Salyer currently manages the respiratory therapy (RT) services at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. He draws on 30-plus years of experience in RT, 23 of them in various management positions, in creating a practical text for professionals interested in or already working in a respiratory care department. Topics addressed included preparations for becoming an RT manager, hospital organization, structuring a department, measuring department performance, staffing systems, billing systems, budgeting, evaluating technology, and staff development. The appendices contain a list of higher education institutions offering a bachelor's degree in RT, RT job descriptions and performance evaluation forms, a glossary of reimbursement terminology, samples of capital budgeting forms, a list of common mistakes made by directors/managers, print and nonprint resources, equipment evaluation documents, and orientation and training documents. The accompanying CD-ROM contains the appendices, and additional tables, and charts. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)