The most demanding part of what we do is life support. As you define respiratory therapists, they generally manage life support systems. This includes operating the high technology, electro-mechanical equipment that is used to resuscitate patients who may be in cardiopulmonary arrest and then maintain patients with mechanical ventilation devices during the short or long run. Obviously, that's a life support element of respiratory care. You have to be able to deal emotionally with that kind of a critical or emergency care situation.
People are very fragile, including newborns, accident victims, infectious disease patients.
People have to like technology, although they don't have to be physicists to come into the program. They have to have a good stable set of emotions so that they can deal with this rather stressful environment. We've had a variety of people come through the program, including those who are running big businesses and making a lot of money and just want to do something in the social services area. We have physical therapists who also want to become respiratory therapists. What's nice about respiratory therapy is that in addition to the critical care and emergency care aspects of the profession, there are other elements that you can do part or all of you day.