Day in the Life: Respiratory Therapist

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Respiratory Therapists work in a variety of settings, from hospitals and clinics to sleep centers and home healthcare services. That means a typical day really depends on where you work. But since most RTs work in hospitals, let’s check out what a day in your life might be like as an RT in this clinical setting.

5:30 a.m. – Early Morning Respiratory Therapist Shift

You wake up early to prepare for the day. You might work an 8, 10, or 12-hour shift. A longer shift means fewer days and many RTs see this as a perk of the job. Right now, you work “3-on, 4-off” which means you’re on three days and then take four days off. They’re long, busy days, but four days off in a row is great for spending time with family, getting errands done, and getting away from it all.

Today, you get up before the sun, jump in the shower, get dressed, and fuel up with a healthy, protein-packed breakfast that will satisfy you until lunchtime. You even perform a few stretches and light exercises before heading out the door. This warms up your body, wakes up your brain, and gets you ready for a day of physical activity.

6:30 a.m. – RT Arrives at Work

You get to work before your shift starts to receive the handoff from the night RTs, and review patient assignments and treatment plans.

7:00 a.m. – Begin Respiratory Therapist Rounds

Once you know who’s on your floor and what they need, you make the rounds to check on your patients. How many patients you have can vary and depends on the size of the unit and the number of Respiratory Therapists on staff. You spend time with each patient, check their ventilators, and monitor their progress. You may need to adjust ventilator settings based on the patient’s lab tests. For some patients, you may need to provide nebulizer treatments, which allow medicine to enter their lungs through a mouthpiece or facemask. For others, you might need to perform cough assist treatments, which pump pressurized air into the patient’s lungs to expel mucus and air like a cough would.

10 a.m. – Assist With a Bronchoscopy

After you finish your first patient rounds, you might assist a doctor with a bronchoscopy. During this procedure, the doctor inserts a thin tube through the patient’s nostrils and down the throat to the lungs so they can see the airway. Your role is to act as the doctor’s assistant. You may need to prepare the patient for the procedure, assist the doctor with a biopsy, and monitor the patient for signs of distress.

11:30 a.m. – Break for Lunch

To stay sharp and refreshed, you need to take breaks during the day. You take short breaks in the morning and in the late afternoon, but you have a bit more time at lunch to eat, rest, or get some fresh air. Or chat with your co-workers to build your workplace relationships. Working in a hospital can challenge your emotions, so view your lunch break as a chance to shift your headspace.

12:15 p.m. – Start your Second Rounds

Some patients need treatment throughout the day, but you also perform second rounds in the afternoon or early evening. During these, you may:

Reassess patients to monitor progress, adjust treatments, repeat therapies like nebulizers or chest physiotherapy, and recheck ventilator settings or oxygen levels.
See new admissions or transfer patients who arrived since the morning and need an initial respiratory assessment or setup.
Respond to new orders from physicians or nurses, such as starting new therapies or performing follow-up arterial blood gas tests.

3 p.m. – Perform a High-Flow Nasal Cannula

Throughout a typical workday, you may conduct specialized respiratory therapies in addition to the round-the-clock treatments your patients require. One procedure you might perform is a high-flow nasal cannula, which delivers humidified air to a patient’s lungs via two thin tubes that are inserted into the patient’s nostrils. You choose the tubes—or cannula—that fit the patient properly and connect a bag of sterile water to the humidifier. Then, you turn up the heater so the water can warm up before you use it. And you place the bag, so it hangs freely and is high enough to achieve a steady flow of water into the humidifier chamber.

5:30 – 7:00 p.m.—Wrapping up the Day

You continue to work with patients for the day and note any progress made in their chart. Just as an RT handed off information to you in the morning, you do the same for your relief at night. You share any pertinent info, taking particular note of changes in the patients’ health and letting the unit nurse know that you’re ready to clock out for the day.

A day in the life of a respiratory therapist is busy but rewarding. If you’re interested in becoming an Respiratory Therapist, contact Charter College today. We offer an Associate of Applied Science in Respiratory Therapy that can prepare you for this in-demand healthcare career. Call 888-200-9942 or fill out the form to learn more.

888.200.9942