• Work in hospitals, nursing facilities, home health agencies or patient’s homes.
• Evaluate, treat and care for patients with breathing and heart-lung conditions.
• Test lung capacity and analyze oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration.
• Obtain and analyze sputum and breath specimens.
• Treat patients with oxygen or oxygen mixtures, chest physiotherapy and aerosol medications.
• Provide emergency treatment for patients with heart failure, drowning, stroke or shock.
• Use mechanical ventilation for patients who cannot breathe adequately on their own.
• Monitor and manage therapy that will help a patient recover lung function. 

Education/Training

• Challenging college prep courses in high school, including math, English, health, biology, chemistry and physics.
• Either two-year associate’s degree or four-year bachelor’s degree programs available.
• Course work includes physics, math, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, chemistry and biology.
• National voluntary examination leads to credential of Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT).
• CRTs who meet education and experience requirements may take two separate exams that lead to Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential.

Salary

• Ranges from $22,830 to $46,800.

More Information

• American Association for Respiratory Care
  11030 Ables Lane
  Dallas, TX 75229-4593
  972-243-2272
  http://www.aarc.org

• Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care
  1248 Harwood Road
  Bedford, TX 76021-4244

• National Board for Respiratory Care, Inc.
  8310 Nieman Road
  Lenexa, KS 66214-1579
  http://www.nbrc.org