Respiratory therapists are instrumental in life support and emergency measures.
The respiratory therapist must be an expert in providing specialized and selective therapeutic respiratory care in such areas as medical gas administration, humidity and aerosol administration, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and ventilatory support. The respiratory therapist must also be capable of performing pulmonary function studies, blood gas analysis and other related physiologic monitoring. The respiratory therapist specializes in the application of scientific knowledge and theory to practical clinical problems of respiratory care. The respiratory therapist is qualified to assume primary clinical responsibility for all respiratory care modalities. Further, the therapist is capable of serving as a technical resource person to the physician with regard to current practices in respiratory care and to the hospital staff in regard to effective and safe methods of administering respiratory therapy.