respiratory therapists are required to possess excellent clinical skills in order to deliver
high-quality care to their patients however they must also provide services in an ethical way in
accordance with the law this can be difficult to do as there are many implications that need
to be considered when providing respiratory care rts must regularly make choices that have both
ethical and legal consequences this video will help you develop a better understanding of how to
be an ethical respiratory therapist so if you're ready let's get into it according to the aarc
there are several practices that respiratory therapists can adhere to in order to ensure
that they are acting ethical and lawfully while on the job the first is to be objective trustworthy
and reflect integrity so basically just be honest that's what it all boils down to integrity is
the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles in everything you do trust your
coworkers to fulfill their job duties completely and you do the same this goes a long way with your
patients and other members of the healthcare team number two is to never stop learning
this is required so you might as well embrace it lifelong education is important in all aspects of
life we should always strive to gain knowledge and learn new skills in the field of respiratory care
depending on the state of your licensure you will be required to obtain a certain
amount of continuing education ceus each year this is not only something everyone should do
it is a requirement in order to maintain your license number three is to provide care with
your scope of practice what this basically means is that you should stay in your lane
you wouldn't want a nurse to stick an abg for you so you shouldn't be trying to start an iv for them
you get the idea even if it's something small if it's not within your scope of practice don't do it
this not only protects you but also ensures the safety of your patients next up is to protect the
personal rights of the patient this goes without saying but always keep your patients information
private this means that you should never share any patient information without their consent
unless it's required by law unfortunately this is something that does occur far too
often amongst health care workers number five don't discriminate you should treat all patients
equally and provide high quality care no matter their background here's a simple rule of thumb
treat each patient as if they were one of your own family members because remember they are
someone's loved one and it is your job to care for all patients equally next up is to promote
disease prevention and wellness this means that you should do your part in disease prevention
and it's really not that hard be sure to wash your hands before and after each patient interaction
scrub in and scrub out whatever necessary wear a mask gown and other ppe when it's required
it goes without saying that this is not only to protect the patient but also protect your health
and well-being number seven is to participate in no illegal or unethical acts i mean yeah don't
do illegal things at work got it seriously though don't steal from your employer don't give yourself
a breathing treatment while at work don't show up to work under the influence use common sense
people this also includes reporting unlawful acts that you may witness while on the job now this may
be difficult at times especially if it's from a co-worker who is also a friend however if you see
that their actions can potentially bring harm to a patient it is your ethical and legal obligation to
report the actions to a superior number eight is to comply with the state and federal laws we all
must abide by the same federal laws in order to maintain the credentials that give us the right
to practice respiratory care however some states may have laws that vary slightly from others
it's your responsibility to learn and uphold the laws of the state in which you choose to practice
this applies to acquiring and maintaining your license to practice in that state as well
next up is to avoid conduct that creates a conflict of interests a conflict of interests
arises when a person has a personal interest that could influence their professional judgment
for example a respiratory therapist might have a financial interest in a company that manufactures
respiratory equipment if they were to recommend this equipment to their patients they would be
engaging in a conflict of interest the best way to avoid this is to be transparent with your patients
to be safe simply avoid taking any action that could be interpreted as a conflict of interest and
number 10 is to promote stewardship of resources one way to promote stewardship of resources is to
use equipment and supplies in a responsible manner for example you should use materials in a way that
minimizes waste and maximizes the benefits for your patients you can also make sure to use the
most up-to-date and evidence-based practices doing so helps ensure that you're providing high-quality
respiratory care again we got the idea for this video from content that was put out by the aarc
if you're interested i'll drop a link to it down below in the description but real quick
if you don't mind do me a huge favor and hit the like button it really helps support the
channel and i greatly greatly appreciate it and you might as well go ahead and subscribe for
more videos like this hopefully what you learned in this video was useful and can help you work
as an honest and ethical respiratory therapists over the course of your career
if so be sure to let us know down in the comment section below and if you want to dive even deeper
we do have a full guide on our website i'll drop a link to that as well right below this video
down in the description and one final reminder we are not doctors this video is for informational
purposes only thank you so much for watching have a blessed day and as always breathe easy my friend
you