Editing Respiratory therapist (section)

== Clinical practice ==
[[File:Respiratory therapist.jpg|thumb|Respiratory therapist in an intensive care unit]]Respiratory therapy, done by respiratory therapists, is a large variety of treatments to help with breathing and support the heart's work. Giving oxygen and drugs to ease breathing are two examples. Respiratory therapists also do patient assessments.

===Intensive care and operating room===
Respiratory therapists educate, assist in diagnosis, and treat people who have heart and lung problems. Specialized in both cardiac and pulmonary care, respiratory therapists often collaborate with specialists in [[pulmonology]] and [[anaesthesia]] in various aspects of clinical care of patients. Respiratory therapists provide a vital role in both [[medicine]] and [[nursing]] such as the initiation and maintenance of mechanical ventilation.

===Outpatient clinical practice===
Respiratory therapists are also primary clinicians in conducting tests to measure lung function and teaching people to manage [[asthma]], [[chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder]] among other cardiac and lung functions.

Internationally, respiratory therapists that provide [[pulmonary function test|lung function testing]] are termed respiratory scientists, but in North America, they may be a respiratory therapist.

===Home-health care===
Outside of clinics and hospitals, respiratory therapists often manage home oxygen needs of patients and their families, providing around the clock support for home ventilators and other equipment for conditions like [[sleep apnea]].

In the clinic or outpatient setting respiratory therapists assist with diagnosis and serve as an educator for patients with cardiac and respiratory illness.<ref>{{cite news |title=PCC Notes: Respiratory students train |url=http://www.reflector.com/news/pcc-notes-respiratory-students-train-759223 |newspaper=The Reflector |access-date=6 November 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805102852/http://www.reflector.com/news/pcc-notes-respiratory-students-train-759223 |archive-date=5 August 2016 }}</ref> In the [[United States]], respiratory therapists with certification as [[Registered Respiratory Therapist|registered respiratory therapist]]s evaluate and treat patients with a great deal of autonomy under the direction of a [[pulmonologist]].<ref name="pmid19558737">{{cite journal|vauthors=Harbrecht BG, Delgado E, Tuttle RP, Cohen-Melamed MH, Saul MI, Valenta CA | title=Improved outcomes with routine Respiratory Therapist evaluation of non-intensive-care-unit surgery patients. | journal=[[Respiratory Care (journal)|Respiratory Care]] | year= 2009 | volume= 54 | issue= 7 | pages= 861–7 | pmid=19558737 | doi= 10.4187/002013209793800457| s2cid=32274631 }}</ref> In facilities that maintain critical care transport teams respiratory therapists are a preferred addition to all types of [[Ambulance|surface]] or [[Air medical services|air transport]].<ref name="pmid10130326">{{cite journal|vauthors=O'Malley RJ, Rhee KJ | title=Contribution of air medical personnel to the airway management of injured patients. | journal=Air Med J | year= 1993 | volume= 12 | issue= 11–12 | pages= 425–8 | pmid=10130326 | doi=10.1016/S1067-991X(05)80138-5 | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10130326 }}</ref>

===Public education===
In other settings respiratory therapists are found in schools as asthma educators, working with teachers and coaches about childhood symptoms of asthma and how to spot an emergency. In the United States, legislation has been unsuccessfully introduced several times to allow respiration therapists certified as asthma specialists with registered respiratory therapist certification to prescribe and manage previously diagnosed respiratory patients in physician clinics.<ref name="112th Congress 2011">{{cite web |url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-941&tab=summary |title=H.R. 941 |access-date=August 28, 2011 |author=112th Congress (2011) |date=Mar 8, 2011 |work=Legislation |publisher=GovTrack.us |quote=Medicare Respiratory Therapy Initiative Act of 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117122451/http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-941&tab=summary |archive-date=November 17, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="110th Congress 2007">{{cite web |url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-3968 |title=H.R. 3968 |access-date=August 28, 2011 |author=110th Congress (2007) |date=Oct 25, 2007 |work=Legislation |publisher=GovTrack.us |quote=Medicare Respiratory Therapy Initiative Act of 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117122145/http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-3968 |archive-date=November 17, 2011 }}</ref> In sleep clinics, respiratory therapists work with physicians in the diagnosis of sleep-related illnesses. Respiratory therapists in the United States are migrating toward a role with autonomy similar to the   extension of the physician like the [[physician assistant]].<ref name="pmid16168918">{{cite journal|vauthors=Shelledy DC, Wiezalis CP | title=Education and credentialing in respiratory care: where are we and where should we be headed? | journal=[[Respiratory Care Clinics of North America (journal)|Respiratory Care Clinics of North America]] | year= 2005 | volume= 11 | issue= 3 | pages= 517–30 | pmid=16168918 | doi=10.1016/j.rcc.2005.04.003 | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16168918 }}</ref> Respiratory therapists are frequently utilized as complete cardiovascular specialists to place and manage arterial accesses along with peripherally-inserted central catheters.<ref name="pmid10813223">{{cite journal |vauthors=Rowley DD, Mayo DF, Durbin CG |title=Initial experience with a Respiratory Therapist arterial line placement service |journal=[[Respiratory Care (journal)|Respiratory Care]] |volume=45 |issue=5 |pages=482–5 |date=May 2000 |pmid=10813223 }}</ref>
[[File:US Navy 070926-N-6278K-007 Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Chad Galvin, a respiratory therapy technician attached to Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20), gives an immunization shot to a patient.jpg|thumb|A respiratory therapist gives an immunization to a patient]]