Respiratory
Surface and air transport: transport via helicopter, fixed wing or ground transport
Transport Respiratory therapists are required to earn the CRT and RRT credentials, and since many specialize in newborn and pediatric transports they also need the NPS credential. Life support credentials may also be required. Respiratory therapists are a valuable component of the transport team because they treat critically ill patients in emergency transit and dispatch to critical care units. So valuable that a handful of air ambulance programs now require respiratory care practitioners aboard every such trip, even when the patients respiratory functioning isn’t an issue.
The transport therapists hold may responsibilities, including drug delivery, airway management, mechanical ventilation, end-tidal, CO2 monitoring, balloon pump and oxygen therapy. All of these responsibilities must be completed within a helicopter which isn’t any larger than the interior of a minivan. That’s without all of the equipment included. Typically carried aboard is pulse oximeter, an external pacemaker, a defibrillator, non invasive blood pressure machine, a ventilator, IV pumps, a suction unit, warm fluids, oxygen and about fifty different types of medicine. There is also a variety of rescue and surgical airways.
One of the most standard procedures before taking off is to make sure the patient’s airway is open. Occasionally a RT is forced to incubate on the go, which is a difficult task due to the bumpy ride and lack of room for maneuvering. In the air the RT and RN perform the tasks necessary to keep the patient stable or to obtain improvement. The ride to the destination hospital could take anywhere from ten minutes to four hours. On trips that have a long flight the RT need to calculate how much oxygen is needed for patients ion the vent. Although RTs are filled with excitement transport teams aren’t always on the go. They can expect at time to face long...
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