Respiratory Therapy

Respiratory therapists treat breathing disorders.

• Understand the profession, roles, and settings of respiratory care.
• Know medical terminology and patient assessment basics.
• Follow safety, ethics, and infection control.
• Care spans emergency, hospital, and home settings.

The respiratory system exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide.

• Air moves through the airways to the alveoli, where gas exchange occurs.
• Ventilation (airflow) and perfusion (blood flow) must match.
• The diaphragm and muscles drive breathing.
• Understand oxygen transport and acid-base balance.

Assessment identifies the cause and severity of breathing problems.

• Assess breath sounds, respiratory rate, and effort.
• Use pulse oximetry and arterial blood gases (ABG).
• Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) measure lung capacity.
• Chest imaging supports diagnosis.

Many diseases impair the heart-lung system.

• Asthma, COPD, emphysema, and pneumonia limit breathing.
• ARDS and pulmonary edema are serious acute conditions.
• Heart failure affects the lungs and oxygenation.
• Each disease guides specific respiratory treatment.

Therapies restore and support breathing.

• Oxygen therapy delivers supplemental O₂ via various devices.
• Aerosol/nebulizer treatments deliver medications.
• Mechanical ventilation supports patients who can't breathe adequately.
• Airway clearance techniques remove secretions.

Education helps patients manage chronic lung disease.

• Teach inhaler and equipment use correctly.
• Promote smoking cessation and pulmonary rehab.
• Support home oxygen and self-management.
• Long-term care improves quality of life.