Pulmonary Therapist the Health Care

Pulmonary Therapist

The health care field is continually advancing in technology and the opportunities available and anyone interested in pursuing a career in a medical area must keep abreast of these changes. Since I have long been interested in being part of this revolutionary care, I look forward to attending the University of Central Florida in the Cardiopulmonary Sciences. The time I spent with Dr. Gutierrez in James Haley veterans Hospital only strongly confirmed my desire to pursue this career.

With the backing of Steve Shideler (MSHS, RRT), program director and instructor of UCF Cardiopulmonary Sciences Program, I had the opportunity to meet and job shadow Charles J. Gutierrez (PhD, RRT, FAARC), assistant chief, neurorespiratory care at James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa. During our time together, Dr. Gutierrez introduced me to his patients and discussed the various aspects of working as a respiratory therapist. This "hands-on" visit provided me with a wealth of information that I could not have gained from reading a book or hearing a lecture, such as how to provide care to patients and what a respiratory therapist does to recognize and quickly act when a problem arises. I not only learned about the advantages and personal satisfaction aspects of being a cardiopulmonary therapist, but also about the challenges, personal demands and stresses that this career entails. This experience allowed me to look at this health care position in an objective manner, both pros and cons, and confirm that I have made the right decision.

As would be expected, the Haley Veterans Hospital provides a wide variety of care to the veterans, with 659 beds and an additional 268 nursing home patients and about 23,000 visits to the emergency department. They have the newest high-tech equipment, such as a robotic treadmill to help soldiers with severe spinal cord and brain injuries walk again. The range of patient needs and the medical support provided is incredible, yet so are the daily challenges of so many people needing highly complex care.

For example, Dr. Gutierrez took me around to the different departments and allowed me to meet and talk with Dustin Bowman, one of his patients. He is 23-year-old, was in the U.S. Air Force and just transferred to Haley Hospital about a week ago. He had a Cervical 1 injury, and his left lung was deflated, which completely affected his entire body. He needs a great deal of respiratory care. With this patient and others that Dr. Gutierrez told me about during my observations at the hospital, I clearly came to see how respiratory therapist must know the patient's entire medical condition to fully provide effective treatment.

Respiratory therapists have to be knowledgeable and skillful about cardiopulmonary therapy, but beyond this, they must have the necessary understanding about human physiology, anatomy, and body chemistry to best understand the holistic condition of their patients. For example, to evaluate patients, the respiratory therapists test lung capacity and analyze oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration. They also measure the patient's potential of hydrogen (pH), which indicates the acidity and alkalinity level of the blood. They are also often relied on to teach the patients how to use their ventilator equipment at home and families how to use ventilators and life support systems.