After performing a social media and professional audit, it has come to my attention that I do not have much of a social media presence, not only as a professional, but as an individual. No matter how my professional social media presence shifts over the course of my career, my professional identity will never change. Now, and over the course of my career thus far, it has been of extreme importance to me that I be a patient-centred Respiratory Therapist first. Above all else in my career, my ability to provide my clients and patients with the best care possible will always come first. Inter-professional collaboration is one of many aspects of my career that allow me to provide my clients with this patient-centred care. Specifically in my career, I collaborate with several other health professionals in order to provide the best care to our shared patient. This is not only done by working side-by-side, it is also done through educating other professions on issues such as respiratory equipment that a patient utilizes at home so that all clinicians are comfortable. Not only in my profession but in many other health professions, inter-professional collaboration is of the utmost importance for providing the best patient-centred care.
Due to the fact that health professions and medicine in general are steadily changing and evolving, another value that is of extreme importance to me as a Respiratory Therapist is continuing education. Keeping myself up to date on the most recent and effective therapies and techniques allows me to be certain that I am continuing to provide the best care to my patients. These values, among many others, are in line with the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapist's Standards of Practice for Respiratory Therapists in Canada (Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists, 2015/2016).
As a specialized health care profession, Respiratory Therapists are utilized in a broad variety of scenarios and situations. These situations range from providing airway access and acute care in hospital to providing long-term home care such as oxygen and sleep therapy. While our services vary from province-to-province and even between hospitals within the same province, RTs are present in every corner of the Canadian health care system. As a RT in New Brunswick, I am aware of the vast range of services that we provide in our small province. As a student, our education included training in all areas in the hospital, including but not limited to, acute, intensive, neonatal, paediatric and long-term care. It also includes services outside the hospital such as home support, outpatient services such as asthma clinics and pulmonary rehab. The extensive work of RTs is something that many people are unaware of. Due to the fact that our profession is still relatively new and the general public is often unaware who we are and what we do, it is a goal of mine to educate the general public on just that. Educating the public on the extensive skillset of RTs will help to encourage the public to seek out and further respect their expertise.
Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists. (2015/2016). Standards of Practice for Respiratory Therapists. https://www.csrt.com/wp-content/uploads/Standards-of-Practice-for- RTs.pdf
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