sade082

The AARC wants every respiratory therapist to get a bachelor's degree. I actually looked into this because I would love to further my education. However, when I brought this up to my wife, she said: "If you are going to go back to school, you should get a degree in something so you can earn $75,0000 a year. If you get this, you won't make any more money. It may qualify you to be an RT supervisor, but it doesn't guarantee you will get that job, nor that you will want that job." My wife is smart in this way. And she is right. If I were to go back to school, I would be better off going to be a nurse. They make way more money than we do, plus their profession is far better respected. I'm not saying I'm going to be a nurse. I'm also not implying I hate my job. But, there is some degree of apathy present. It would be nice to do something different. But, to earn a bachelor's in respiratory therapy would not make me a better therapist nor would it make me ...

Apparently the government makes $26.6 billion from taxes on tobacco sales or settlements from Big Tobacco. So, you would think that a good chunk of this would go towards funding programs meant to educate people about the dangers of smoking, preventing young people from smoking, and helping those who do smoke quit. But you would be thinking wrong. Big Government does not think the way you and I do. In fact, you might be surprised to learn -- as I was (nah! I wasn't surprised. Nothing the government does or doesn't do ever surprises me. But I digress) -- that less than 2% of this money goes towards youth smoking prevention programs. This is rather pathetic to say the least. I am not a fan of the government getting involved in most things. When politicians see a problem, their solution is say they feel your pain and then their solutions tend to be programs that involve spending other peoples money. And, worse, these programs usually make the problems they aim to solve worse. Howev...

It would be nice if we had a picture of this. But, at the present time, none are available. However, ResMed has announced that the FDA has approved the world's smallest CPAP machine, called the Air Mini. The product will be launched later this year. The machine is small enough to fit easily into a travel bag. It is also small enough to fit into the pouch on the back of seats on airplanes. The company suggests that it will be an easy to operate secondary CPAP machine. They will probably market it to medical equipment providers, noting that it will be another means for making a profit. It will benefit patients because it should improve compliance and convenience. They also say it is silent and comfortable. I wonder how long it will take before we see one of these in the hospital setting. I wonder how long it will be before someone comes up with an iCPAP. Further reading: ResMed: FDA clears world's smallest CPAP RT Magazine: FDA greenlights ResMed's Air Mini CPAP RT Cave Faceb...

About 90% of breathing treatments ordered in the emergency room are for patients ultimately diagnosed with heart failure. This is according to a non-scientific poll of respiratory therapists This certainly bodes well for job security, but such injudicious use of Ventolin has also been implicated in respiratory therapy apathy syndrome . It also results in a needless hospital expense, as bronchodilators do not suck fluid out of lungs and do not benefit patients with pulmonary edema and heart failure. I always thought it would be nice if there was a test to determine who was actually experiencing bronchospasm and who was not. Apparently, researchers have been experimenting with using ultrasounds to find the true cause of respiratory distress, or to differentiate between COPD and cardiogenic pulmonary edema. Rather than just using a stethoscope, which has its limits as a diagnostic tool, researchers developed a ultrasound protocol that takes less than three minutes to perform. In fact, it ...

These overprescribed drugs have been linked to dementia. The link between asthma and GERD and heartburn has been known for quite some time now. There's also a known link between COPD and the stomach. Many of these patients find themselves taking a daily dose of proton pump inhibitors such as Prilosec, Nexium, and Prevacid. However, a new study suggests that these drugs may cause dementia, with the risk increasing with age. Those over the age of 75 who take these medicines have a 40% increased risk for developing dementia compared to those who do not take them. That's a pretty significant risk, enough so that some doctors are now sharing this information with their patients, giving them the choice whether or not to continue using them.  Interestingly, another type of antacid, H2 blockers, have also been linked with dementia. These include medicines like Tagamet, Pepcid and Zantac.  Researchers are not sure why these popular stomach acid reducers might lead to dementia. One the...

Breathing is important. As respiratory therapists, we know this more than anyone. But a new study conducted by the Bronchodilator Reform Committee of the U.S. Government purports to show that eating is even more important that breathing. The study involved 100 patients at Shoreline Community Hospital, all of whom were prescribed QID breathing treatments with 3cc of normal saline and 0.5cc of albuterol. All of the patients had chronic bronchitis or asthma. They were all typically short of breath when their breathing treatments were due. Treatment times were scheduled for 8 a.m., 12 p.m., 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. The patients were asked to order a tray of food about 30 minutes prior to the time their breathing treatments were due. This gave the cafeteria plenty of time to prepare the meals and deliver them. The patients were told they would be involved in a study, but they were not told anything specific. The therapists were asked to enter the patient's room the sa...

Where I work is relatively considered a small-town hospital. So what is a small town hospital? How is a small-town hospital any different than any other hospital? Are all so called small-town hospitals the same; do things operate the same? Where I work there are 64 registered hospital beds. Actually, they just closed down the psyche unit, so that eliminates about ten. So, we are down to 54. And some of the remaining rooms are offices. So, is a small town hospital defined as a hospital with less than 100 beds? Can we define it that way.  I live just outside the city. The City has a population of just outside 10,000. The total number of people in the entire county is about 60,000. The region is set up in such a way that there is a county east, north, and south of us.  Shoreline (fake name I have always used) is a port city: Lake Michigan is to the west of us. Unlike the city 20 minutes to the North of us, our hospital is centrally located in such as way that we draw in quite a f...