung disease. The goal of therapy is to improve the patient's quality of life through education, nutrition, muscle reconditioning and exercise.
RCP's are also involved in preventive medicine and patient education through their involvement in support groups. The RCP often conducts smoking cessation programs for both hospital patients and others in the community who want to kick the tobacco habit. They also participate in support groups for asthmatic patients and patients awaiting lung transplantation. Therapists are also actively involved in the Breather's Club which is a support group for patients with chronic lung disease, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis.