This Respiratory Care Practitioner (RCP) position, under the supervision of the Supervisor and/or Lead Therapist, is responsible for providing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures as defined by departmental policies and procedures. Responsibilities include general respiratory patient care, emergency care, critical care, patient assessment, blood gas collection and analysis, and ventilator management. This position also requires utilization of advanced practitioner skills to intervene in complex patient care situations.

Responsibilities

• Performs technically adequate therapy in and acceptable amount of time. This includes the ability to meet the basic standards of Respiratory Care within the scope of a licensed RCP.
• Prepares accurate patient charges, maintains meaningful patient records and complete documentation for the patient medical record.
• Exercises sound judgement in relating the physician's order to the actual condition of the patient: Consult with the Lead RCP, RN and/or physician in questionable situations.
• Uses all respiratory equipment properly and performs proper cleaning and routine maintenance on all equipment timely when applicable.
• Performs patient assessment to determine appropriateness of ordered respiratory therapy.
• Perform Arterial Blood Gas procedure.
• Follows all hospital and department policies and procedures.
• Demonstrates consideration and professionalism in working with patient's family members and medical staff.
• Through the use of a standard form the employee will have the opportunity to make recommendations that enhance resource utilization within his or her respective department. Resource utilization will include, finance, inventory reduction, human resources. The employee will identify a problem, detail why it is a problem and make recommendations to resolve.
• Attend, participate in regularly scheduled department staff meetings. Staff may participate by preferably attending the meetings or reviewing and signing the minutes if attendance is prohibitive. 
• Uses personal protective equipment as is appropriate to the task performed.
• Customer Service; Patient Satisfaction as measured by third party. Specific for Respiratory Therapists mean overall score for 12 months.
• Maintain professional standards for clinical practice.
• Employee is consistently on time and ready to work at the start of the shift. Employee returns from breaks in a timely manner and avoids leaving early. Time in and out is determined by the department specific method of recording hours. Late is defined as being 8 minutes or more minutes beyond scheduled time.
• Employee does not abuse or take advantage of sick time or personal days off. Provides notification and advance notice for absence. leave of absence is excluded from this standard.

Knowledge of Growth and Development

• Neonates: Demonstrates knowledge of fetal lung development and anatomical changes at birth.
• Infant/Child: Demonstrates knowledge of lung maturity according to their developmental stages.
• Adolescent: Demonstrates knowledge in psychosocial behavior and provides reassurance.
• Adulthood: Demonstrates knowledge in psychosocial behavior and provides reassurance.
• Geriatric: Demonstrates knowledge according to developmental stages of chronic diseases associated with the aging process, recognizes the common deficit associated to aging.

Range of Treatment

• Neonate: Demonstrates knowledge and intervention of goals: meconium aspiration, hyline membrane disease; abnormal cardiac conditions; pneumothorax; sepsis; pneumonia.
• Infant/Child: Demonstrates knowledge and intervention of goals: asthma, pneumonia, respiratory insufficiency secondary to: overdose, sepsis, moderate trauma, cardiopulmonary arrest, neuro deficit.
• Adolescent: Demonstrates knowledge and intervention of goals: asthma, pneumonia, respiratory insufficiency secondary to: overdose, sepsis, moderate trauma, cardiopulmonary arrest, neuro deficit.
• Adulthood: Demonstrates knowledge and intervention of goals to respiratory insufficiency secondary to asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, sepsis, moderate trauma, neuro deficit, postoperative, cardiac conditions, renal dysfunctions, cardiopulmonary arrest, overdose.
• Geriatric: Demonstrates knowledge and intervention of goals to respiratory failure, COPD, neuromuscular deficit, renal dysfunction, cardiopulmonary arrest, overdose, post-op, moderate trauma, cardiac condition, liver dysfunction, pneumonia.

Assessment

• Neonate: Demonstrates ability to identify normal/abnormal physical development for example: heart rate; respiratory rate, breathing pattern, color, breath sounds, specific lab results.
• Infant/Child: Demonstrates ability to identify normal/abnormal physical development, for example: heart rate, respiratory rate, breathing pattern, breath sounds, specific lab results, skin color.
• Adolescent: Demonstrates ability to identify normal/abnormal physical development; for example: respiratory rate, heart rate, breath sounds, breathing pattern, skin color, specific lab results.
• Adulthood: Demonstrates ability to identify normal/abnormal physical development for example: respiratory rate, heart rate, breathing pattern, breathe sounds, skin color, specific lab results.
• Geriatric: Demonstrates ability to identify normal/abnormal physical development; for example: respiratory rate, heart rate, breathing patterns, skin color, specific lab results.

Department Specific Competencies

• Neonate: Gestational age: intubation/meconium aspiration; capillary blood gas: puncture and sampling; ventilator: initiating and stabilizing, C-section deliveries.
• Infant/Child: Tracheotomy: changes/management; Capillary Blood gas: puncture/sampling, Ventilator: initiating/monitoring.
• Adolescent: Tracheotomy: changes/management; Ventilator: initiating/monitoring; Arterial Blood gas sampling.
• Adulthood: Ventilator: initiating/monitoring; Tracheotomy: changes/monitoring; arterial blood gas sampling.
• Geriatric: Ventilator: initiating/monitoring; Tracheotomy: changes/monitoring; Arterial Blood gas sampling.

• Minimum Education: Current license as a Respiratory Care Practitioner by the State of California.  (Registered Respiratory Therapist preferred).  Graduate from an AMA approved Respiratory Therapy program and is credentialed by the National Board of Respiratory Therapy. 
• Minimum Experience: Minimum two years experience including clinical experience preferred.  Exhibits self-direction in completing assigned patient care duties efficiently and thoroughly. 
• Required Certification/Registration: Current CPR, NRP, and PALS required. ACLS preferred. NRP may be obtained within 90 days of employment.