How to hire a respiratory care assistant

How to hire a respiratory care assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step respiratory care assistant hiring guide:

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the respiratory care assistant you need to hire. Certain respiratory care assistant roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A respiratory care assistant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, respiratory care assistants 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.

   The following list breaks down different types of respiratory care assistants and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Respiratory Care Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Respiratory Care Assistant	Medical assistants complete administrative and clinical tasks in the offices of physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. Their duties vary with the location, specialty, and size of the practice.	$10-23
   MD	A Doctor of Medicine or MD is the designation of a person who completed medical education. Generally, MDs focus on the treatment of conditions in need of medication... Show more	$12-107
   Medical Internship	When it comes to a medical internship, one of the primary duties is to attend to the patients' needs while under a more experienced physician's supervision. During this period, the medical interns must rotate in various fields of specialties or departments for exposure... Show more	$15-37

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • CPR
   • RRT
   • EKG
   • Direct Patient Care
   • Resuscitation
   • Nebulizer
   • Respiratory Equipment
   • Ventilation
   • Electrocardiogram
   • ABG
   • Oxygen Therapy
   • CPAP
   • BiPAP

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Experience using BIPAP, CPAP, MetaNeb, IPPB
   • Perform routine and stat EKG testing.
   • Administer breathing treatments to patients in the trauma center under the watch of a respiratory therapist.
   • Administer medications via nebulizer, as well as, participate in other forms of intermittent non-invasive patient care.
   • Maintain intubation equipment and ambulation bags.
   • Work with mechanical vents and noninvasive positive pressure ventilation ..

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, respiratory care assistants' average salary in alabama is 57% less than in alaska.
   • Seniority. Entry-level respiratory care assistants 54% less than senior-level respiratory care assistants.
   • Certifications. A respiratory care assistant 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 respiratory care assistant's salary.

   Average respiratory care assistant salary

   $16.10hourly

   $33,491 yearly

   ---

   Entry-level respiratory care assistant salary

   $22,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 2, 2026

4. Writing a respiratory care assistant job description

   A good respiratory care assistant job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a respiratory care assistant job description:

   Respiratory care assistant job description example

   Responsibilities
   
   Assist respiratory therapists in providing respiratory care services to patients by 1) maintaining, calibrating, and verifying function of life support systems, 2) maintenance and monthly rotation of 33 crash carts throughout the hospital, 3) procurement of all specialty equipment on routine and emergent basis (specialty gases, ventilators and custom airways), 4) JCAHO documentation of ventilator and crash cart maintenance, 5) billing entry for Respiratory Care Services, and 6) Matkon order entry.
   
   Requirements
   
   Required Education/Experience: - High school diploma or equivalent experience Preferred: - Experience working with inventory and supply process. - Experience in a customer service related field.
   
   About Us
   
   Hope. Care. Cure. These three simple words capture what we do at Seattle Children's -- to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. Are you ready to engage with a mission-driven organization that is life-changing to many, and touches the hearts of all? #HOPECARECURE
   
   Our founding promise to the community is as valid today as it was over a century ago: we will care for all children in our region, regardless of the families' ability to pay. Together, we deliver superior patient care, advance new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and serve as the pediatric and adolescent, academic medical center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho - the largest region of any children's hospital in the country.
   
   In 2020, U.S. News & World Report once again ranked Seattle Children's among the nation's best children's hospitals - for the 27th year in a row. We received national rankings in all 10 specialty areas evaluated by U.S. News & World Report, and are honored to be the only pediatric medical center in Washington to be ranked.
   
   As a Magnet designated institution, and classified among America's best large employers by Forbes, we recognize the importance of hiring and developing great talent to provide best-in-class care to the patients and families we serve. Our organizational DNA takes form in our core values: Compassion, Excellence, Integrity, Collaboration, Equity and Innovation. Whether it's delivering frontline care to our patients in a kind and caring manner, practicing the highest standards of quality and safety, or being relentlessly curious as we work towards eradicating childhood diseases, these values are the fabric of our culture and community. The future starts here.
   
   Covid-19 Vaccination
   
   In accordance with Washington state law, Seattle Children's requires that all employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. All offers are contingent and your vaccine status will be verified at onboarding.
   
   Our Commitment to Diversity
   
   Our community welcomes diverse experiences, backgrounds, and thoughts as this is what drives our spirit of inquiry and allows us to better connect with our increasingly diverse patients and families. Our organization recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics.
   
   The people who work at Seattle Children's are members of a community that seeks to respect and celebrate all the qualities that make each of us unique. Each of us is empowered to be ourselves within this community, which cultivates and promotes equity, diversity, and inclusion at all levels.
   
   Seattle Children's is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Workplace and Affirmative Action Employer.

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right respiratory care assistant for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your respiratory care assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit respiratory care assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting respiratory care assistants 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to 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 respiratory care assistant

   Once you've found the respiratory care assistant candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new respiratory care assistant. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

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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