Respiratory Therapist

Primary Location:

South Hospital - UMC

Address:

1903 W. Hebron Lane
Shepherdsville, KY 40165


Shift:

Rotating (United States of America)

Job Description Summary:

About UofL Health:
UofL Health is a fully integrated regional academic health system with five hospitals, four medical centers, nearly 200 physician practice locations, more than 700 providers, the Frazier Rehab Institute and Brown Cancer Center.
With more than 12,000 team members—physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists and other highly skilled health care professionals—UofL Health is focused on one mission: delivering patient-centered care to each and every patient each and every day.

Job Description:

Position Summary and Purpose

The Respiratory Therapist, Registered is a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) that possesses working knowledge of respiratory care and has displayed age-specific competence for all age groups serviced by the facility. The RRT conducts themselves in a professional manner and is courteous to patients, physicians, visitors, members of the department and all other healthcare personnel. The RRT supports and contributes to departmental productivity and organizational objectives by functioning as an integrated member of the respiratory care team and performs services consistent with the scope of licensure. The RRT supports and exhibits behaviors consistent with the organization’s mission and values.

Essential Functions:

• Plans and administers non-medicated aerosol and humidity therapy
• Plans and administers oxygen therapy (including implementation of oxygen therapy protocol where appropriate)
• Plans and administers aerosolized medication and specialty gas therapy
• Performs airway management
• Plans and administers incentive spirometry
• Cleans and reprocesses respiratory therapy equipment
• Plans and administers bronchial hygiene and performs chest physiotherapy (including implementation of bronchial hygiene protocol where appropriate)
• Performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation and manual ventilation during resuscitation attempts and aides in rapid response calls when appropriate
• Provides patient, family, staff and physician education.
• Collects arterial blood samples for blood gas analysis
• Operates mechanical ventilators and manages ventilator settings and weaning per protocols and provider orders
• Assists in cardiopulmonary procedures   

Other Functions:

• Serves as a preceptor to newly hired employees and/or respiratory therapy students

• Serves in the charge respiratory therapist role

• Assists in research projects (as directed by departmental and facility leadership

• Performs electrocardiography studies and places Holter and event monitors as assigned by facility leadership

• Provides patient, family, hospital staff and physician education as appropriate

• Complies with HIPAA privacy and security requirements to maintain confidentiality at all times

• Maintains compliance with all company policies, procedures and standards of conduct

• Performs other duties as assigned

Additional Job Description:

Job Requirements
(Education, Experience, Licensure and Certification)

Education:

• Associate degree in Cardiopulmonary Services or Respiratory Care from an accredited respiratory therapy educational program (required)
• Bachelor’s Degree Cardiopulmonary Services or Respiratory Care from an accredited respiratory therapy educational program (preferred)

Experience:

• One year of experience in respiratory therapy critical care (preferred)
• New graduates accepted

Licensure:

• Active license as a Respiratory Care Practitioner from the Kentucky Board of Respiratory Care (KBRC) (required)

Certification:

• Registered Respiratory Therapist by the National Board of Respiratory Care (NBRC) and must be kept current, if applicable (required). Note: New graduates have 6 months to obtain the RRT credential.
• American Heart Association Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers (required)
• American Heart Association Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) (required)

Note: New graduates have 6 months to obtain ACLS

Job Competency:
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities critical to this role: 
•    Interpersonal communication skills to the level that is required to effectively interact with patients, visitors and members of the healthcare team
•    Possess critical thinking skills adequate to evaluate patient conditions and recommend appropriate intervention (or to seek assistance when necessary) 
•    Displays time management skills that are enough to organize scheduled tasks in a manner that ensures delivery of high-quality respiratory care

Language Ability: 
•    Communicates effectively in both verbal and written formats

Reasoning Ability:  
•    Possess basic rationale in communicating therapeutic needs with patients, visitors and members of the healthcare team
•    Critically thinks through complex patient situations, process improvements, evidence-based practice
•    Assists others in developing clinical reasoning skills
Computer Skills: 
•    Possess working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications and basic understanding of electronic health record systems

Additional Responsibilities:
•    Demonstrates a commitment to service, organization values and professionalism through appropriate conduct and demeanor always
•    Maintains confidentiality and always protects sensitive data
•    Adheres to organizational and department specific safety standards and guidelines.
•    Works collaboratively and supports efforts of team members
•    Demonstrates exceptional customer service and interacts effectively with physicians, patients, residents, visitors, staff and the broader health care community

UofL Health Core Expectation:
At UofL Health, we expect all our employees to live the values of honesty, integrity and compassion and demonstrate these values in their interactions with others and as they deliver excellent patient care by:
•    Honoring and caring for the dignity of all persons in mind, body, and spirit
•    Ensuring the highest quality of care for those we serve
•    Working together as a team to achieve our goals
•    Improving continuously by listening, and asking for and responding to feedback
•    Seeking new and better ways to meet the needs of those we serve 
•    Using our resources wisely
•    Understanding how each of our roles contributes to the success of UofL Health