Psychology in Respiratory Therapy

Respiratory therapists eat, sleep, and work mainly in hospitals. It is common to work in nursing homes or even travel to patients’ homes. From the time babies are born to the adults reaching old age, they assist anyone who has breathing difficulties. Typically, RT’s interview/examine patients, perform diagnostic tests, treat patients, monitor/record the progress of treatment and teach patients how to use treatments (“Occupational Outlook Handbook”). The environment in which they work in is extremely clean to prevent patients from catching bugs that can put their health in more danger.

Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to help people, from a Doctor to a Pediatrician, even an X-ray Technician. As I got older I realized my true calling was in Respiratory Therapy. The human body is such an incredible thing and I found myself wanting to learn more and more about it.

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The oxygen saturation was recorded to be 84% on air using a pulse oximeter. The nursing goals planned for Jack were: that his breathing would be within his normal limits, for his oxygen saturations to be maintained over 90% and for his cough to be less problematic. To assist in achieving these goals Jack would be fully involved with the planning of his care. The nursing and medical staff would perform lung function tests to determine the cause of his symptoms. It was ensured that prior to any medical test detailed explanations would be given to Jack. Hayward (1975) suggests that information given to and understood by the patient can aid to reduce anxiety. He was commenced on prescribed humidified oxygen therapy at 24% when required to alleviate attacks of acute dyspnoea. A referral was made to the physiotherapist for chest physiotherapy, which would facilitate the clearing the lungs of accumulated mucus. As Jack was experiencing difficulties maintain his hygiene, it was planned to assist Jack in achieving his personal hygiene needs. He was provided with the facilities daily for personal cleansing at his bedside. To ensure Jack's privacy and dignity the curtains were closed whilst he washed. Jack was advised on how to use the nurse call system to request help if required. It was ensured that his personal items and the nurse call were assessable. Clean pyjamas were provided.

Respiratory Therapists work in sleep laboratories helping to diagnose disorders like sleep apnea, in skilled nursing facilities and pulmonary rehabilitation programs helping older people breathe easier and get more out of life. Respiratory Therapists play an important role in asthma education. Not only can they treat disorders and breathing complications their job are to diagnose the patient and follow diagnostics procedures. Common procedures respiratory therapists perform are Arterial Blood Gas Analysis, Pulmonary Function Studies, Sleep Studies, EKG and Cardiac Test, Sputum Specimens, and Stress/Exercise test. Smoking programs assisting those who want to kick the habit for good also in air transport and ambulance programs rushing to rescue people in need of immediate medical attention.

Both rapid, shallow breathing patterns and hypoventilation effect gas exchange. Arterial blood gases will be monitored and changes discussed with provider. Alteration in PaCO2 and PaO2 levels are signs of respiratory failure. Patient’s body position will be properly aligned for optimum respiratory excursion, this promotes lung expansion and improved air exchange. Patient will be suctioned as needed to clear secretions and maintain patent airways. The expected outcome is that the patient’s airway and gas exchange will be maintained as evidence by normal arterial blood gases (Herdman,

Jane’s asthma was acute severe. Initially to alleviate some of Jane’s breathlessness she was sat up right in the bed and supported with pillows to improve air entry. Due to her low oxygen saturations she was placed on 40% oxygen via Hudson mask (BTS 2006), as Jane was mouth breathing the mask was the appropriate device to use to ensure adequate oxygenation (Walsh 2002). According to Inwald et al (2001) hypoxemia is frequently a primary cause in numerous asthma related deaths. By administering oxygen promptly, for acute severe asthma, serious hypoxemia

I didn’t know what to expect with my observation with the respiratory therapist. All what I knew about them was they floated around and gave patients aerosol breathing treatments. I learned that a respiratory therapist does a lot more than that. They have access to the Pixis, and are able to give patients any type of respiratory medication. They teach patients how to correctly use inhalers. They educate their patients on way they have to do breathing treatments, or why they have to take certain respiratory medications. They also do an examination to find out what type of breathing treatment or oxygen device is needed to help a patient get the oxygen they need, or help with expanding their lungs, etc

I had been an EMT and phlebotomist for four years at this point. I had seen hospitalized patients with asthma and how it limited their lives. I was determined not to let this happen to me.

Shallow breathing and pain altered this patient’s comfort. Therefore, one of the nursing diagnoses can be stated as “Breathing Pattern, Ineffective r/t pain and anxiety, as evidenced by respiratory depth changes" (Ackley & Ladwig p. 175). We briefly discussed the specifics of incentive spirometry use before initiating the intervention. After return demonstration, the patient was ready to use his incentive spirometer.

One of the main and most frightening symptom in COPD is breathlessness. The sensation of being unable to catch ones breath is uncomfortable and painful. It can increase over time and patients may also suffer with acute exacerbations.(Ek et al. 2010; Sculliion & Holmes, 2011) The actual feeling of breathlessness has been described as being similar to an anxiety attack, but is exacerbated by the patients fear and worry that their next breath will be their last. (Ek et al. 2010) The secondary effects of breathlessness can be quite similar to feelings experienced in the grieving process (Kubler-Ross, 1969) in that the

Respiratory therapy refers to both a subject area within clinical medicine and to a distinct health care profession. During the 20th century, there were many health care fundamental transformations. Here are 10 possible predictions of what may occur in the future of respiratory care: (1) Less focus on raising PaO2 as a primary goal in managing patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. (2) More attention to

Respiratory therapists have one of the most exciting and gratifying careers within the medical field. Unfortunately as with any other job or career, it doesn’t come without having challenging times. Respiratory therapists work along-side physicians and are highly trained to treat patients with any sort of lung concern or breathing complications. This job requires hands on care, and deals with life and death daily. One specific scope of this field involves caring for patients (of all ages) attached to mechanical ventilation. It is the respiratory therapists’ responsibility to remove assistive ventilation to patients with written order from the doctor; which ultimately results in death of the patient (Keene, Samples, Masini, Byington).

I then needed to carry out a respiratory assessment. I observed Mr Brown’s chest for any visible signs of scars or trauma. This appeared normal.

According to Oldenburg et al. (2011), Cheyne–Stokes respirations (CSR) mirrors heart function and worsen as the heart failure progresses. As chronic heart failure (CHF) progresses, respiratory instability is exacerbated. These investigators sought to determine the long-term effects of Adaptive Servo Ventilation (ASV) on parameters of sleep disorder breathing (SDB), cardiac function, and respiratory stability in CHF patients with CSR. A total of 105 patients with similar demographics and baselines met the inclusion criteria: stable CHF, treated SDB (≥3 months) with an apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 15/h consisting mainly of Cheyne–Stokes or periodic breathing. The ASV group consisted of 56 patients. The ASV group used RESMED Ultra Mirage full-face mask and therapy was provided by AutoSet™ CS2 device. The days, hours, and minutes the device was used, AHI, and apnea index (AI) were recorded for seven to ten months. Results of the study, with similarity to other studies mentioned in this study, included: improvement in breathing disorders to normal, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class improvement, exercise tolerance increased, and