Respiratory Therapist

Respiratory Care Practitioner - Respiratory Therapist

Education: Graduate of AMA approved School for Respiratory Therapist

Duration: Full-Time, Direct Hire

Shift: Three 12-hour shifts - Weekdays and Alternating Weekends. Night Shifts (Full or Part Time) Available.

Department: Floating among departments

Job Description:

The respiratory therapist is a professional paramedical specialist and is required to have thorough knowledge of all modalities of respiratory care procedures. The therapist must always keep in mind the extreme critical nature of all respiratory techniques and is required to maintain skill levels to reflect the ever-changing procedures and techniques of respiratory care.

Qualifications/Skills

• Requires WA Respiratory Care Practitioner License
• Requires BLS
• Requires ACLS, PALS, & NRP within 90 days of hire.
• Preferred: Experience with high-risk delivery, PFT, ion bronchoscopy, and diagnostics.
• Exceptional communication and patient care skills
• Aptitude toward the team philosophy, culture, and problem solving.
• Ability to work independently
• Comfortability working in various departments throughout the hospital.
• Requires effective written and verbal communication skills
• Requires the ability to deal with confidential patient information.
• Requires basic computer skills and ability to work with EMR.
• Time management is a critical skill.

Essential Functions:

Performs and maintains currency of essential competencies:

• Performs BLS in a competent manner. Accurately and safely demonstrates the ability to:
• Manually ventilate a patient with sufficient hand strength to create a face "seal."
• Ability to manually ventilate an intubated patient for long periods of time; 2 hours with an ambu or anesthesia bag.
• Assist in transporting an intubated patient to various areas while maintaining ventilation.
• Manually ventilate during conscious sedation procedures such as cardioversions and dislocation reductions.
• Applies chest compressions during BLS.
• Sets up Ventilators for intubated patients.
• Accurately and safely demonstrates the ability to set up ventilators for intubates patients including infants requiring mechanical ventilation.
• Able to maneuver ventilator equipment.
• Assisting with and occasionally performing intubations.
• Monitoring patient statistics and understanding ventilator setting adjustments based on patient status.
• Determines initial ventilator settings pending physician orders using independent judgement.
• Administers medications and therapy via established protocol.
• Interacts with physicians; nursing; social services; and rehabilitation personnel patients and family. Involves patient interviewing and chart research.
• Provides Respiratory care appropriate to the patient population for all age groups: Neonate; Pediatric; Adolescent; Adult; Older Adult.
• Evaluate data relative to age of patient (chronological or neurological)
• Interpret data specific to respiratory care based on age-specific parameters.
• Plan, modify, and deliver care based on age of patient.
• Consider age-appropriate resources.
• Adjusts care to the age-related needs of the patient.
• Recognizes the communication needs of specific age groups of the patient population.
• Demonstrates skill in interpreting verbal and nonverbal communication by patients.
• Provides staff lead duties as assigned.
• Performs workstation duties according to department protocols and processes.
• Assumes overall responsibility for shift functions and staff
• Provide input for staffing needs for next shift.
• Responsible for ordering department medications as needed.
• Responsible to assist in training and evaluation of new staff members (nursing & respiratory students)
• Maintains confidential records of patients, employees, and medical center information.