Promoting professionalism and reducing staff turnover in respiratory care.

In today’s health-care environment, especially in acutecare hospitals, there is high and increasing pressure to reduce costs. This is important1 because, with increasing life expectancy (in the United States it increased from 75.37 years in 1990 to 77.2 years in 2002) and the aging of the baby boomer population, more people and a higher percentage of the population will need health care in the coming years.2 The demand for health care is straining the system at the same time that we are trying to reduce costs. Respiratory therapists (RTs) now must do more with less, so we need to find more efficient methods while seeking to improve patient outcomes.