Staff Spotlight
Richmond RT Team, Respiratory Therapists
There’s a saying that you never know about Respiratory Therapy / Therapists (RT) until you need one – and then you’ll never forget. The RT role is unique as it is one of the few disciplines that work with every age group and in all hospital areas, including critical care, palliative and the community.
Ingrid, RT Professional Practice Leader at Richmond Hospital tells us that RTs are the silent warriors that deal with the most critical patients and severe emergencies in the hospital. “Many people have no idea who we are or what we do, but RTs have a highly specialized set of skills that is ever-expanding and becoming more complex,” she says.
As we celebrate and acknowledge Respiratory Therapist Week, we recently caught up with the RT team at Richmond Hospital to hear about what they love most about their role and team.
“I enjoy working with all the other health disciplines and sharing responsibilities and medical knowledge in patient care,” says Kam. “The role of respiratory therapy is interesting because it involves knowing more than just the respiratory system. We fully understand other body systems as they are all connected in one intricate system.”
Jackmen is a new graduate and is grateful for the team who has been supportive by always checking in and answering his questions. “Transitioning from school to clinical practice can be difficult as I still don’t have much experience under my belt. The team has been super helpful as I continue to build upon my skills with more clinical experience.”
His favorite thing about working at Richmond Hospital – he has a lot of autonomy regarding his practice. “I feel my contributions are valued by other members of the health care team and they put their trust in me to help treat our patients.”
“My favourite thing about working as an RT at VCH is that our roles are so diverse,” says Jihee. “We get to work with the sickest of patients but also with people on their way to recovery. This helps us to keep our skills sharp. It is also cool that we get to follow patients from the emergency department to units and to discharge.”
Jihee acknowledges that it has been a rough year for everyone. “Sometimes we’re in a situation where we can’t leave the patient’s side because of intubation, desaturations, and transports, etc and then we get called to something else that also needs attention like labour and delivery, conscious sedation, another person also de-saturating,” she says. “We hope people understand we’re doing our best to cover the hospital.”
Ingrid tells us that her favourite part of the job is when she gets to interact with the team. “The RTs at Richmond are so diverse in terms of their years and types of experience as clinicians,” she says. “When we have a complex patient or new procedure, I enjoy hearing their creative ideas on how to solve challenges we are facing.”
She also says she felt very welcomed as a new leader at the hospital. “They made me so comfortable right away being in a new place after 14 years at Vancouver General Hospital. I’m so proud to call myself an RT even though I’m not on the frontline anymore, and I love to see our amazing team in action when things are in high gear.”
Join our team
Explore the current career opportunities for RTs at Vancouver Coastal Health.