Have you worked with a patient with a condition that was beyond your scope of practice? How did you handle it?
"While I didn't run into this situation during my clinical rotations, my preceptor at one rotation educated me on what to do in these situations. I know that it is important for me to understand my duties and what falls outside of those duties as a Respiratory Therapist. If I ever noticed a patient condition that fell outside of my scope, I would talk to an appropriate nurse or provider as soon as possible to let them know what I found. Teamwork like this is essential for the care of all patients as we all have our areas of expertise in their care."
"Just a few months ago, I was providing therapy to an older gentleman with asthma. As part of my normal treatment with patients, I take vital sign readings, and the patient's blood pressure was extremely high. While giving the patient time to relax, I noticed his breathing becoming heavier, and his blood pressure was not coming down. Noticing this was a major concern, I called the Emergency Department to see if he showed signs of a potential stroke, and they advised me to bring him down to the ED. Knowing that wasn't my call to make, I'm extremely thankful that I took the necessary course of action as the patient ended up having a bypass surgery that afternoon."
Sometimes you work with a patient who has a bigger issue that requires other forms of therapy that you cannot provide. For example, a patient may have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. After multiple therapy appointments, you find a worse problem like a pharyngeal obstruction that requires surgery. You need to understand that it's okay if this happens. Your patient will be better off if you admit that you think there is another problem that needs attention outside of your therapy realm. If you have researched and learned about some of these related conditions, the interviewer might be interested. Speak from experience. If your experience is limited, be honest.
"In my current position working in a large hospital, I spend a lot of my time working with patients in our ICU. Here, it is frequent for patients or their family members to ask me to do things outside of my duties as a Respiratory Therapist. Just last week, I was monitoring a patient on a ventilator, and a family member asked if I could change the IV of the patient as the fluid was getting low. I let them know that the nurse with the proper training would have to do that, and I spoke with the nurse immediately to alleviate the concern of the family member."
