Respiratory Therapist Essay

461 Words1 Page

Respiratory therapists are health care providers that are trained to provide respiratory care for patients. Although 75% of all respiratory therapists work in hospitals, there are a variety of other places that therapists can work such as teaching students respiratory therapy skills, research, clinics, physicians’ offices, home care, cardiopulmonary diagnostic laboratories, and skilled nursing facilities. There is a steady increase in demand for respiratory care practitioners due to advances in the cardiopulmonary medical science and from 2005-2009 it increased 9.3%. Now days, I’m sure it has advanced even more. Western medicine was begun by the “father of medicine”, Hippocrates. He believed that there was an essential substance in the air that was distributed to the body by the heart. Erasistratus came up …show more content…

In the 1940’s, respiratory therapists were called oxygen technicians. The only thing they did was set up oxygen tanks, masks, and nasal catheters. In the 1950s, respiratory therapists were known as inhalation therapists because they were able to deliver aerosol meds. In the 1960s, therapists were responsible for ventilator setup, ABGs, and PFTs. The term “respiratory therapist” became designated in 1974. Another part of respiratory therapy that has advanced is oxygen therapy. It was produced in large scale in 1907 where it was used for nasal catheters, oxygen tents, and oxygen mask. In the 1940’s, it was widely prescribed in hospitals. In the 1960’s, the modern versions of the nasal cannula, oxygen mask, partial rebreathing and nonrebreathing mask were available. In the 2000’s, home therapy oxygen and concentrators were developed. The first aerosolized medications were given in 1910. In the 1940’s, bronchodilators were introduced to help with asthma. Since then, newer delivery devices such as dry powder inhalers have been introduced. The first negative pressure tank ventilator was developed in

More about Respiratory Therapist Essay

Open Document