Respiratory Therapist Student Blog

So if you are administering oxygen, you can use a mask. This Simple Mask has to be running at 5LPM (liters per min) at the very least because anything lower will not administer the oxygen. Why? Well since there are holes on the mask, anything lower than 5 LPM of oxygen will escape to the outside world instead of coming into the patients lungs. The biggest mistake is running the mask at like 2LPM for example. The patient will NOT get enough oxygen from the simple mask. Usually the FioO2 of the simple mask is about .35-.55. This can vary from different medical books but that is about the average.

This is a Low Flow Variable Performance because

1) It is “low flow”

2) It is Variable Performance

Alright basically what I’m trying to point out is that for every patient there is in the hospital,  they will not get the exact FiO2 because there are so many reasons. For example, the person can be an existing COPD patient ( Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) or another reason is AGE. Those are some examples of factors why the patient might not get the FiO2. If you have 2 patients and both are on a Simple Mask at 8LPM both of them will get 8 LPM but when you go and take their FiO2 level it will NOT BE THE SAME because it is Age dependent.

So I had my first huge midterm for the lab portion of respiratory theapy I was so nervous that I couldn’t even eat. There was a written portion and we had to know the different functions of (sorry had to take it out). I was in a rush because this whole exam was timed. Obviously it was difficult since nobody likes being timed on an exam. The lab part was pretty good since I am a better person on hands-on. I can’t tell what was on the test because it is strictly confidential. Well now that the exam was over for my midterm it was time to relax and I did this by playing Trauma Center for wii haha.. Well know I have to get back to studying

Clinical Orientation!

Well this post is really late since I barely have anytime. My first day was just an ordinary day. I had to go to Wal Mart to buy a black pen because for some reason all my pens are blue. Why black ink? Because it is easier to copy on a machine. So I got to the hospital 20mins early because we had to show up 10mins early so I had about 10mins to find the Respiratory Therapist Department. I walked inside with a few of my fellow SRTs ( Student Respiratory Therapist) and we looked so nervous. We met up with the clinical instructor and she was really nice. We had a tour of the whole hospital. The hospital had a few floors and we bascially walked around and she told us where our equipment would be. On this one floor where a lot of patients had to come for recovery it was so busy. I saw Nurses running around and it seemed like there was a Code Blue everywhere we went. It seems that we came where the Nurses were in transition of RNs getting off and starting.

That was already something off of a movie. So I got to see everything except the Morgue. For some reason I wanted to see it but our instructor said we don’t have business there. I laughed because Obviously we don’t take ABGs or Incentive Spirometry  to dead patients.

She let us out early since it was halloween and luckly we got off at 6pm just in time for trick or treating. I wore my RT uniform as a costume along with an isolation mask and goggles. It was pretty cool since everyone thought it was a fake costume but everything I had was the actual thing. Besides all this I have a midterm coming up on Monday and I’m pretty nervous. So I’ll have to end my RT blog right here and get back to studying!

We are about to have our first midterm and frankly.. I havn’t been studying as much as I want to. So right now I was very stressed out because I have about 7 weeks worth of notes + lab practicals needing to be studied. As I’m looking at my notes week by week I realize something. I don’t have to study as much as I thought I would. In the past weeks all the information as been so repetitive that I know about 70%. I was reading pages and pages of my notes and it seems that I know how everything works! I also figured out that I learned so much since this first semester started. On my notes I had so much marking saying ” check page, read this, research this” which meant at the time I had no IDEA what I was doing.

So when I go over my notes I don’t even have to follow what I wrote in my notes because I knew the answer to all the blank notes.

Point of this POST? If you are a student for respiratory therapy, studying is very intense but I suggest you buy a macbook or old ibook. Currently I’m using an iBook g4 and it has this software. It is microsoft word 2004. The reason why I specifically told you guys about buying an apple laptop is because there is a very special feature in the ibook / macbook with microsoft word. It allows you to record while you type up your notes. It is so useful because

1) you are able to record the instructors voice
2) you are typing about 50% + of what they say
3) If you couldn’t type all the information at the moment you can go back and listen.

So lets say I’m typing this post as my notes. The instructor says ” IPPB is _____” Then your friend next to you gets your attention and you couldn’t type what IPPB stands for and didn’t hear it you can go back. All you do is click on the paragraph of notes next to where you typed & the microsoft word software will skip everything and bring you to where your instructor says” IPPB is ___” Obviously you will hear it again and can go back and retype up the note.

Directions for Microsoft Word 2004 for Voice Recording.

1) Open Microsoft Word
2) Go to View > Notebook Layout
3) Now you should see a Small Microphone under Tools and Table (Don’t click tools or table click the microphone under it)
4) A taskbar should open and it will have “standby”
5) Click the Red circle to record.

REMEMBER ONE THING: DON’T FORGET TO CLICK RECORD!!. There has been times where I thought I was recording but it was on standby

Good Luck studying!!

This blog post has nothing to do with Oxygen. This blog is dedicated to my grandfather who passed away a few months back. My first clinical was today & I realized how much my grandfather would had loved to see me in my RT uniform. It symbolizes my profession and what he wanted me to be He passed away around June 2006 at the end of the month. I got a call from the RT program saying if I still wanted to be a Respiratory Therapist. If only I got that call before June 2006 I would had told him the news that I was really going to be in the medical field. The famous quote he had to every single Nurse or RT was this

“Look here..my grandson… he’s going to be a nurse”

That is what he told everyone and at the time I couldn’t say I was since Nursing was waitlisted or it was hard for me to get in. I remember one day he was in the hospital.At first I didn’t know what a RT was and I didn’t know that guy was a RT. It seems that the RT gave him a Small Nebulizer to take his medication. It was a very simple procedure and now that I learned about Nebulizers and Oxygen therapy I realized the man my grandfather was talking to be a Respiratory Therapist. However he told the man I was going to be a Nurse and at the time I had no intent to be a Respiratory Therapist.

My grandfather left a bunch of oxygen equipment and I look back at it now and I’m thinking… Well I know exactly how these things work. He was on oxygen with a Nasal Cannula ( I think 2Lpm) when he passed away. As a grandson and a future RT I start to think about what if I was at this stage 2 years prior to what happened? Maybe I could had saved him some how from that night. I could had gave CPR or give some sort of medication. But this whole thing will cancel out if he didn’t want to be saved and just let loose. Well no regrets since people do past away and they just want to go naturally. Well I can write more and more but I will just be very repetitive. Well RIP grandpa and your grandson will save a life along the line of his career.

IF ONLY YOU SAW ME NOW………

(I know its a bad PHOTOSHOP but RTs have no time for PS!)

I just want to greet everyone here 10/31/07 to have a Good Halloween!. Its also my first day of clinical! O NOES!

(written a few weeks BACK)

WELCOME to my Respiratory Therapist BLOG.

I am actually an RT student and I just started. This first posting is late but hey.. theres nothing better than reading something thats history right? Fine all you guys probably want to read something interesting. So it was my orientation last week and I walked in.

I looked around the classroom and what do I see? I see a bunch of equipment and beds just like a hospital setting. I was kind of nervous, scared and excited at the same time. I was scared because I didn’t even know what to expect. New lifestyle change for the next 2 years and after that its a better lifestyle change. I have told my employer that I got accepted and I have to reduce hours. They were happy and didn’t mind. So I’m getting off track for now but its something that should be included.

Any who! Lets get back to my RT orientation. At first I read the schdeule and all it says was RT### @ XX time. Well that one already scared me. I have never taken any class that focuses on a profession. Sure I took anatomy or chemistry but that was just a general ed class that nobody really cares about unless you are a bio chem major or something in that type of profession. So suddenly we got to know what it was like for the First Semester of the school year. I was ready to face this schduele head on. Every day of the week except weekends of course, we had to go to different places. That was expected but I didn’t realize I had to travel 33miles in an area where I don’t go to. We had to go to a place which is about 45mins average time from where I live. Now that is an adventure isn’t it? I’m going to have to cut the experience for now since its about midnight and I need some sleeping done

BEFORE READING READ DISCLAIMER

“Set up Nasal Canula @ 2LPM with wall outlet”

What we need:

1. Nasal Cannula

2. Oxygen Flowmeter (Make sure its oxygen and it is in LPM no PSI)

3. Humidifier? (check your hospital’s policy and procedure)

Steps:

Connect Oxygen Flow meter to wall outlet.

Connect Nasal Cannula

Set the Flow meter to 2LPM.

Check if there is oxygen coming out

Give to patient

Take Down Steps:

REMOVE Nasal Cannula from patient before anything

Turn off the Flow Meter

Disconnect the Nasal Cannula and dispose it

REMOVE Oxygen Flow meter.

Precautions / Advice

Never TURN off flow of Oxygen when Nasal Cannula is attached.

Read Policy and Procedure for use of Humidifier.

Watch for the 50Psi of oxygen coming out of the wall. Remove/ Attach with Caution

Make sure you look at the Oxygen Flow meter at EYE LEVEL.

Make sure the oxygen tubing is straight.

Always check the “Quick Connect” Adapter. (Ohio, NCG, CHEMTRON)

Remember I am just a Student and this is what I can teach. If there is anything wrong please inform me and I will double check with the book.

So I just realized that Clinical for me starts next Wednesday. Am I scared? YES, Am I confidence?…well not really. Am I nervous? YES. Do I want to go? HELL YEA!. So I’m having mixed feelings right now. It feels like a whole new job and career. What I’m going to experience next week is what I’m going to be doing for the next who knows how many years. Basically I got all my check offs done for clinical and the hard part is I know the steps but will it come out of my mouth when it comes? Like seriously? Will I remember every single thing I HAVE to say to a patient? It was better to make mistakes with my fellow students but now its out in the real world and I might even blank out.

Everybody probably feels that same way with clinical.  What if someone asks me “hey can you give Mr. Smith 4LMP via Nasal Cannula with no humidifier?” I know I can do it but where do they stock the cannulas? What if Mr. Smith doesn’t want to go through with it? What if I put it wrong? What if the equipment we use in the lab is different from the hospitals? O well I guess the only way to get rid of this fear is studying every single thing we went over in class.

Well there is a first thing for everything. I have no idea what to expect just like how i felt in the beginning of this class. I’m assuming that the clinical instructors or the education director expects us to know EVERYTHING we went over. But come on students probably remember 75% of what we did go over. I guess I have to see how this goes. Wish me luck guys!

Basically if you are reading this you probably already read what it is all about because you read it off the AARC web site. ( American Association for Respiratoy Care)

Since I’m still a student let me tell you what I think is going to be my job. The semester isn’t exactly uhh..over and I havn’t started clinical yet. So I’m expecting to help patients recover from Hypoxia and other Respiratory Diseases. I might be helping a COPD patient ( Chronic Obstruction Pulmonary Disease.) Someone with a RRT , RCP, CRT, Title are going to be doing health care of course right? I’m going to be teaching patients about asthma, oxygen therapy, Incentive Spirometry and many more. I’m sure I barely hit the icing on the cake! I’m going to update this once I get more information on the actual work.

Blogs like mine show how the actual work is instead of a brief description of the work.  Watch for more updates.