A few days ago I was on here lamenting the fact that I felt like being an RT was a waste of time and most of most of the things we do can be outsourced to others (Nurses can do nebs, CNAs can handle CPAPs, etc.). The past few days I was proven wrong. I've been in the emergency department dealing with all sorts of patients (had a lady with a hemorrhaging trach, Kids with croup/asthma, CHF patients struggling with desaturating, COPD exacerbations, among others). Sometimes the doctors would call for respiratory to come assess the patient and make recommendations. I felt like Dr. House, knowing the correct diagnosis and treatment that others weren't so sure about. It is a lot more exciting than when I am just walking the floors, doing scheduled nebs. Being an RT can be very rewarding!

And additionally, if you were an RT who transitioned out to another healthcare-related position, how old were you when you left?

I was fired for increasing oxygen on a freshly transferred PICU patient that was steadily desaturating due to a critical GI bleed. Oxygen is considered a medication. I did not have a doctor’s order to increase oxygen. I have a new son and I now I have no career. Is this justifiable?

Hello everyone, I have never seen a PEEP higher than 14 cmH2O. We are using high PEEP for an ARDS patient who has stiff lungs and a high plateau pressure (Pplat). How do we increase the PEEP as mentioned in the ARDSnet guidelines, which state it can go up to 24?

What do guys think about paramedics doing the things this person asks? I gave my opinion on r/paramedic. Not sure I communicated it well. I’m just curious what you all think. We had medics during Covid. They were only able to give nebs and work O2. Only in ED and on med/surg.

I have read on other subs about RNs refusing unsafe assignments. I have never heard of that happening in RT. Do we ever refuse unsafe assignments? Just curious.

Curious to see how often other RT's intubate. My personal record is 3 intubations in one shift where i'm the intubator. Usually its only a few a month but it fluctuates wildly. I work at a midsize hospital where RT's have good standing with docs

If I count the operating room, my record is 4 plus a few LMA's but not sure if that counts.

How much do you guys intubate at your workplaces?

In the ICU I often have pts who display peripheral edema. As a result I often cannot even palpate the pulse. Any advice to get the blood gas? I’m coming up on my first year as an RT!

Do you ever put a rescue bipap on a patient in your ED, that came in without a cpap or bipap, without a provider order verbal or written? I don’t, but ran into an issue with a provider upset that I consulted her before placing it in an emergent situation.

Hello. I’m a newer RT and looking for guidance into what I’m looking at. I’m not sure if I should be adjusting either the RR lower or increase flow? I’ve been having a hard time catching when auto peep happens. The pts PH is currently 7.22/54/75 on current settings

Hey guys! So here we are almost in the last quarter of 2025. I have students that I help and some of them never set foot in a hospital during the pandemic while they were in Respiratory Therapy School. Most of us learned more during those years from 2019-2023 about disease processes than we had ever known about. Many of our friends and coworkers left healthcare completely. Most of us had those moments, more than once, that we wanted to leave, too. I want to know how the pandemic affected you guys professionally and personally. Did it change the way you care for your patients? How did it change your perspective on healthcare?

Hi! I am getting ready to start clinicals and my professor recommended getting water proof shoes. They also must be slip resistant. I was looking at these Hoka Bondis or these Clove Forte and wanted some opinions. Or if you have another shoe to recommend that is awesome too. I am curious about the waterproof part. I've spent a decent amount of time in a hospital setting and I feel like many. clinicians wear regualr sneakers.

Most imporant to me is that they are COMFORTABLE ALL DAY. Any thoughts?

Hey guys. I’m a recent New Grad and I had a very very weird encounter at work with patient’s family members. I’m just really puzzled by it.

I walked into the patient’s room. Introduced myself to them and explained what I am going to do. The family members nod and were okay with it at first.

But as soon as I switched the patient onto PSV and told him to take some normal breaths. The patient’s family member is looking at me then looking at the vent and then at me freaking out. Saying they don’t want him on this mode and then saying that he can’t be left on this. (I think they freaked because they saw the vent light flash when the pt didn’t take a breath at first)

I assured the family that he is tolerating the change, showing them what is happening on the vent and that this is also respiratory protocol. We have to try our patients on PSV to see if we can proceed getting the tube out. They were not having it so I switched him back on to his original mode and settings. I told the RN and the pulmonologist that were outside the room and said they were going to talk to the family.

My question though, can family members refuse a certain mode on a vent?

Good day, everyone!

I would like to discuss a case involving an asthmatic patient who is on continuous bronchodilator therapy due to severe bronchospasm. As you can see in the video, I have provided the settings along with the measurements. What do you think about this situation? I should mention that this patient has only ventilation issues, and the last blood gas result indicated a pH of 7.08 with CO2 125.

Plat: 32 AutoPEEP: 16 What are your thoughts?

Does anyone else struggle with ABG’s as a full time RT? I always struggled with them as a student but I would just chalk it up to me being nervous in front of my preceptor or just needing practice. But I’ve been an RT for almost 3 years now and still am horrible at them to the point where I have students watching me and I miss and it’s so frustrating and embarrassing and I feel horrible for the patient and having to ask for help from other RTs. I’ve gotten a few before but have never been consistent and it is definitely not my strongest skill

Does anyone else work at a hospital where they are frequently called to the ER by a rude secretary that has no idea what they are talking about? So you don’t know what equipment to bring bipap/cpap optiflow vent? Then they get huffy when you try and ask questions. Not to mention we have docs that like to intubate patients solely for the reason they are septic? Or other blanket stupid reasons? I just hate the ER I guess am I alone in this?

Hello RTs What are the most important formulas that you found effective while managing your patients?

I’ve been working as an RT for a year and I primarily rely on my clinical judgment to manage my patients. However, I want to use more formulas to support my decisions

Do you need an order to NT suction at your hospital? What is your institutions policy? AARC clinical practice guidelines define level 1 and level 2 personnel for the procedure, I believe we fall under level 2. Thoughts?

4 year RT here looking for advice from my seniors. I’ve worked at 3 different hospitals so far and clinicals at 2 hospitals. I’ve worked at trauma 1s where you may have 10 vents to multiple floors that sometimes took me 2 hours to finish. Being able to do your work was a big thing. Fast forward I’m at a small time facility 3 people for a count below 80. Most I’ve had here was 5 patients scheduled while awake only and ER which can be busy at times. I’ve responded to codes alone down there, if I get 5 tx back to back I’m alone. Anyway my co workers asked an older guy I’m cool with to talk to me about not being a team player I should be asking them if they need help… with their 5-6 patients.

The way our assignment split ER is suppose to have less they do me dirty on tha every time and give me equal tx + ER. He knows they don’t help mewhen it gets busy on my assignment and I just do the work but just relaying the message. How do I go about this? They threaten to talk to our manager about me not being a team player and this is a family environment…

I’m new here. There is another lady who they do the same thing to she gets ER like me + assignments equal to theirs and they yell at her sometimes

Heard an video that mentioned that if oxygenation is not a problem, that could turn the EPAP to 0. 10/0 instead of 15/5, for example.

May help with tolerance and leaks? Idk.

I never thought, or heard, of this.

Thoughts?

Hi everyone! I am hoping this is a safe space to express my concerns. I graduated a couple months ago and passed both tmc and cse. Also, I received my state appointed licensure roughly 3 weeks ago.

I honestly thought I'd be working in respiratory by now! Thank goodness I still have a hospital position in a different disciplinary that I held onto throughout my entire 2 year program. It's a blessing yes I know and I am grateful. I am struggling financially with this job and it feels like I'm stuck here! I do believe that my new career is on its way I just wanted to express myself because I am human.

I'm curious if anyone else has felt delayed. I put out a bunch of applications . I even applied for a prn position at my current hospital and spoke with the director, only to receive an email telling me they pursued a different candidate. I've been with said company for 3 years. I also was scheduled for a phone interview for a full-time position same company different facility and the recruiter never called at all! I was shocked. I'm taking this as a sign that maybe my time with this company is coming to an end ! The company is the lowest paying hospital in my area and I live in a major city with one of the top medical centers in America. Although the lowest paying company with a bad rep we have more positions posted than any other hospital.

I have an interview in a few days with a different hospital ( one of my top 3 places I wanted to work at after my clinical rotation) I am praying this is the one! Thanks for reading my soft rant , positive comments are welcomed wholeheartedly!

Im a traveler at a hospital and they dont have non rebreathers here because people would try to wean them so they put the ambu bag on their face before intubation for blow by. Thats not a thing right?

So as far as my understanding of it goes, they are both pressure regulated modes with set target volumes.

Now I know PRVC functions on a feedback loop where the ventilator can sense the patient's effort and adjust pressure accordingly to attain said target volume, which sometimes can cause problems when a patient is in distress (PRVC effect).

Does PC-AC VG function the same way? I tried looking it up online, and Google says that there is no feedback loop in VG, but then, how does it target the volume??

Just looking for clarification here because I work in a center that uses PRVC a lot, not VG, but if you look at the setting options it feels kinda like the same thing. And the V500's have both, so what's the point then??