About
RT 101 is a collection of my stories of respiratory therapy and my life in general. I am a respiratory therapist practicing in the Southeastern United States, a fascinating place. The content here consists of stories from the trenches, opinions from the recesses of my brains, and the occasional irrelevant or bizarre link. It may occasionally have an intelligent piece about something relevant to the field–but don’t bank on it.
If you have questions about Respiratory Therapy as a profession, you can either e-mail me at anonymoustherapist at gmail dot com, or you can click here for the AARC’s “Be an RT page.”
And despite what I may occasionally say, being an RT really is an excellent job. You get a lot of opportunities to help people, and sometimes you really will make a difference.
Front page image taken from ExPERT Centre
Just found your site. What a breath of fresh air. Love your musings. One question. I’ve been thinking of starting my own blog on life, love, and fooling around in a large metropolitan hospital. “Doctor Place!” would require residuals to George Carlin; so can I use “Wrath of Glob” as my blog title instead? That just speaks on sooooo many levels. Not just about RT, or hospitals; but my life in general. The job of course is a part of it, and “Wrath of Glob” is such a good fit. LOL
Keep on bloggin’
Do you need to change your geographic reference above now that you’ve moved? Or are you still east of The Big River?
I’m still to the east of the Big River, I’m just further south than I was before.
General,
Did anybody see the “Extreme Makeover, home edition” on Sunday the 9th of December 2007. A home-care provider was suctioning a handicapped 3 year old without gloves or sterile techniques. I wrote the health department in Vermont an Email about it and go no response. Thirty million people seen her add millions of bacteria to the patients airway at least once.
New:
I am inviting everyone to join my user-friendly online web based discussion forum that I am administering:
http://www.respcareforum.com
Feel free to post your policies and procedures/articles/attachments/photos that you want to share with everyone. You can of course also use the forum to generate professional discussion related to respiratory therapy.
Only registered members can view and use the forums. As in this forum, register with your name and email which members will only see.
I hope that it will enhance the discussion about the profession by providing some useful tools to do that.
Peter Szkorla RRT
You can reach me at any of my emails
Just wanted to say that I love your blog and I’ve been reading it for a few months now, it’s definately my favorite on teh interweb. I’m a student Respiratory Therapist and your blog is sometimes inspiring, sometimes thoughtful, and always with a good dose of reality; it kind of gives me something to look forward to and keeps me grounded all at the same time. Keep it up, and thanks for making such an awesome blog!
I love your blog, I work at a small hospital in North East FLorida, they call this area the RED NECK RIVIERA. I come across many of the things that you do, so I can relate. Keep up the great work, it helps the long night go by a little faster and with some humor.
I just wanted to say your blog is my faviort. I find to help keep me grounded on what im trying to do with my life. Thanks for your insight on being a therapist. It really help a lot to make my choise of going for a program in Respiratory Therapy.
Glad you’ve enjoyed it!
Nice real life stories, I have been through few of those myself working in the field for about 4 years. Some are funny and some are inspiration for the things that we do the best, which is make people breath easier.
Thanks for your information. I’m an old lady, you see, all of 36 years old and headed back to school in the fall for RT-after twenty years in another career. Your blog is amusing…but informative…and is really acting to confirm that I’m making the right choice for my future!
Hey there, very nice blog. I kinda found it by accident and it inspired me to start my own blog of respiratory adventures/letdowns etc.
Nice blog, I am currently writing about “urban nursing” and your blog was listed as “possibly related”. Funny stuff…as a nurse, RT’s are some of my favorite (and most useful) people in the hospital…
I e-mailed you a while ago about respiratory therapy and you were very informative. I apologize for never getting back to you.
After just having re-found your blog I thought I’d give you an update. I’ve made the decision go ahead and take the respiratory therapy degree (it’s a 4 year course and there are only 2 universities in Canada that offer it; I’m going to go to the one in my home town of Kamloops) after I’ve completed my high school upgrading to qualify for the prereqs.
Thanks for offering your advice and insight in to the profession. I’m glad I re-found your blog; it’s definitely my new favorite read
Best regards,
Superstenogirl.
Hi there,
I came across your blog on the internet and I am doing a project right now where i am looking for RT’s, and other kinds of Doctors that are familiar with Drager products and who also have good stories to tell. You seem to be the perfect fit.
Please contact me directly.
Thanks!
Hi! I stumbled across your blog last night and read the whole lot in one sitting. Love your writing style and the different aspects of care that you cover. Keep it up!!
All the best,
Petrona
Thanks, all! I appreciate the feedback. Thanks for reading!
Thank you so much for the great belly laugh I got from your posters! I am looking forward to exploring the rest of your website.
Great, up to date blog, thanks!!!
Hello, I hope this finds you well… I am writing to ask if there are any respiratory therapy programs that you know of in the UK (Cheshire, to be exact). I realize it’s a strange question, but….
I do thank you for your time.
kind regards…
Really enjoy reading your blog! Now if I could only find one by a Radiation Therapist! (field I plan on going into)
While searching for funny cartoons concerning RT’s, I stumbled across your site. What fun! I am an RT student in Washington State and used a couple of your posters in a class powerpoint presentation. Your posters were a great source of much laughter from my fellow students and my instructor! Needless to say, a 4.0 grade was awarded! Thanks, much! I also enjoy the wit and cynicism in your blogs. I will be sharing your site with classmates!
I just found your blog. I have been a RRT for 3 years. Your posters are absolutely hilarious!! My favorite one is the albuterol neb. Many of our docs and nurses think albuterol is some kind of cure all. Especially for crackles. Really?? I just do it because it’s useless to explain. I’ve tried. (hospitals bitch) I’ve had to draw ABG’s in the ER for hip pain. Really?? Love this blog!! Do you know where to go for respiratory jokes? All I can find are nursing jokes. Puh-lease. Keep up the great work!
After an afternoon of aimlessly following links from my favorite EMS and ER blogs around, I ended up at yours. Let me start by saying Bravo! Your stories are great and very interesting to someone who works in a different clinical environment. I sympathize with your constant battles with stupidity and the moral quandry of prolonging the individuals I’ve come to know as the DIB (dead in bed).
In that spirit, I was wondering if you were aware of any good resources available online or in text form about the full range of pulmonary care. To preface, I’m a critical care paramedic with a slightly better than average knowledge of managing ventilator patients and utilizing CPAP, not to mention a burgeoning obsession with the use of continuous waveform capnography. Still, I would say that I know just enough to know that I don’t know shit. Any help you can render in this regard would most appreciated.
anybody can advise on how to find a job in Maryland? RRT with all possible credentials, great resume, super references…
Greetings,
My name is Barbara O’ Brien and my blogging at The Mahablog, Crooks and Liars, AlterNet, and elsewhere on the progressive political and health blogophere has earned me the notoriety of being a panelist at the Yearly Kos Convention and a featured guest blogger at the Take Back America Conference in Washington, DC.
I’m contacting you because I found your site in a health reform blog search and want to tell you about my newest blogging platform —the public concern of health care and its reform. Our shared concerns include health reform, tort reform, public health, safe workplaces, and asbestos contamination.
To increase awareness on these important issues, my goal is to get a resource link on your site or even allow me to provide a guest posting. Please contact me back, I hope to hear from you soon. Drop by our site http://www.maacenter.org in the meantime.
Thanks,
Barbara O’ Brien
barbaraobrien@maacenter.org