Respiratory Therapist Night shift

The Respiratory Therapist - ISR will provide direct patient care in the inpatient setting at SAMMC and Institute of Surgical Research (ISR) at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) primarily in the Burn Intensive Care Unit (BICU), the Burn Operating Room (OR) and the Burn Progressive Care Unit (BPCU) for respiratory-related services, providing both diagnostic and therapeutic services consistent with acceptable standards of care provided by a Respiratory Therapist.

Responsibilities

• Will develop, implement, and maintain continued performance/quality improvement activities within the section of clinical assignment.
• Establishes and evaluates experimental/new approaches to direct patient intervention and care-based information available in professional literature.
• Adapt current concepts and develop new ones to achieve established and professionally recognizable goals for patient care.
• Exercise professional judgment in planning and administering therapy to patients with inhalation, thermal, electrical, chemical or trauma injuries and associated other symptoms or other diseases that would place the patient in the care of the USAISR Burn Unit.
• Complete burn and trauma in-patient and outpatient evaluations appropriate for the patient to determine current levels of function/dysfunction.
• Assist in developing and conduct professional short courses and in-service education programs for peers, other healthcare providers, and members of the military and civilian communities.
• Directly participate in all patient treatment. Evaluate and document each patient's response to treatment on an ongoing basis.
• Provide professional guidance, counseling, and evaluation and assist in directing activities and training of assigned military respiratory therapy students, students from local Respiratory Therapy education programs, and flight medics.
• Design treatment plans to be implemented personally by the therapist or technicians assigned to USAISR Burn Unit.
• Develop, implement, and maintain continued performance/quality improvement activities within the section of clinical assignment. Communicate findings to appropriate ISR staff. Evaluate and document each patient’s response to treatment on an ongoing basis.
• Initiate, operate, and monitor state-of-the-art respiratory life support systems and laboratory equipment unique to the Burn Respiratory Therapy Section.
• Calibrate complex respiratory equipment and identifies and corrects mechanical malfunctions to unique burn respiratory therapy equipment.
• Use state-of-the-arm transcutaneous monitoring for the evaluation of adequate ventilation and perfusion.
• Collect arterial blood samples for blood analysis by means of arterial punctures and patient arterial line sampling to meet College of American Pathologists standards.
• Process blood samples within the Respiratory Therapy ABG lab and interpreting the results.
• Use independent clinical judgment, under the supervision of a physician to make appropriate ventilator and BiPAP/CPAP settings changes based on the result of blood gas analysis within RT-driven protocols.
• Recommend changes in treatment to the physician based on blood gas analysis.
• Provide pulmonary therapy by administering inhaled aerosolized medications, performing CPT, lung expansion therapy, PEP therapy, volumetric pulmonary exercises suctioning, bedside spirometry, oxygen level analysis, and high-flow oxygen therapy using specialized equipment.
• Perform intra-hospital patient transport for intubated burn ICU patient radiological studies, procedures, and wound care showers.
• Assist in inter-hospital patient movement needs for critical patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support.
• Initiate respiratory therapy-directed weaning protocols.
• Calibrate and initiate the use of specialty equipment and specialty gas therapy.
• Provide ventilator management for patients requiring support from the VDR-4, a highly specialized high-frequency ventilator unique to the Institute of Surgical Research.
• Interface inhaled Nitric Oxide and Heliox adjuncts to patient life support systems with physician orders.
• Set up and assist with therapeutic and diagnostic fiberoptic bronchoscopy procedures.
• Assist in the evaluation of inhalation injury and the collection of BAL samples for cytological and histological evaluation.
• Calibrate and perform radiologic bone densitometer scans (DEXA) on burn ICU patients.
• Calibrate and perform metabolic studies using specialized equipment on burn ICU patients.
• Assist in the placement of artificial airways.
• Independently perform extubations, tracheostomy decannulation and tracheostomy tube exchanges with a physician’s order.
• Provide primary assistance in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and serves as a member of the Rapid Response Team (RRT).
• Provide patient/family/staff education on treatment procedures.
• Makes timely and appropriate referrals to other providers when medical indicated. Progresses treatment as appropriate and demonstrates ongoing discharge planning.
• Attend weekly multidisciplinary discharge planning meetings as needed.
• Ensure correlation, coordination, and communication among staff and health care members involved in promoting successful goal-oriented patient care with recommendations for both short and long-term goal completion before and after patient discharge. Therapist will also attend daily rounds on an as-needed basis.
• Maintain proper medical records on all patients evaluated and treated under this contract in accordance with AR 40-66.
• Prepare any additional records or description of care if and when required on behalf of the MTF, the Medical Command, the Military Health System, Department of the Army, and the Department of Defense.
• Will be required to go through a six-week orientation (annual re-evaluation also), and will show proficiency in the following areas before being allowed to function without supervision: Suctioning (open and closed); nasotracheal and orotracheal suctioning, tracheostomy tube changes, mechanical ventilation both conventional and high frequency, using: VDR-4, Drager, Evita XL, TXP, Duotron, LTV, Sero-I, 3100 Oscillator and Oxylog; aerosol therapy; bronchoscope/gastroscope setup and procedures; CPT; IS; IPV therapy; 02 therapy; high flow oxygen therapy; lung expansion therapy; patient transporters; arterial punctures; venipunctures; patient sample line blood draws; ABG analysis; PFTs; weaning parameters; ventilator changes outs; BiPAP/CPAP therapy; INO therapy, Heliox therapy; leaning and preparing equipment for sterilization; Essentris charting; culturing equipment; end-tidal CO2 monitors use, transcutaneous CO2 monitoring, ABG lab maintenance and procedures; 02 cylinder use flow duration; infection control policies, Vocera system communications; metabolic studies and monitor use; DEXA scan bone densitometer, calibration and use.
• Other duties as assigned

• Minimum two (2) years of experience working in an Intensive Care Unit as a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) in the United States OR
• Minimum one (1) year of experience in an Intensive Care Unit as a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT)
• In lieu of experience, must have completed a satisfactory rotation in the ISR Respiratory Therapy Department, and have graduated from a CoARC accredited Respiratory Therapy Program.
• Possess a National Board of Respiratory Care (NBRC) license
• Texas State Respiratory Therapy License
• Must have and maintain American Heart Association (AHA) or American Red Cross certifications in
  • Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS)
  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Detailed Oriented skills to ensure patient are receiving the appropriate treatments.
• Shall be able to read, write, and speak English well enough to effectively communicate with patients and other HCPs.

Physical Demands (The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)

• While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear. The employee may use repeated motions that include the arms, wrists, hands and/or fingers. The employee is occasionally required to walk, stand, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

Any estimated salary provided by this job board may not align with Chenega's compensation program. Please apply to connect with a recruiter who can provide more details.

Executive Order 13495, The Non Displacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts provide first right of refusal to incumbents on contracts. If the position is accepted by the incumbent on the job, other application/resume of non-incumbents will not be reviewed.