Use Word's AI to Draft Respiratory Therapy Policies

What This Does

Microsoft Word's built-in AI (Copilot or the "Draft with Copilot" feature) can generate a complete first draft of a clinical policy or procedure document inside your existing Word template — including purpose, scope, procedure steps, contraindications, and documentation requirements. You stay in the tool you already use and avoid the copy-paste workflow.

Before You Start

• You have Microsoft Word installed (desktop version, not just the web app)
• Your organization has Microsoft 365 (check with IT — Copilot requires an M365 subscription)
• You have an existing policy template or blank document open

Steps

1. Find the AI feature

In Word, click the Home tab in the ribbon. Look for Copilot in the right side of the toolbar (purple/blue sparkle icon). If you don't see it, try the Review tab or look for Draft with Copilot which appears when you click inside the document body. In older versions without Copilot, you can use the Editor pane or the Resume Assistant panel for structured suggestions.

2. Tell it what you need

Click the Copilot icon or the Draft with Copilot prompt box. Type your request in plain language:

"Write a respiratory therapy department policy for spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) protocol in adult ICU patients. Include purpose, scope, indications, contraindications, procedure steps, monitoring requirements, success and failure criteria, and documentation requirements. Align with AARC clinical practice guidelines."

Click Generate.

3. Review and use the result

Word will insert the draft directly into your document. Read through each section and:

• Replace placeholder [values] with your institution's specific thresholds
• Adjust scope to match your department's practice setting
• Add your hospital's required signature/approval header
• Check against your current approved policy format for section order

Use Track Changes (Review tab) to mark your edits so reviewers can see what changed from the AI draft.

Real Example

Scenario: You're the charge RT and your director asked you to update the HFNC protocol. The current policy is from 2019 and doesn't reflect current evidence.

What you type: "Update this respiratory therapy policy for high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) use in adult patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Include: indications, contraindications, initial settings (FiO2, flow rate), monitoring intervals, escalation criteria, and weaning guidelines. Format as a hospital clinical policy with numbered procedure steps."

What you get: A 600–800 word policy draft with numbered steps, specific clinical parameters, and appropriate sections — ready for your medical director's review in 20 minutes instead of 2 hours.

Tips

• If Copilot isn't available in your Word version, copy the prompt to ChatGPT, generate the draft there, then paste it into your Word template
• Keep your institution's policy number, approval date, and department name in the header — AI won't know these
• For pediatric or NICU policies, specify the patient population explicitly so the AI uses appropriate parameters

Tool interfaces change — if a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.