Rhonchi

This is an interesting use of the net to give patients information about how hospitals work. I know many times we would be understaffed and be working extra hard, but RTs generally work as teams and can call in one or two people and the slack will get picked up. Nurse staffing is much more acute. Still, nice to see they’re including information about other ancillary services. The site is at http://www.patientsfirstma.org/

Mass. hospital website is set to detail nurse staffing levels – The Boston Globe

The hospital project is impressive in its detail. For each unit at each hospital, consumers can see the average number of patients per day, the number of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nursing assistants working each shift, and any other staff available on each shift, such as a nutritionist or respiratory therapist. There also is a bottom-line number: the average number of hours a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse spends daily with each patient.

The site includes this definition of an RT:

Respiratory Therapy
These individuals perform testing and provide respiratory treatments to diagnose and manage the care of patients with lung and breathing problems. They also monitor and maintain respiratory equipment, and provide patient education.

The information about RT staffing levels seems to be pretty general. Staffing plans are listed but not staffing levels for Respiratory Therapists.