The Perfect Respiratory Therapist Resume Writing Tips

Do you want to apply for a Respiratory Therapist position to help you get closer to your career goals? Applying for jobs on Seek, LinkedIn, and other job boards can be a time-consuming process, however, to streamline the process, you can ensure your resume writing helps you to stand out from the crowd, and your online profile helps you to get an interview!

If a recruiter or hiring manager are looking for a Respiratory Therapist, they are searching for specific transferable skills. With less than ten people being interviewed for the job and hundreds of people, just like you, applying, The Perfect Resume team have created Resume Writing Tips to help you stand out from the others.

What do recruiters look for in a Respiratory Therapist resume or an online profile?

Tailoring your resume to a Respiratory Therapist position is mandatory today to ensure that your application will pass Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). In doing so, your resume will be read by the prospective employer. Then, fingers crossed, you will be shortlisted as a potential candidate and be called for not one, but multiple job interviews!

Firstly, before you apply to be a Respiratory Therapist, you need to be acquainted with what a Respiratory Therapist does!

Respiratory Therapists handle the chronic respiratory diseases, such as emphysema and asthma. Patients include infants with undeveloped lungs to adult patients with lung disease. They may also give emergency aid for a breathing problem, heart attack, drowning, and shock.

Hiring Managers are looking for a detail-orientated Respiratory Therapist to assist in setting up and operating devices such as therapeutic gas administration apparatus and mechanical ventilators, providing emergency care, such as external cardiac massage, artificial respiration, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and maintaining charts that contain patient identification and therapy information.

To be successful as a Respiratory Therapist, you should have knowledge of necessary Healthcare and Medical procedures, be open to learning, and have strong communication skills. Ultimately, a high performing Respiratory Therapist should be able to achieve a strong knowledge of pulmonary function and pulmonary rehabilitation.

Knowing this, your resume and online profile should include the hard and soft skills that the recruiter or hiring manager is looking for in a candidate.

The Respiratory Therapist position description template will also contain pivotal information about what the candidate will need to do daily. Such as:

• Monitoring patient physiological responses to therapy such as arterial blood gases, vital signs or blood chemistry, and lung function changes, and consulting with physicians if there are adverse reactions.
• Working as part of a team of health care professionals to manage patient care by assisting with medical procedures.
• Setting up and operating devices including therapeutic gas administration apparatus, mechanical ventilators, environmental control systems, and aerosol generators.
• Following specified parameters of treatment.
• Providing emergency care, such as external cardiac massage, artificial respiration, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
• Inspecting, testing, cleaning, and maintaining respiratory therapy equipment to ensure it is functioning safely and efficiently.
• Maintaining charts that contain patient identification and therapy information.
• Measuring arterial blood gases, reading prescriptions, lung capacity, and reviewing other information to assess patient condition.
• Relaying blood analysis results to a physician.
• Making emergency visits to resolve equipment problems when necessary.

You will also have some requirements and personal attributes that you will need to demonstrate in your resume to ensure your potential employer will take your application seriously, such as:

• Completion of an accredited respiratory therapy program or technical college course for respiratory therapy.
• Registration or certification by the national board for respiratory Care (NBRC).
• Current RCP license in the state of practice.
• Current RN or LPN license in the state of practice.
• Respiratory care, emergency care, and intensive care experience.
• Must possess a valid and current driver license and auto insurance.
• Current BLS and/or CPR certification from the American Heart Association or American Red Cross.
• Strong knowledge of pulmonary function and pulmonary rehabilitation.
• Experience with respiratory equipment.


You may also want to do some industry research to find out what other companies want in their Respiratory Therapists.