You can study respiratory therapy in one of two programs
at Reynolds:
Located in Richmond, Virginia, Reynolds is
one of the few colleges in the country to offer
its Respiratory Therapy AAS Degree online. For more information about our Distance Education Program, please see our Respiratory Therapy Information Packet.
What do Respiratory Therapists do?
Respiratory Therapists, also known as respiratory care practitioners-evaluate, treat, and care for patients with breathing or other cardiopulmonary disorders.
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How much money do Respiratory Therapists make?
According to Salary.com, the median annual earnings of Respiratory Therapists for August 2007 is between $48,349-$55,229 in Richmond, Virginia. The lower percent earned is $45,542 and the upper percent earned is $58,686.
What is the job outlook for Respiratory Therapists?
Job opportunities are expected to be very good, especially for Respiratory Therapists with cardiopulmonary care skills or experience working with infants. Employment of Respiratory Therapists is expected to increase faster than average for all occupations through the year 2014, because of substantial growth in the numbers of the middle-aged and elderly population—a development that will heighten the incidence of cardiopulmonary disease—and because of the expanding role of respiratory therapists in the early detection of pulmonary disorders, case management, disease prevention, and emergency care.
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What do Respiratory Therapists do?
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, practicing under the direction of a physician, respiratory therapists assume primary responsibility for all respiratory care therapeutic treatments and diagnostic procedures. Respiratory Therapists consult with physicians and other health care staff to help develop and modify individual patient care plans. Respiratory Therapists also are more likely to provide complex therapy requiring considerable independent judgment, such as caring for patients on life support in intensive-care units of hospitals.
Respiratory Therapists evaluate and treat all types of patients, ranging from premature infants whose lungs are not fully developed to elderly people whose lungs are diseased. Respiratory Therapists provide temporary relief to patients with chronic asthma or emphysema, as well as emergency care to patients who are victims of a heart attack, stroke, drowning, or shock.
Therapists perform tasks that fall outside their traditional role. Responsibilities are expanding into areas such as pulmonary rehabilitation, smoking cessation counseling, disease prevention, case management, and polysomnography—the diagnosis of breathing disorders during sleep, such as apnea. Respiratory Therapists also increasingly treat critical care patients, either as part of surface and air transport teams or as part of rapid-response teams in hospitals.
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What is the job outlook for Respiratory Therapists?
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, older Americans suffer most from respiratory ailments and cardiopulmonary diseases such as pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and heart disease. As their numbers increase, the need for respiratory therapists will increase as well. In addition, advances in inhalable medications and in the treatment of lung transplant patients, heart attack and accident victims, and premature infants (many of whom are dependent on a ventilator during part of their treatment) will increase the demand for the services of respiratory care practitioners.
Although hospitals will continue to employ the vast majority of therapists, a growing number can expect to work outside of hospitals in home health care services, offices of physicians or other health practitioners, or consumer-goods rental firms.
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