Respiratory Care Services at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a very large and very busy department.

In 2006, Respiratory Care Services administered:

• more than 315,000 mechanical ventilation hours
• almost 200,000 therapeutic procedures
• more than 510,000 continuous oxygen hours
• almost 100,000 blood gas analyses

RTs work in the intensive care units and are on-call for the emergency medicine department and for the general wards. During the first six months of your contract you will rotate through all intensive care units, including:

• 15-bed Surgical Special Care Unit (SSCU-B)
• 20-bed central MICU (MICU-C) and the seven-bed MSICU-D (there is an additional 12-bed MICU-E scheduled to open in 2009)
• 19-bed Cardiac Surgical ICU
• 18-bed Pediatric ICU
• 37-bed Level III Neonatal ICU

After the first six months, you can choose a core area of the ICU in which to work. RRTs provide continuous oxygenation and ventilation support to ICU patients. If you do not have experience in a specific area (e.g. NICU), cross training is provided during the orientation period.

RRTs are highly respected at the King Faisal, and they are given a high degree of independence. Common procedures include:

• administration of medical gases (oxygen, nitric oxide, heliox)
• inhaled medications delivery
• lung expansion therapy and pulmonary toilet
• emergency intubations

Requirements:

• Associate’s degree in Respiratory Therapy, and
• Registered with the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists (CSRT) or National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC), and
• A minimum of two years experience as a Registered Respiratory Therapist in a mid- to large-sized acute-care hospital in North America.

Benefits:

• Tax-free income
• Single-status contract
• Accommodations provided
• Relocation allowance
• More than 7 calendar weeks of vacation