Page 15 - Christiana Care Focus

| Acute Medicine
Led by John Emberger, BS, RRT-AACS, FAARC, CPHQ, director of Respiratory Care, respiratory therapists at Christiana Care practice at the top of their field.
FOCUS • SUMMER 2019 13
Building excellence
Respiratory therapists at Christiana Care move up a four-tier clinical ladder, a professional advancement model that recognizes and rewards experience, knowledge and clinical expertise. The clinical ladder allows health professionals to continually improve their skills and to practice at the top of their field.
New caregivers may begin as first-
tier, certified respiratory therapists,
a credential for those who have graduated from a program and passed a national certification exam. More often they join Christiana Care as registered respiratory therapists
(RRT) who’ve passed their national registry exam, qualifying them for the second tier.
As they move up the ladder, respiratory therapists are rewarded with career advancement and the opportunity to work at the top of their license.
“Great respiratory therapists come to Christiana Care because they know they’ll be given education, mentoring and autonomy,” said Michael G. Benninghoff, D.O., section chief of Critical Care Medicine and medical director of Respiratory Care.
Because respiratory therapists’ work spans ages and health conditions
— from breathing treatments for high-risk babies, to ventilator
care for patients after surgery, to
palliative care and treatment — they depend on mentorship to give them disease-specific training, said Vinay Maheshwari, M.D., MHCDS, FCCP, vice chair of the Department of Medicine and physician operations leader in the Acute Medicine service line.
Advances in the ladder come
with increases in compensation, expansions to scope of practice and new expectations. Once they reach the third tier, respiratory therapists are expected to participate in quality improvement projects. At the fourth tier, they must create and lead their own quality improvement teams.
CHRISTIANA CARE RESPIRATORY THERAPY
“Much of our work is about putting yourself in the place of the patient.”
Mark Staples, RRT