The 8 Most Valuable Skills of a Respiratory Therapist

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To be a Respiratory Therapist, you need to possess a combination of medical knowledge, technical expertise, and soft skills like critical thinking and attention to detail. As a Respiratory Therapist, you perform diagnostic tests to assess patient lung health and provide treatment such as oxygen therapy, mechanical ventilation, or chest physiotherapy. To do your job well and ensure your patients receive the best care possible, consider the 8 most valuable skills you should possess as an RT.

1. Respiratory Therapists Need Medical Knowledge

Medical knowledge is the foundation for your technical skills and is primarily gained through your respiratory therapy coursework. Before you begin working with patients, you need to understand human anatomy and physiology, especially of the lungs and heart. You need to know the most common respiratory conditions and how they are diagnosed and treated. You also need an understanding of pharmacology, what medications treat lung issues, and how they can affect patients. Over the course of your degree program, you gain additional medical and clinical insights from your experience working with patients.

2. Respiratory Therapists: Understanding the Technology

To be a successful Respiratory Therapist, you need to know how to perform diagnostic exams, like pulmonary function tests, and treatments such as chest physiotherapy. Your technical expertise enables you to use advanced equipment such as ventilators, nebulizers, nasal cannula, and oxygen concentrators. You need to know how to troubleshoot issues with the equipment and how to teach your patients to use basic devices like inhalers or portable ventilators.

3. RTs and Patient Assessment

Among your most important skills is the ability to understand what’s going on with your patient’s health. When a patient visits for the first time, you take a complete medical history and ask questions about their symptoms. You assess their condition by evaluating breathing and lung function and then observing breathing patterns, chest movement, and oxygen levels. Using tools like pulse oximeters and spirometers, you measure oxygen saturation and lung capacity.
And you listen to breath sounds with a stethoscope to detect wheezing, crackles, or diminished airflow. A doctor might also order arterial blood gas tests to assess oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. You use all these findings to help determine the severity of respiratory issues and to develop or adjust treatment plans for optimal patient care.

4. Critical Thinking Skills

As a Respiratory Therapist, critical thinking helps you analyze objective and subjective information to identify the cause of a patient’s lung conditions and decide how to treat it. As you make your rounds, you continuously assess patient progress and make timely decisions if further intervention is needed. Critical thinking also helps you solve problems related to the equipment. For example, if a piece of equipment malfunctions, you need to quickly figure out what the problem is, if it can be fixed, or if it needs to be repaired or replaced.

5. Attention to Detail

Attention to detail is a crucial skill for anyone in healthcare. When you observe the minor details, you can prevent errors. And in medicine, the smallest error can have grave consequences. Keen attention to detail can also help you provide a thorough patient assessment and an accurate treatment plan. And it helps you notice subtle changes in your patients’ health, ensuring you detect the warning signs of a crisis before it occurs.

6. Time Management

Whether you work in a hospital unit, an assisted living facility, or a sleep center, you need to manage your time well. You may have multiple patients, and some will require more attention than others. You need to prioritize your patient needs and develop a consistent routine that can help you stay on schedule. You may encounter emergencies that require you to act quickly. If a patient stops breathing or is having trouble breathing, you may need to quickly intubate them or hook them up to a ventilator. Pro tip: Don’t multitask. Although multitasking can be an essential skill for some jobs, this job requires you to pay full attention to the task at hand. Remaining focused on one patient at a time and one task at a time can help you be efficient and accurate, which is critical for your patients’ health.

7. Communication

While much of your work is completed independently, you still work as part of a medical team. That means you need to have good communication skills to work effectively with others. When you start your shift, you communicate with the RT who is going off duty so you can learn how the patients have progressed, what patients were discharged, and how many new patients were moved into the unit. You also need to communicate with your health unit coordinator when taking breaks or when a problem occurs. At the end of your shift, you provide updates to the next staff member taking over your rounds. And when speaking to your patients and their families, good communication skills can put them at ease and foster trust and confidence in your skills.

8. Physical Stamina

You might not realize it, but the job of a Respiratory Therapist can be physically taxing. You’re often on your feet all day, making the rounds from patient to patient. As you perform tests and treatments, you may need to bend, crouch, or lean over your patients. Some days, your only down time may be when you’re on a break or taking a meal. Physical stamina is something you can build up over time, but incorporating stretching or light cardio into your morning routine can help you warm up for the day.

If you’re ready to pursue a career in respiratory therapy, contact Charter College today. We offer an Associate of Applied Science in Respiratory Therapy that can prepare you for an entry-level job in this field. Our program can be completed online with in-person labs and a clinical practicum at a medical facility near you. Call 888-200-9942 or fill out the form to learn more.

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