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A respiratory therapist is a specialized healthcare practitioner who has graduated from a university and passed a national board certifying examination. Respiratory therapists work most often in intensive care and operating rooms, but are also commonly found in outpatient clinics and home-health environments. Respiratory therapists are specialists and educators in cardiology and pulmonology. Respiratory therapists are also advanced-practice clinicians in airway management; establishing and maintaining the airway during management of trauma, intensive care, and may administer anaesthesia for surgery or conscious sedation. Respiratory therapists are often in charge of initiating and managing life support for people in intensive care units and emergency departments, stabilizing, treating and managing pre-hospital and hospital-to-hospital patient transport by air or ground ambulance. In the outpatient setting Respiratory Therapists are often educators in asthma clinics, ancillary clinical staff in pediatric clinics, and sleep-disorder diagnosticians in sleep-clinics. They also serve as clinical providers in cardiology clinics and cath-labs. == Clinical practice == ;Intensive care and operating room Respiratory therapists educate, diagnose, and treat people who are suffering from heart and lung problems. Specialized in both cardiac and pulmonary care, Respiratory Therapists often collaborate with specialists in pulmonology and anaesthesia in various aspects of clinical care of patients. Respiratory therapists provide a vital role in both medicine and nursing. A vital role in ICU is the initiation and maintenance of mechanical ventilation and the care of artificial airways. ;Outpatient clinical practice Respiratory therapists are also primary clinicians in conducting tests to measure lung function and teaching people to manage asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder among many other cardiac and lung functions. Internationally, Respiratory Therapists that provide lung function testing are termed respiratory scientists, but in North America, they may be a Respiratory Therapist or may also be a certified pulmonary function technician in the United States. ;Home-health care Outside of clinics and hospitals, Respiratory Therapists often manage home oxygen needs of patients and their families, providing around the clock support for home ventilators and other equipment for conditions like sleep apnea. In the clinic or outpatient setting Respiratory Therapists assist with diagnosis and serve as an educator for patients suffering from cardiac and respiratory illness. In the United States, Respiratory Therapists with certification as Registered Respiratory Therapists evaluate and treat patients with a great deal of autonomy under the direction of a pulmonologist. In facilities that maintain critical care transport teams Respiratory Therapists are a preferred addition to all types of surface or air transport. ;Public education In other settings Respiratory Therapists are found in schools as asthma educators, working with teachers and coaches about childhood symptoms of asthma and how to spot an emergency. In the United States, legislation has been introduced several times to allow Respiratory Therapists certified as asthma specialists with registered Respiratory Therapist certification to prescribe and manage previously diagnosed respiratory patients in physician clinics. In sleep clinics, Respiratory Therapists work with physicians in the diagnosis of sleep-related illnesses. Respiratory Therapists in the United States are migrating toward a role with autonomy similar to the nurse practitioner, or as an extension of the physician like the physician assistant. Respiratory Therapists are frequently utilized as complete cardiovascular specialists being utilized to place and manage arterial accesses along with peripherally-inserted central catheters. ;Pulmonary rehabilitation Pulmonary rehabilitation may be initiated as a treatment as a source for continuity of improvement after a hospital stay or as a therapeutic way to increase quality of life. Pulmonary rehabilitation is intended to educate the patient, the family, and improve the overall quality of life and prognosis for the patient. Pulmonary Rehabilitation involves therapies and evaluations by Respiratory Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Respiratory therapist」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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