It seems that the longer I work for this place, the more committees I find myself on. As I mentioned a few blogs ago, there are the weekly ''huddles'' all the departments in my hospital must participate in due to the impending HCAPS reimbursement. Along with those there has been the formation of various ''Service Excellence'' committees, one of ...

''Do you think it is really worth it?'' This question was recently posed to me by a new grad hire at our hospital concerning my upcoming membership renewal in the AARC. I don't believe she was being sarcastic, she just wanted to know if the AARC was worth being a part of as she embarks on her career as a full-blown RT. I guess I had never really ...

As I mentioned a few blogs ago, I am currently taking a prep course with the goal of obtaining my Asthma Educator credential. I am very excited and thankful for the opportunity to do this, as the hospital I work for is footing the bill, and have no doubts that having my AE-C will be a good thing for me as a Respiratory Therapist and for my ...

It has been almost two years now since I graduated school and became a respiratory therapist. Which means it has been almost two years since I have studied something with the goal of testing towards an advancement in my education/career/life. It seems like a disproportionately large amount of my life thus far has been spent in an effort to obtain ...

The health care industry can learn a lot from business. If you do not think health care is a business, you're wrong. Just check out the forms you fill out, the charting you do, and the cashier's cage. One of the failures I see in health care is an inadequate attention to project management. Project management can cover everything from planning ...

When I am nervous my hands shake. I try to hide it, and have learned to steady myself down to a light tremor, but I just can't shake the shakes. I pride myself on remaining calm in a high-pressure situation: a code, a bad baby, etc., but my hands indicate otherwise. I have been told by a few of my co-workers that they had they not seen my hands ...

A doc told me once, ''Every good RT always has a stethoscope, a pulse ox and a Christmas tree on them at all times.'' Now I don't subscribe to the Christmas tree theory; there are Christmas trees on nearly every flow meter in our hospital and I prefer to carry a penlight instead. A pulse ox is a pulse ox as far as I am concerned, as long as I have ...

So there I was finishing up the last few treatments of an otherwise un-notable Friday shift when I get a stat call to a patient room where a flight crew is trying to set up their bipap on a patient who is to be transferred to another facility for respiratory failure. Usually when the flight crew arrives, after we have given report, our role in the ...

I write an opinion blog. Everyone has an opinion. I know this, and I know that each time I write, some will agree and some disagree. Some people just take pleasure in spreading rumors to stir the pot. This seems to be the case of some of those on Facebook -- in particular, a relatively new group to the RT scene which has done little more than ...

As the New Year comes, let's take a moment to reflect on last year. So many people lost, so many opportunities missed. Let's all make a decision now to have a better 2013. Managers, make sure your employees know they are appreciated. Respiratory Care Week is not enough; if you want to keep employees motivated and retained, you have to ...