Recent news reports about the layoffs of respiratory therapists in Kentucky and the concomitant fervor that’s followed on some social media sites prompts me to address some of the most vocal of claims. The beauty of social media is that those types of forums allow individuals to express their "opinions," but in a rational world, we all must have the foresight and knowledge to understand that opinions are not facts.
Here’s what we know --
Myth. KentuckyOne is eliminating all RTs from their health system.
That is not true. "We have spoken with the media, with RTs involved, the Kentucky Society for Respiratory Care and the Kentucky Board for Respiratory Care to get all the details. The health system has removed RTs from three stand-alone ED's (one of which is completely closing altogether). KentuckyOne still employs RTs in their hospitals and ICUs to perform ventilator management and other care for patients with respiratory diseases. While I disagree with removing RTs from the stand-alone EDs, that is a far claim from wiping them off the map.
Myth. Nurses do not perform physical therapy like they perform respiratory therapy.
Really? I witnessed them doing that everyday in the ICUs and floors for 25 years. Read the RN license in Any State, USA and you will find it in the nursing scope of practice.
Myth. Lack of attention to detail and leadership led to others getting access to "respiratory care scope of practice."
One must remember that legislation and politics are very strange creations. Each RT practice act is slightly different, as state societies needed to work within their own political environment to accomplish getting a practice act passed in the state legislature. Many of these lobbying endeavors were financially supported by the AARC and its members’ dues. It is also a fact that legislators will never pass legislation that tends to restrict another group’s current scope of practice. That will never change today or in the future. Nursing was first in line with practice acts and they wrote it to cover everything from A-to-Z.
Myth. AARC has stood by silently and watched the times pass us by.
Probably not worth the keyboard keystrokes, but I will leave it at the following. Pull the three papers in Respiratory Care on 2015, an endeavor that started around 2005-06 to determine the future of healthcare and the role of RTs. It is very enlightening and the first manuscript published around 2009 points out exactly the processes and changes taking place today. Every AARC National Congress has addressed these items since that time. The proverbial saying is that you can "lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink".
Myth. AARC is responsible for job loss, under recognition, lack of respect, (and world peace and hunger, some would say).
The AARC is not a 1920's labor union, never was intended to be. Truth is that AARC is "us." It is made up of your peers and colleagues (at least 33% of them) and has advanced the profession in a short time (6 decades) compared to our colleagues (RNs and MDs) that have been around hundreds of years. Is it perfect? Of course not, as nothing is perfect. It is each RT’s responsibility to promote the profession starting at the bedside and moving outward to the public. That is where recognition and respect are earned and jobs are secured.
Fact: Each and every respiratory therapist, each and every day, has ownership in this profession's future. You do it by making a difference in your patient’s life with positive outcomes and high quality care and education that is delivered in the safest method. Documenting, demonstrating and providing those goals will keep the profession around for a long time in critical and new arenas. Failure to do so is doom for any profession in healthcare reform as we move forward.
Fact: Healthcare reform is moving forward; it has to or healthcare will implode in the U.S. otherwise. We have the highest healthcare cost in the world, but fall way down the list in outcomes compared to many others that spend half or less than we do. Healthcare is shifting from reactive and responsive in the expensive acute care setting to one of prevention and wellness. We must quickly change with the times as 75% of today's RTs are in the acute care setting. We must shift into the post-acute care and ambulatory environments to be accessible to our patients across that continuum of care. If that’s not a reason to write in support of HR 2619, nothing is.
It was once stated to me that the Best Quarterback ever in the history of the game was the Monday Morning one. So we’re all entitled to our opinions, and much excellent and thoughtful discussion has taken place on these issues. But temper those opinions with facts and realities if a meaningful discourse is to continue.