How to Hire a Respiratory Therapist

Why hire a respiratory therapist?

The need for new staff can affect both your existing team and your patients’ health. A great respiratory therapist hire can help your business:

• Offer new services for patients
• Increase the number of patients 
• Take better care of patients

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance respiratory therapist

A busy medical facility with many patients often requires a full-time respiratory therapist. Some facilities need multiple respiratory therapists or different types of respiratory therapists to serve specific patient populations. If you have enough patients requiring services, hiring a full-time respiratory therapist gives you the consistent coverage you need.

For a smaller facility, using a respiratory therapist on a contract basis provides more flexibility. This option is ideal if you only need a respiratory therapist a few hours per week or if you need one irregularly only when you have a special patient case. Some companies also offer a travel respiratory therapist option similar to a travel nurse for short-term assignments, usually around 13 weeks long. This offers a short-term solution.

What are the types of respiratory therapists?

Respiratory therapists sometimes specialize in a particular type of respiratory care or a certain patient population. Some types of respiratory therapists include:

• Pediatric respiratory therapist: This type of therapist has expertise in neonatal and pediatric cardiopulmonary conditions. Some work in hospitals offering acute and emergency therapy, and others work in outpatient facilities to treat conditions such as asthma.
• Adult respiratory therapist: These therapists work with adults who have chronic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis or emphysema.
• Geriatric respiratory therapist: Geriatric specialists focus on special health conditions common in older people, such as COPD and bronchial pneumonia. 
• Emergency and acute respiratory therapist: Some respiratory therapists work in hospitals to help treat patients who visit the emergency room or are in the hospital for acute conditions. Examples include patients with pneumonia or those who need to be on ventilators. 
• Polysomnography respiratory therapist: Sleep laboratories often hire respiratory therapists to help with sleep-related breathing disorders. They help diagnose sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, and create a treatment plan.

Where to find respiratory therapists

To find the right respiratory therapist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Participate in respiratory therapist events. Attend conventions and conferences for respiratory therapists. Networking at these events can help you meet potential respiratory therapists to hire.
• Ask for referrals. Encourage your current employees to refer any respiratory therapists they know. Because they’re familiar with your company culture, they can recommend people who’d be a good fit.
• Network with industry professionals. Let everyone in your network know you need a new respiratory therapist. Contacts such as medical supply reps might know respiratory therapists who are looking for new opportunities.
• Share on social media. Post about your respiratory therapist opening on your social media pages. Encourage your followers to share the post.
• Post your job online. Try posting your respiratory therapist job on Indeed to find and attract quality respiratory therapist candidates.

What are the types of respiratory therapists?

Respiratory therapists sometimes specialize in a particular type of respiratory care or a certain patient population. Some types of respiratory therapists include:

• Pediatric respiratory therapist: This type of therapist has expertise in neonatal and pediatric cardiopulmonary conditions. Some work in hospitals offering acute and emergency therapy, and others work in outpatient facilities to treat conditions such as asthma.
• Adult respiratory therapist: These therapists work with adults who have chronic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis or emphysema.
• Geriatric respiratory therapist: Geriatric specialists focus on special health conditions common in older people, such as COPD and bronchial pneumonia. 
• Emergency and acute respiratory therapist: Some respiratory therapists work in hospitals to help treat patients who visit the emergency room or are in the hospital for acute conditions. Examples include patients with pneumonia or those who need to be on ventilators. 
• Polysomnography respiratory therapist: Sleep laboratories often hire respiratory therapists to help with sleep-related breathing disorders. They help diagnose sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, and create a treatment plan.

Writing a respiratory therapist job description

A thoughtful description is important to finding qualified respiratory therapist candidates. A respiratory therapist job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your respiratory therapist job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on respiratory therapist jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Respiratory therapist
• Respiratory
• Respiratory therapy
• Registered respiratory therapist
• Respiratory care practitioner
• Travel respiratory therapist
• RRT
• Certified respiratory therapist
• Travel respiratory
• Respiratory care

Interviewing respiratory therapist candidates

Strong candidates for respiratory therapist positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• How they diagnose patients
• The most common causes of illnesses
• Using lab equipment

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of respiratory therapist interview questions for examples (with sample answers).