RTs defend their profession by speaking out against the
“Angel of Death.”
I’m sure many of you are aware
of the recent controversy stemming from a series of articles
that were published in the Los Angeles Times concerning
ex-respiratory therapist Efren Saldivar, aka the “Angel of
Death,” who was sentenced to life in prison without parole for
murdering six patients with intravenous injections of
paralyzing drugs. The articles portrayed respiratory care as
less than professional, making insinuations such as RCPs are
“like high school kids.” The American Association for
Respiratory Care (AARC) became concerned about this inaccurate
portrayal of the profession and urged therapists to write
letters to the Times and emphasize that the majority of
therapists take their jobs quite seriously. The Times printed
three of these letters and appropriately gave them the title,
“Saldivar Gives His Profession a Black Eye.” This slogan was
part of the first letter sent by Michael Ryan, a respiratory
therapist from Venice, Calif. Ryan said that Saldivar not only
represents human failure, but the failure of a respiratory
care department to exercise cross-checks within the department
itself. Another letter came from the president of the
California Society for Respiratory Care (CSRC) who stressed
that this is an isolated case and that RCPs are “dedicated,
educated, and highly skilled professionals.” He went on to say
that the CSRC and AARC condemn any legal or unethical acts
performed by Saldivar or his coworkers. There are 20,000 other
California therapists who take care of their patients with
compassion and skill.
It is wonderful that RCPs had a chance to respond to those
articles to let the public know that this case is not the
norm. Saldivar represents one isolated case; most therapists
are truly angels of respiratory care.
On a lighter note, I’d like to introduce RT Magazine’s new
look as we decided it was time for a face-lift. Don’t worry,
you will still receive the same up-to-date articles including
facility profiles, case reports, and guest editorials, as well
as late-breaking news and of course the “infamous” lungs that
have graced the cover of each issue for the past 13 years. To
complement RT’s new look, we have added new members to the
Editorial Advisory Board. These top-notch professionals
include Patricia Carroll, RN,C, CEN, RRT, MS, Pulmonary
Associates of the Southeast, Meriden, Conn; Dan Hatlestad,
Clinical Marketing Services, Littleton, Colo; and John A.
Wolfe, RRT, Poudre Valley Hospital, Fort Collins, Colo.
The RT team is interested in your comments and suggestions,
so please send them to my attention.
—Paige Smith
psmith@medpubs.com