- The beginning and end of a respiratory therapist's day usually involves reports and documentation. When starting a shift, he reviews the files of patients he will be caring for to determine what medications they are on, what treatments have been performed and any special respiratory care or equipment they are being provided to assist them in breathing. At the end of the day, a respiratory therapist documents and reports the care and treatment he provided for each patient.
- Respiratory therapists begin their contact with each patient every day by providing an assessment. They check to see how the patient has been breathing and if they have experienced any problems since the therapist last saw them. They may also use diagnostic equipment to check the patient's lung capacity to determine if it has improved or weakened since the last time it was checked.
- Medication is available to help patients manage their breathing. Respiratory therapists administer medication to patients and in some cases teach the patients how to administer it themselves. They may also teach patients how to routinely clean and disinfect home breathing aides such as CPAC machines used for patients with sleep apnea.
- There is a variety of therapeutic exercises that patients can do to improve their lung capacity and breath better. Respiratory therapists teach these exercises to patients and perform follow-up assessments to determine the effectiveness of the exercises. If a change is needed in the therapy or care of a patient, the respiratory therapist will contact the patient's physician.
- A respiratory therapist working in a hospital or trauma center is more likely to handle patients in distress than one working in an office or home setting. Distress can range from a patient experiencing severe difficulty breathing to a patient not breathing at all. In these instances, respiratory therapists provide resuscitation using machine ventilators and life support equipment.
