Activities	Provide specific, well-defined respiratory care procedures under the direction of respiratory therapists and physicians.
Outlook	Faster-than-average-job growth
Median Income	$42,400 per year in 2008
Work Context & Conditions	Respiratory therapists generally work between 35 and 40 hours a week. In an emergency, therapists work under a great deal of stress.
Minimum Education Requirements	Associate's Degree
Skills	Persuasion, Social Perceptiveness, Learning Strategies, Monitoring, Management of Personnel Resources, Critical Thinking, Instructing, Operation and Control, Quality Control Analysis, Management of Material Resources, Active Listening, Writing, Service Orientation, Equipment Selection, Time Management, Troubleshooting, Mathematics, Equipment Maintenance, Active Learning, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Operation Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Science
Abilities	Oral Expression, Speech Recognition, Problem Sensitivity, Written Comprehension, Near Vision, Speech Clarity, Information Ordering, Oral Comprehension

Job Category		Healthcare Practitioners & Technical
Job Description		According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, respiratory therapists and respiratory therapy technicians—also known as respiratory care practitioners—evaluate, treat, and care for patients with breathing or other cardiopulmonary disorders. Respiratory therapy technicians follow specific, well-defined respiratory care procedures under the direction of respiratory therapists and physicians. In clinical practice, many of the daily duties of therapists and technicians overlap; furthermore, the two have the same education and training requirements. However, therapists generally have greater responsibility than technicians. For example, respiratory therapists will consult with physicians and other health care staff to help develop and modify individual patient care plans. Respiratory therapists also are more likely to provide complex therapy requiring considerable independent judgment, such as caring for patients on life support in intensive-care units of hospitals. In this Handbook statement, the term respiratory therapists includes both respiratory therapists and respiratory therapy technicians.
Working Conditions		Respiratory therapists generally work between 35 and 40 hours a week. Because hospitals operate around the clock, therapists may work evenings, nights, or weekends. They spend long periods standing and walking between patients’ rooms. In an emergency, therapists work under a great deal of stress. Respiratory therapists employed in home health care must travel frequently to the homes of patients. Respiratory therapists are trained to work with hazardous gases stored under pressure. Adherence to safety precautions and regular maintenance and testing of equipment minimize the risk of injury. As in many other health occupations, respiratory therapists run the risk of catching an infectious disease, but carefully following proper procedures minimizes this risk.
Salary Range		Median annual earnings of respiratory therapy technicians were $42,400 in 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $34,800 and $52,100. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $28,000, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $62,500.

Education Required		Formal training is necessary for entry into this field. Training is offered at the postsecondary level by colleges and universities, medical schools, vocational-technical institutes, and the Armed Forces. An associate’s degree is required for entry into the field. Most programs award associate’s or bachelor’s degrees and prepare graduates for jobs as advanced respiratory therapists. A limited number of associate’s degree programs lead to jobs as entry-level respiratory therapists. According to the Commission on Accreditation of Respiratory Care Programs (CoARC), there were over 354 accredited respiratory therapy programs (both entry level and advanced) throughout the United States, including Puerto Rico, in 2008. Among the areas of study in respiratory therapy are human anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, pharmacology, and mathematics. Other courses deal with therapeutic and diagnostic procedures and tests, equipment, patient assessment, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the application of clinical practice guidelines, patient care outside of hospitals, cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, respiratory health promotion and disease prevention, and medical recordkeeping and reimbursement.
Recommended High School Courses		Biology, Mathematics, Chemistry, Health, Physics
Postsecondary Instructional Programs		Education and Training, English Language, Psychology, Public Safety and Security, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry
Certification and Licensing		The National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) offers certification and registration to graduates of programs accredited by CAAHEP or the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). Two credentials are awarded to respiratory therapists who satisfy the requirements: Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) and Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT). Graduates from accredited entry-level or advanced-level programs in respiratory therapy may take the CRT examination. CRTs who were graduated from advanced-level programs and who meet additional experience requirements can take two separate examinations leading to the award of the RRT credential. All States (except Alaska and Hawaii), the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico require respiratory therapists to obtain a license. Passing the CRT exam qualifies respiratory therapists for State licenses. Also, most employers require respiratory therapists to maintain a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification. Supervisory positions and intensive-care specialties usually require the RRT or at least RRT eligibility.

Interest Area		Investigative Involves working with ideas and requires an extensive amount of thinking.
Work Values		Achievement Get a feeling of accomplishment. Social Service Do things for other people. Ability Utilization Make use of individual abilities. Co-workers Have co-workers who are easy to get along with.
Skills		Persuasion Persuade others to approach things differently. Social Perceptiveness Be aware of others' reactions and understand why they react the way they do. Learning Strategies Use multiple approaches when learning or teaching new things. Monitoring Assess how well someone is doing when learning or doing something. Management of Personnel Resources Motivate, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job Critical Thinking Use logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches. Instructing Teach others how to do something. Operation and Control Control operations of equipment or systems. Quality Control Analysis Conduct tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance. Management of Material Resources Obtain and see to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work. Active Listening Listen to what other people are saying and ask questions as appropriate. Writing Communicate effectively with others in writing as indicated by the needs of the audience. Service Orientation Actively look for ways to help people. Equipment Selection Determine the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job. Time Management Manage one's own time and the time of others. Troubleshooting Determine what is causing an operating error and deciding what to do about it. Mathematics Use math to solve problems. Equipment Maintenance Perform routine maintenance and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed. Active Learning Work with new material or information to grasp its implications. Complex Problem Solving Solving novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings. Judgment and Decision Making Be able to weigh the relative costs and benefits of a potential action. Operation Monitoring Watch gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly. Reading Comprehension Understand written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents. Speaking Talk to others to effectively convey information. Science Use scientific methods to solve problems.
Abilities		Oral Expression Able to convey information and ideas through speech in ways that others will understand. Speech Recognition Identify and understand the speech of another person Problem Sensitivity Able to tell when something is wrong or likely to go wrong. This doesn't involve solving the problem, just recognizing that there is a problem. Written Comprehension Able to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. Near Vision Able to see details of objects at a close range (within a few feet of the observer). Speech Clarity Able to speak clearly so listeners understand. Information Ordering Able to correctly follow rules for arranging things or actions in a certain order, including numbers, words, pictures, procedures, and logical operations. Oral Comprehension Able to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Related Jobs		Assistant, Occupational Therapy, Assistant, Physical Therapist, Nurse, Registered, Technologist, Radiologic, Technician, Radiologic
Job Outlook		Job opportunities are expected to be very good, especially for respiratory therapists with cardiopulmonary care skills or experience working with infants. Employment of respiratory therapists is expected to increase faster than average for all occupations through the year 2018, because of substantial growth in the numbers of the middle-aged and elderly population—a development that will heighten the incidence of cardiopulmonary disease—and because of the expanding role of respiratory therapists in the early detection of pulmonary disorders, case management, disease prevention, and emergency care. Older Americans suffer most from respiratory ailments and cardiopulmonary diseases such as pneumonia, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and heart disease. As their numbers increase, the need for respiratory therapists will increase as well. In addition, advances in inhalable medications and in the treatment of lung transplant patients, heart attack and accident victims, and premature infants (many of whom are dependent on a ventilator during part of their treatment) will increase the demand for the services of respiratory care practitioners. Although hospitals will continue to employ the vast majority of therapists, a growing number can expect to work outside of hospitals in home health care services, offices of physicians or other health practitioners, or consumer-goods rental firms.
More Information		American Association for Respiratory Care, National Board for Respiratory Care, Inc., Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care, American Medical Association - Health Care Careers
References		Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Respiratory Therapists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos322.htm O*NET OnLine, on the Internet at http://online.onetcenter.org/link/summary/29-2054.00