Registered Respiratory Therapist

Registered Respiratory Therapist

Join Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital's team of caregivers that provide top-quality patient care to the communities in and around Port St. Lucie. Opening its doors in 2013 and expanding in 2017, this state-of-the-art acute care facility has 177 patient rooms and offers services in a wide variety of specialties to meet community needs. You'll be supported as you follow your dreams and find where you belong, here at Tradition Hospital.

As a Respiratory Therapist, you will support a diverse patient population, with many managing chronic respiratory disorders, critical illnesses and related symptoms. In this role, combining your skills with a compassionate attitude and outlook can make a difference in the lives of patients in the ICU and Emergency Department and their families. All the while, you will gain extensive hands-on experience in cardiopulmonary assessments, arterial blood gas analysis, oxygenation studies and more. You can also explore the numerous professional development resources offered by Cleveland Clinic, potentially expanding into higher positions and roles within the hospital.

A PRN caregiver in this position works varying days from 6:30 A M 7:00 P M, including at least one weekend and six shifts per six-week period. Tradition Hospital will be the primary work location but floating to Martin North and Martin South will be required, as needed.

A caregiver who excels in this role will:

• Provide assessment, treatment, care and evaluation for patients of all ages with respiratory insufficiencies.
• Perform cardiopulmonary assessment to evaluate respiratory status.
• Perform physical exams to assess breath sounds, work of breathing and airway patency.
• Review records, reports and results such as radiologic tests, blood gases, hemodynamic monitoring and pulmonary function tests.
• Collaborate closely with physicians, nurses and interdisciplinary team members to optimize patient outcomes and ensure continuity of care.
• Administer medical gases (oxygen, nitric oxide), aerosolized medications, bronchial hygiene and lung re-inflation techniques.
• Follow established protocols, procedures and practices for therapeutic procedures.
• Perform blood gas sampling and arterial line insertion.
• Perform tracheostomy tube changes as directed.
• Manage invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilators and artificial airways.
• Perform blood gas puncture and analysis, pulse oximetry and bedside pulmonary function testing.
• Assist with bronchoscopy procedures.
• Respond to medical emergencies, participate in trauma and resuscitation procedures and assist with patient transport.
• Assess for age-appropriate educational needs and provide patient and family education about the illness and care plan.
• Serve as a preceptor for new employees and students enrolled in an accredited Respiratory Care program.
• Record the care and treatment provided following established procedures.

Minimum qualifications for the ideal future caregiver include:

• Graduate from an accredited Respiratory Care Program
• Diploma and/or transcripts must be provided for validation
• Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential from the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC)
• State of Florida Department of Health Licensed Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT)
• Neonatal Pediatric Specialist (NPS) credential from the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) as appropriate for site
• Basic Life Support (BLS) certification through the American Heart Association (AHA) or American Red Cross
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) certifications as appropriate for site

Preferred qualifications for the ideal future caregiver include:

• Bachelor's Degree
• Prior experience in critical care
• Neonatal/pediatric experience
• Prior experience performing invasive procedures

Physical Requirements:

• Requires good manual dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
• Requires normal hearing and vision or corrected to normal range.
• May require sitting, standing and walking for extensive periods of time.
• This position requires proficiency in treatment of respiratory disorders for inpatient and outpatients with various media, i.e. oxygen, therapeutic gases, inhaled medications and positive pressure devices.
• Interpretive skills frequent interactive and consultative associations are inherent in this position.
• The ability to retrieve, communicate or otherwise present information in a written, auditory or visual fashion is essential.
• Physical Duties: Moderate to heavy lifting and positioning of patients.
• Moderate pushing and pulling of equipment.
• Working Conditions: 100% air-conditioned.
• Moderate risk of exposure to blood or air-borne pathogens.

Personal Protective Equipment:

• Follows standard precautions using personal protective equipment as required.

The policy of Cleveland Clinic Health System and its system hospitals (Cleveland Clinic Health System) is to provide equal opportunity to all of our caregivers and applicants for employment in our drug free environment. All offers of employment are followed by testing for controlled substances.

Cleveland Clinic Health System administers an influenza prevention program. You will be required to comply with this program, which will include obtaining an influenza vaccination on an annual basis or obtaining an approved exemption.

Decisions concerning employment, transfers and promotions are made upon the basis of the best qualified candidate without regard to color, race, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, status as a disabled or Vietnam era veteran or any other characteristic protected by law. Information provided on this application may be shared with any Cleveland Clinic Health System facility.

If applying for a Florida position, please see the following website for more information on the background screening requirements required by the Agency of Health Care Administration:

Please review the Equal Employment Opportunity poster.

Cleveland Clinic is pleased to be an equal employment opportunity employer.