In my last blog I discussed the serious issue of changes in our field -- changes that could affect job availability and job descriptions.  I never bring up a topic without trying to provide a solution.  My solutions may not be the best for you, but at least I want to give people some ideas and I hope you will share your feedback as ...

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 ...

Since the ASCP took over the popular and progressive NCA in 2009, I have periodically received emails from medical lab professionals not happy with the merger for various reasons.  Prompted by this overwhelming response, I have previously blogged about this subject. I have also addressed the mixed response to the move. Recently I have ...

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 ...

Many people know about the website LinkedIn. Like any site, it has drawbacks. Still, it is a good and increasingly popular way to establish an online presence with other professionals. LinkedIn is looked to more by business people than other social media websites. It can be difficult to use and navigate, you cannot ''friend'' someone randomly ...

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 recently attended the WSET conference in San Francisco.  One of the most interesting talks given was on the importance of long term EEG monitoring in the ICU.  We have many concerns about the future of sleep testing.  Although I see the field changing and the work of technologists becoming more of a doctor-extender, there are ...

One of the most uncomfortable situations for employees and managers alike is a workplace that has obvious conflict. We are taught to work as a cohesive team and lots of resources is spent on teambuilding. The word ''team'' is considered sacrosanct in fact. Yet, the dirty little secret is that conflict is inevitable. If you have worked for any ...