How to Become a Respiratory Therapist: Job Description
As a respiratory therapist, you will spend your time and use your skills caring for and educating those who live with the challenges of a breathing condition. Working with physicians, you'll help diagnose and treat patients of all ages using advanced medical technology.
The most rewarding part of the profession lies in the critical difference you can make in patients' lives. To enhance the life of an adult suffering from a debilitating lung disease or to give a newborn baby a boost in adapting to his or her new world produces immeasurable gifts. Such remarkable deeds, more than a day's work, motivate respiratory therapists in their most crucial objective—to teach and inspire the rest of us to care for our lungs in sickness and in health. Respiratory therapists definitely help the rest of us breathe easier.
Where You'll Work as a Respiratory Therapist
Respiratory therapists work everywhere there are people in need:
- Delivering life-saving treatments in hospital emergency rooms
- Helping children in newborn and pediatric units who suffer from breathing conditions
- Managing ventilators for the critically ill in intensive care units
- Working with anesthesiologists to monitor patients' breathing during surgery
- Treating patients who require special care to breathe, such as those with cystic fibrosis, lung and other types of cancer, or AIDS
- Working in patients' homes, skilled nursing facilities, and doctors' offices, teaching patients to manage their long-term respiratory care
- Teaching children and adults to cope with asthma and other chronic lung problems, such as bronchitis and emphysema
- Conducting programs to assist those who want to quit smoking
What You'll Need to Become a Respiratory Therapist
To succeed in your respiratory therapist career you'll need to possess the following personal and professional skills:
- Enjoy working with people of all ages when they need you most
- An interest in learning cutting-edge medical technology
- Be sensitive to patients' needs, both physical and psychological
- Pay attention to detail and follow instructions
- Enjoy working as part of a team
If you meet this criteria and are interested in becoming a respiratory therapist, you'll need to get started on an accredited associate's or bachelor's degree program. Make sure you also check you state's licensing requirements.
Source: aarc.org; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011
Health Care Jobs: Top Picks
Hiring trends change over time, so it's important to do some research when you're thinking about going back to school.
Here are some of the careers that made the 2011 U.S. News and World Report list of 50 best careers:
- Lab Technicians: There are a wide variety of lab technician jobs, including phlebotomist, histotechnologist and more. You can get started with only an associate's degree, and there is potential for career advancement to technologist or management positions.
- Occupational Therapist: Help sick or injured patients learn to work around a disability and meet their full potential. Not ready to commit to a master's degree? You can get your feet wet as an occupational therapist assistant.
- Physician Assistant: These highly skilled workers perform many of the duties of a physician. Because a physician assistant has master's degree rather than a doctorate, medical facilities can hire them at a lower cost than they can a doctor. This makes PAs very attractive in the job market.
- Physical Therapist Assistant: You'll qualify for this career with only a 2-year associates degree. You'll work with a physical therapist to help patients through rehabilitation. And it's a great stepping stone should you choose to become a physical therapist.
- Radiologic Technologist: As a radiologic technologist, you'll assist doctors and patients by helping provide the medical images needed to properly diagnose a variety of medical conditions. You can enter the field with either an associate's or bachelor's degree.