How to hire a pulmonary function technician

How to hire a pulmonary function technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step pulmonary function technician hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a pulmonary function technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new pulmonary function technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The pulmonary function technician hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A pulmonary function technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, pulmonary function technicians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of pulmonary function technician salaries for various roles:

   Type of Pulmonary Function Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Pulmonary Function Technician	Diagnostic medical sonographers and cardiovascular technologists and technicians, including vascular technologists, operate special imaging equipment to create images or to conduct tests. The images and test results help physicians assess and diagnose medical conditions... Show more	$15-36
   Cardiovascular Sonographer	A cardiovascular sonographer specializes in operating non-invasive imaging equipment to help physicians in diagnosing and treating cardiovascular issues. They conduct imaging test procedures and assist patients by answering questions, preparing them for the tests, helping them understand the process, providing step-by-step instructions, and making them feel at ease the entire time... Show more	$26-56
   Invasive Cardiovascular Technologist	An invasive cardiovascular technologist is responsible for assisting the cardiovascular doctors and giving care to the patients. They prepare all needed machines, equipment, or tools, and they also prepare patients for procedures... Show more	$12-46

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Respiratory Care
   • Patient Care
   • Spirometry
   • Respiratory Therapy
   • Test Results
   • RRT
   • Pulmonary Function Tests
   • CPR
   • Acls
   • Diagnostic Tests
   • Medical History
   • Patient Assessment
   • Minute Walk Tests

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
   • Perform arterial blood gas analysis, routine spirometry, DLCO, and lung volume test.
   • Monitor client's heart rate while exercising on EKG.
   • Perform, monitor, record and interpret electrocardiogram tests.
   • Attend all high risk deliveries, arterial puncture, ventilator management, and EKG's.
   • Administer six minute walk test, Oximetry pulse studies , 02 therapy, and Nebulizer treatment.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your pulmonary function technician job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A pulmonary function technician can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, pulmonary function technicians' average salary in kansas is 61% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level pulmonary function technicians 56% less than senior-level pulmonary function technicians.
   • Certifications. A pulmonary function technician with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a pulmonary function technician's salary.

   Average pulmonary function technician salary

   $50,458yearly

   $24.26 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level pulmonary function technician salary

   $33,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

4. Writing a pulmonary function technician job description

   A job description for a pulmonary function technician role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a pulmonary function technician job description:

   Pulmonary function technician job description example

   Pulmonary Function Technician
   
   Department: Pulmonary Services
   
   Purpose: Performs pulmonary-function, lung-capacity, and blood-and-oxygen test to gather data for use by physician in diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary disorders. Confers with patient in treatment room to explain test procedures. Explains specified methods of breathing to patient and conducts pulmonary-function test. Observes and records reading on metering devices of analysis equipment, and conveys findings of tests and analyses of physician for interpretation. May also perform blood analysis tests to measure such factors as oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions, hemoglobin saturation and levels, and pH of blood, using blood gas analyzer.
   
   Report To: Manager, Respiratory Care
   
   Supervisory Responsibility: No Supervision: The job does not require the provision of guidance or supervision to others. There is no formal responsibility for directing others.
   
   Materials Responsibility: Limited: Work requires limited responsibility for material resources. Examples of resources could include supplies, equipment, inventories, small budgets, and other similar material assets. The employee has a limited amount of control over these resources. The cost of errors is also limited in terms of damage, waste or financial loss. Problems associated with material resources are not complex. The volume of resources may vary, but the level of difficulty in dealing with these resources is uncomplicated.
   
   Key Relationship: Co-workers/Health System Employees, Outside Agencies/Other Health Care Providers, General Public/Visitors/Volunteers, Physicians/Medical Office Staff, Students/Interns/Residents/Outside Instructors, Patients, Families, and Significant Others
   
   POSITION SPECIFICATION
   
   Education: 2 year college program or equivalent experience
   
   Field Of Study: Respiratory Care
   
   Special Training:
   
   Training Preferred: Certified pulmonary function testing, ACLS within 6 months of hire, Successful Completion of Basic EKG Interpretation course, Basic Life Support
   
   Licensure/Registration: RRT State of Iowa
   
   Experience: Less than 1 year experience required.
   
   Interpersonal Skills: Interaction is with a wide variety of people inside or outside the organization. Communications are often extremely difficult or stressful in nature. Contact with others involves highly complex and sensitive topics. The job requires extremely well developed interpersonal skills for dealing with a range of complicated problem situations. The job requires the use of diverse communication techniques.
   
   Working Conditions: There is limited exposure to adverse environmental conditions. Some undesirable or unpleasant environmental characteristics may occur but the physical environment is generally safe and there is minimal health risk. No safety equipment or unusual precautions are required. The occasional exposure to these minor adverse conditions would be limited to 35% or less of the work day.
   
   Possible Exposure to Blood Borne Pathogens: Yes
   
   Miscellaneous:

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find pulmonary function technicians for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any pulmonary function technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level pulmonary function technicians with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your pulmonary function technician job on Zippia to find and attract quality pulmonary function technician candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting pulmonary function technicians requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new pulmonary function technician

   Once you've decided on a perfect pulmonary function technician candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new pulmonary function technician. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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