This November, Respiratory Therapy will have been regulated in Ontario for 20 years. In that time, as well as all the years before the CRTO came into being, we have witnessed tremendous growth in our profession.\u00a0 The most dramatic changes have occurred in the acute care setting, where RTs are now performing procedures and fulfilling roles that weren\u2019t even conceived of 20 years ago. \u00a0We know that medical advances will continue, with every reason to believe that the RT role in acute care will evolve along with them. \u00a0There are many other ways RTs can make significant differences in the lives of their patients, however most opportunities to grow as a profession now exist outside the walls of a hospital.<\/p>\r\n
Demographic and financial realities will cause a dramatic shift in how health care services are delivered in this province over the next several years. One of the principal goals in the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care\u2019s (MOHLTC) Ontario\u2019s Action Plan for Health Care <\/i>is to find cost effective ways to provide timely and high quality health care closer to home. The \u201cRight Care, Right Time, Right Place\u201d initiative is aimed at expanding practitioners\u2019 scope of practice so that patients can receive the care they need in the place they choose.\u00a0 As patients with increasing complex respiratory needs are being discharged from hospitals, RTs are being asked to apply a broader range of acute care skills in a community setting. This presents a unique opportunity for RTs to use their specialized knowledge and have a tremendous impact by fulfilling a very real need.\u00a0 But for many of us, it will require a significant shift in how we practice individually, as well as how we see ourselves as a profession collectively.<\/p>\r\n
Traditionally we\u2019ve tended to view respiratory therapy as technology-focused and acute care-centred. However, as the population ages and more Family Health Teams (FHTs), community-based specialty clinics and long-term care facilities require RT services, we must be willing to work and (to borrow from Apple\u2019s advertising slogan\u2026) \u201cthink differently\u201d. For some RTs already out in practice, it may mean learning a new skill\u2026or dusting off an old one.\u00a0 For new grads, it means considering a much broader range of practice setting options than ever before.\u00a0 For example, the trach we previously changed in the ICU will now, more than likely, be changed in the person\u2019s home.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n
No matter where we work – or how long we have been working – RTs need to be ready for what may be the biggest evolution in our profession yet.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This November, Respiratory Therapy will have been regulated in Ontario for 20 years. In that time, as well as all the years before the CRTO came into being, we have witnessed tremendous growth in our profession.\u00a0 The most dramatic changes have occurred in the acute care setting, where RTs are now performing procedures and fulfilling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,25,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-members-blog","category-practice-blog","category-students-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n