Respiratory Therapists in Neurology
Given the complexity of the clinical pictures treated there, working in neurological facilities requires a specific qualification for respiratory therapists.
Factsheet
- Lead school School of Health Professions
- Institute(s) Academic-Practice-Partnership Insel Gruppe/ BFH
- Funding organisation Others
- Duration (planned) 01.02.2024 - 28.02.2026
- Project management Dr. Anja Raab
- Head of project Dr. Anja Raab
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Project staff
Carmen Brun
Flora Stojkaj
Sabrina Grossenbacher
Mirjam Körner - Partner Inselspital
- Keywords Advanced Practice Physiotherapy, New models of care
Situation
Patients with neurological diseases may experience a weakening of the respiratory muscles in various phases of the underlying disease. This is not a disease of the lungs, but a treatable disorder of respiratory function. The need for respiratory therapists in neurology is constantly increasing, and they are used in particular in neurological-neurosurgical early rehabilitation and specialised respiratory centres. Demand is increasing because society is changing. On the one hand, this is due to the increase in average age and, on the other, to the increase in patients with multiple illnesses (multimorbidity). At the same time, mechanisation is also advancing in this area, for example with regard to ventilators. More and more patients are surviving serious trauma and neurological diseases, which is why there is a growing need for highly specialised respiratory therapists in both inpatient and outpatient settings (and the interface at the point of transfer). Given the complexity of the clinical pictures treated there, working in neurological facilities requires specific qualifications for respiratory therapists. The use of respiratory therapists has long been established in some countries, whereas this is not yet standard practice in neurological rehabilitation centres in Switzerland.
Course of action
The aim is to systematically record the advanced competences of respiratory therapists in their work in the neurological setting, to define their competence profile and to describe the interfaces with other professional groups. We examine the question of scepticism or recognition of advanced practitioners in interprofessional teams using the example of collaboration with respiratory therapists in neurology. We want to explore the different experiences of advanced practitioners in interprofessional teams, collect factors that promote and hinder the understanding of roles in interprofessional collaboration, and analyze the different attitudes towards the implementation of new models.
