Job Summary / Purpose

The Respiratory Care Student Practitioner possesses working knowledge of routine respiratory care and has displayed age-specific competence in his/her educational program for pediatric (ages 13 months to 11 years), adolescent (ages 12 to 17), adult (ages 18 to 65) and geriatric (ages 66 and over) patients. The incumbent conducts himself/herself in a professional manner and is courteous to patients, physicians, visitors, members of the department and all other healthcare personnel. The incumbent supports and contributes to departmental productivity and organizational objectives by functioning as an integrated member of the respiratory care team and performs services consistent with his/her scope of licensure. The incumbent supports and exhibits behaviors consistent with the organization’s mission and values in offering hope and healing to all.

Essential Key Job Responsibilities

1. Administers non-medicated aerosol and humidity therapy.
2. Administers oxygen therapy (including implementation of oxygen therapy protocol where appropriate).
3. Administers aerosolized medication.
4. Administers incentive spirometry.
5. Cleans and reprocesses respiratory therapy equipment.
6. Administers bronchial hygiene and performs chest physiotherapy (including implementation of bronchial hygiene protocol where appropriate).
7. Performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation and manual ventilation during resuscitation attempts and aides in rapid response calls when appropriate.
8. Licensed Respiratory Therapists are qualified to perform respiratory care procedures as evidenced by education, training, experience and competency assessments.  Preceptor supervision will be required during onboarding and orientation.  The therapist should be able to independently carry out all respiratory therapy procedures at completion of orientation.  Critical care competencies may require additional education and training (i.e. intubation, arterial line insertions) Once these competencies are completed the employee is able to independently perform the procedures.
9. Performs other duties, within the scope of licensure, as assigned.

The job summary and responsibilities listed above are designed to indicate the general nature of the work performed within this job. They are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all job responsibilities required of employees assigned to this job. Employees may be required to perform other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience 

The incumbent shall have completed the equivalent of one year of an accredited respiratory therapy educational program with a minimum GPA of 2.0. Further, the incumbent shall remain enrolled in said accredited respiratory therapy educational program while maintaining a minimum GPA of 2.0 throughout his/her employment as a Respiratory Care Student Practitioner.

Required Licensure and Certifications

Resp-Lic:KY

BLS-CPR

Required Minimum Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Training

The incumbent shall hold a Limited Mandatory Certificate (license) issued by the Kentucky Board of Respiratory Care; licensure must be maintained throughout employment as a Respiratory Care Student Practitioner. 

The incumbent shall be skilled in interpersonal communication to the level that is required to effectively interact with patients, visitors and members of the healthcare team. The incumbent shall possess critical thinking skills adequate to evaluate patient conditions and recommend appropriate intervention (or to seek assistance when necessary). The incumbent shall display time management skills that are sufficient to organize scheduled tasks in a manner that ensures delivery of high quality respiratory care. At a minimum, the incumbent shall communicate in English at the twelfth grade level.

The incumbent shall possess basic rationale in communicating therapeutic needs with patients, visitors and members of the healthcare team. The incumbent shall possess working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications and basic understanding of electronic health record systems.

Welcome to Saint Joseph East, a 217-bed, full-service, community hospital located in a convenient setting in Lexington, Kentucky. Saint Joseph East also includes the Women's Hospital at Saint Joseph East which is dedicated to supporting the well-being of women in Central and Eastern Kentucky and serves a 16-bed Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). 

CHI Saint Joseph Health is part of CommonSpirit Health, a non-profit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. With approximately 175,000 employees and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians. 

Our commitment to serve the common good is delivered through the dedicated work of thousands of physicians, advanced practice clinicians, nurses, and staff; through clinical excellence delivered across a system of 140 hospitals and more than 2,200 care centers serving 24 states.