Job Shadow- Respiratory Therapist

Camilla Dinkins
Job Shadow
CLSS 2100
April 19, 2011
I shadowed Ron Haskell, who is a Respiratory Therapist at Utah Valley Regional Hospital’s Newborn Intensive Care Unit in Provo, Utah. I asked him the following questions:
1. What do you enjoy most about your job? I love working here in the NICU. I love working with the babies. It is a fun and usually happy environment to work in. I also love the people I work with. I have been here 29 years and I still enjoy what I do.
2. Can you tell me about your schooling and other steps you took to get where you are today?
When I started out 29 years ago, respiratory therapists were trained here in the hospital, instead of going to school. When the requirements changed, I enrolled in an online program and tested out of most of the classes, to earn my certificate.
3. What do you dislike about your job? I don’t like the hospital politics. Sometimes there are issues between nurses and therapists. It isn’t so bad in our hospital, but in other hospitals it is much worse. You also have to deal with difficult doctors sometimes. I don’t like that they are able to come in for a few minutes and make changes, when we are the ones working with the babies all day.
4. What is your typical day like? Each therapist is assigned to 3 or 4 babies. I spend the day watching the babies, and responding to alarms on their monitors, suctioning them, etc. At the beginning of the day, the doctor does his rounds, and I discuss each baby with him and make a plan for care for the day. Usually I am pretty busy running back and forth from baby to baby. I also spend a good deal of my time charting on paper charts as well as on the computer.
5. How many hours per week and per day do you typically work? We work 12 hour shifts, from 6 to 6. Three shifts per week.
6. What are the differences between working in the NICU as a therapist, and working in the NICU as a nurse? Each nurse is assigned to two babies. The nurse is responsible for the feeding, diaper changing, monitoring, scheduling tests, and charting. So, they have a wider variety of responsibilities, and fewer babies. Respiratory Therapists have a more specific function, and more babies to care for. Our job is more technical, and problem solving, and a nurse’s job is more social, more caring for the patient. We help each other with whatever is needed. For example, a nurse is responsible for diaper changing, and I am responsible for suctioning. If a baby needs a diaper change and I am right there, I will change the diaper. If a baby needs suctioning, and I am busy, the nurse can do the suctioning.
7. What are some of the benefits you enjoy most about your job? As a Respiratory Therapist, I get a great deal of autonomy. No one supervises my work, and I am able to make decisions and diagnose problems with my patients. I like being responsible for myself.
8. How often do you lose a baby? Is that difficult for you? How do you deal with it? We don’t lose babies very often. Maybe two or three a year. Yes, it is difficult, but usually when we lose a baby, it was meant to be. The baby usually had genetic problems or was born way too early. Usually they are suffering, and because of that, we are happy to see them relieved of their suffering. I do have to leave me job at work. I don’t call in from home to see how a baby is doing. You have to try not to get attached, as a defense mechanism. To protect yourself.
I really enjoyed having this experience. I feel more confident and excited about working in the medical field. It was great to see what it is actually like to work as a respiratory therapist. I am also interested in nursing, and during this job shadow, I was able to observe respiratory therapists as well as nurses, and talk with them both. I think I would enjoy both professions, but I am leaning toward nursing after this experience. One thing I learned about myself is that I have a passion for working with babies. I would absolutely love working in a newborn ICU.