As the demand for respiratory therapists increases steadily beyond 2023, those with top skills and professional certifications will be more marketable to employers. At the basic level, you need an Associate degree in Respiratory Care or a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science from a CoARC-accredited learning institution in addition to passing the following Credentialing examinations by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC):
There are two cut-scores for the TMC exams – the lower cut and the upper cut. Passing the TMC exams at the lower cut qualifies you for an entry-level Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) credential. If you score at the upper cut, you earn the CRT credential and automatically qualify for the Clinical Simulation Examinations (CSE). Respiratory therapists who successfully challenge the CSE are awarded the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential, nationally recognized as the gold standard for respiratory care professionals.
The main responsibility of respiratory therapists is to help patients with breathing difficulties by offering a wide range of services, including:
Working as a respiratory therapist entails interacting with people, so candidates with excellent teamwork and communication skills are naturally advantaged.
Jump to a template:
Jump to a resource:
Get advice on each section of your resume:
Respiratory therapists are certified medical professionals who treat breathing-related problems. They typically work with doctors and nurses to evaluate lung function and develop care and treatment plans to alleviate breathing problems. They also teach people with respiratory problems how to manage/treat their conditions at home. With reports showing that respiratory diseases are on the rise, the demand for these professionals is projected to increase by 23% from 2020 to 2030. Natural attrition (retirements, deaths, occupational shift) and high case prevalence fuel the demand for respiratory therapists.
As an applicant with over 8 years of experience, this resume is focused on showcasing relevant professional experience, key career achievements, and career trajectory. The applicant also demonstrates leadership skills as a function of increased responsibilities that come naturally with longer service durations. The wealth of experience qualifies this applicant for top-tier jobs that require more years of experience.
Always use descriptive data to support your success claims. This is particularly applicable in the healthcare sector, where numbers are pivotal to determining whether KPIs have been met. For example, writing “set up BI-PAP, CPAP… for 76 patients leading to an 85% survival rate” is more impactful than simply saying “set up BI-PAP, CPAP…for 76 patients.” Whenever possible, use data to demonstrate impact.
If you have a lot of experience, a resume summary is the best way to highlight your transferable skills, contextualize your experience, and explain why you are a good match for the position you are applying for. Mention 2-3 key skills that relate to the job description and include metrics to show 'demonstrable experience.'.
As a New Grad Respiratory Therapist, you're eager to commence your journey, making a vital difference in patients' lives. This profession is seeing a significant surge given the current global health scenario, and employers are hunting for fresh energy and ideas. While crafting your resume, remember that you're a fresh face in the industry. Instead of vast experience, you should emphasize your educational qualifications, internships and key skills learned. Don't fret over lack of long-term job experience; what matters is your potential and readiness to learn and adapt.
Resumes for this role are unique. They're a blend of technical knowledge, clinical experiences, and soft skills. The resume should sound professional yet compassionate, reflecting your ability to handle stress and make quick decisions in critical situations. Tailoring your resume to reflect these aspects will help you navigate the increasingly competitive job market and stand out as an appealing candidate.
This is where you shine as a newbie. Highlight your clinical rotations, internships or any hands-on experience you had. Talk about what you learned, tasks undertaken, and any specific situations where you made an impact.
As a new grad respiratory therapist, most employers will slowly integrate you into their system to help you learn the nuances that differentiate the operations of different healthcare institutions. In general, new grad respiratory therapists are required to orient themselves with the department and hospital’s equipment, policies, and procedures under the supervision of a preceptor. At this level, you are also expected to collaborate with the preceptor and demonstrate a good understanding of the core responsibilities of a Respiratory Therapist and carry out assigned duties.
This resume shows an entry-level respiratory therapist’s skill set and academic credentials/achievements. A foundational degree in Respiratory Care with RRT certification obtained from an accredited institution is a good starting place that offers the candidate the required basic RT knowledge in addition to opportunities for career progression. Since this applicant is a recent graduate, it is prudent to list any experience gained in a real-life situation and performance ratings.
Since you are short of relevant experience, add projects you undertook in university to demonstrate your interests career-wise. In this case, volunteering for a university health project and conducting research into respiratory care technology reinforces this candidate’s desire to work in healthcare as a respiratory therapist.
If you have a particular skill that was fundamental to your success in an early experience, you can highlight it to build an excellent value proposition. For instance, being multilingual is an added advantage for this applicant because they can talk with patients from different backgrounds.
As you gain more experience in clinical settings, you can progress from offering general care to specialized care, i.e., caring for critically ill patients. Those who get advanced degrees can become supervisors or branch managers. In some cases, highly experienced RTs transition to teaching in RT programs. The role of experienced RTs is increasingly widening as they integrate more into multidisciplinary teams focused on health promotion and disease prevention.
This applicant’s resume focuses solely on showcasing their experience and achievements. The language is tailored to emphasize impact, as demonstrated by the quantitative data. Leadership is a desired skill at top-tier levels as it comes in handy during training and case management, so highlight your leadership qualities.
At this level, your prospective employer is primarily interested in the unique RT skills and experience you bring to their organization. Therefore, demonstrate your ability to work with people and patients from diverse backgrounds. Showcase your deep technical expertise by highlighting the different medical cases you’ve worked on and your success rates. Here, list the most impressive examples of your performance.
Ninety-three percent (93%) of companies use LinkedIn to find and recruit new employees. Having a presence on this platform is one of the surest ways to ensure you get poached for better jobs. Also, establish yourself on networking platforms such as Medium and Facebook groups for RT professionals.
As a hiring manager who has reviewed countless resumes for Respiratory Therapist positions at top healthcare providers like Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Johns Hopkins Hospital, I know what it takes to create a standout resume in this field. To help you craft a compelling resume that showcases your skills and experience, I've put together the following tips and examples.
Respiratory Therapists work with a wide range of patients and conditions. To stand out, focus on your specific clinical experience and specializations.
Avoid being too general or vague about your experience, like this:
As a respiratory therapist, your resume summary is an opportunity to showcase your unique skills, experience, and qualifications that make you the ideal candidate for the role. While a summary is optional, it can be particularly useful if you're a career changer or have extensive experience in the field. However, it's important to avoid using an objective statement, as it can come across as outdated and self-focused.
When crafting your respiratory therapist resume summary, focus on highlighting your most relevant qualifications and achievements without repeating information that's already included in other sections of your resume. Keep it concise and engaging, ideally no more than a paragraph in length.
The work experience section is the heart of your resume. It's where you highlight your most relevant and impressive professional achievements. As a respiratory therapist, you need to showcase your clinical skills, patient care experience, and any specializations or certifications you have. Here are some tips to help you write a compelling work experience section that will catch the eye of hiring managers.
Here are some strong Respiratory Therapist action verbs you can use to impress hiring managers:
For more related action verbs, visit Nursing Action Verbs.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
Skills refer to the expertise and natural talents that make you suitable for a task. To write a practical ‘skills’ section, research the role and include skills relevant to the position you are applying to. While this might sound counterintuitive, focus exclusively on hard skills.
Here are some hard skills from respiratory therapist postings to get you started. Prioritize keywords that are relevant to the role.
You can include the above skills in a dedicated Skills section on your resume, or weave them in your experience. Here's how you might create your dedicated skills section:
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Respiratory Therapist job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Thank you for the checklist! I realized I was making so many mistakes on my resume that I've now fixed. I'm much more confident in my resume now.
