At first I thought they sent it to me for putting in 25 years of devoted service to the profession, but it turns out that they sent these pins out to every licensed RCP ( Respiratory Care Practitioner) to commemorate 25 years of Respiratory Care as a state regulated profession here in California.
OK.. so maybe I’m not as special as I thought, but if you’re looking for a rewarding career in the medical field, you should consider becoming an RCP. Respiratory therapy has been very good to me over the years, and I can definitely recommend it as a career choice. Check out this brochure
It’s a good field to go into, especially if you’re into helping people who have breathing problems. There’s lots of variety and some great job benefits as well.
Not bad for a 2 to 4 year education….eh?Related Posts:
All I can say are wow, cool, and I totally love RTs and think they have a pretty cool job (even if not all RTs love their job).
I've loved the RT's I've had the pleasure of meeting. You guys always seem so happy 🙂 haha I guess this explains it! I remember one time the RT gave my friend Magnesium Sulfate in the hospital. At the time it was considered fringe therapy. Do you know if it's become more mainstream now?
Gina-
I too am a RT with severe asthma and I know from my own personal experience I always suggest Mag Sulfate whe n I am in an attack because I feel a difference in my breathing. I studied mag sulfate in school and wrote a report about it wanting to find out why docs don't always use magnesium during exacerbations. For a lot of doctors they treat asthma flares with bronchodilators and steriods (mainly albuterol, atrovent, solumedrol), if symptoms don't resolve with the basic therapy they then can look to other alternative therapies such as mag sulfate, BIPAP, heliox and intubation if extreme. Not everyone reacts to medications the same way including magnesium, for some it helps, others it doesn't. An interesting thing I discovered about asthmatics is that they are a lot of the times deficient in magnesium in their blood and some of that is due to continuous use of albuterol which has been shown to cause your body to excrete magnesium. So taken regularly everyday, albuterol can actually cause you to loose magnesium over time therefore an infusion of magnesium sulfate during a flare can bring levels back up to normal which can then work by relaxing the smooth airways muscles.
Just thought I might tell you how magnesium helps me..
It’s definitely more mainstream now. I get it every time I go into the hospital, though RT’s generally are not the ones who administer it.
you make me want to be an RT when I grow up. I already have my OTA, I’ll bet a lot of those credits would transfer. Hmmmm, something to think about.
What is an OTA? Occupational therapist? Respiratory Therapy is a great profession to go into, but if I had to do it all over again, I would choose nursing or maybe even medicine. There are so many things you can get into if you become an RN. As an MD I would go into research.
It’s Occupational Therapy Assistant. The 2 year degree. I never sat for my boards, due to a fight I had with Medicare, that sort of disillusioned me for working as an OT. I’d probably have the same issues as an RT anyway. I’ve toyed with nursing and teaching. I’m not sure that I have it in me to start med school.