How to hire a respiratory therapy assistant

How to hire a respiratory therapy assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step respiratory therapy 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 therapy assistant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new respiratory therapy assistant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a respiratory therapy assistant, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

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

   This list presents respiratory therapy assistant salaries for various positions.

   Type of Respiratory Therapy Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Respiratory Therapy Assistant		$12-42
   Rehabilitation Technician	A rehabilitation technician is responsible for assisting therapists and other medical personnel on supporting the patients in their daily activities and physical therapy sessions. Rehabilitation technicians provide high-quality care services for the patients by administering medications, accompanying them on medical appointments, and ensuring the cleanliness and orderliness of all equipment and facilities to prevent hazards within the premises... Show more	$11-17
   Therapy Technician	A therapy technician is responsible for supporting therapists in providing the highest quality care services for the patients, administering treatment plans, and guiding patients to full recovery. Therapy technicians also perform administrative duties, such as updating patients' information on the database, monitoring patients' condition, reviewing medical charts, processing payments for therapy procedures, and performing medical examinations under the supervision of medical professionals... Show more	$10-17

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Respiratory Therapy
   • O2
   • Oxygen Tanks
   • Intubation
   • Ventilation
   • CPR
   • Direct Patient Care
   • Respiratory Equipment
   • Oxygen Therapy
   • Vital Signs
   • Nebulizer
   • ICU
   • EKG

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Provide patient care in ICU.
   • Maintain air way open, operate mechanical ventilation, assist CPR, administration of CPT and therapy.
   • Perform airway management including trach tube changes, pass-muir valve monitoring and intubation or extubation.
   • Provide floor therapy, EKG's, ER duties, and cross train for lab draws
   • Code blue, intubation assist.
   • Perform EKG's throughout the hospital.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your respiratory therapy assistant job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A respiratory therapy assistant salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, respiratory therapy assistants' average salary in florida is 42% less than in washington.
   • Seniority. Entry-level respiratory therapy assistants earn 71% less than senior-level respiratory therapy assistants.
   • Certifications. A respiratory therapy assistant with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a respiratory therapy assistant's salary.

   Average respiratory therapy assistant salary

   $48,636yearly

   $23.38 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level respiratory therapy assistant salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

4. Writing a respiratory therapy assistant job description

   A respiratory therapy assistant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a respiratory therapy assistant job description:

   Respiratory therapy assistant job description example

   
   Summerlin Hospital is a 485-bed hospital featuring emergency services; a busy maternity department with an average of 450 deliveries per month; a Children s Medical Center with a NICU, a pediatric ICU and separate pediatric ER; advanced cardiovascular care, surgical services, women s health and oncology care. Summerlin Hospital is an accredited Chest Pain with PCI facility and a Primary Stroke Center, and has received multiple awards from the American Heart Association Get with the Guidelines program.

   Job Description:

   Responsible for the delivery of respiratory therapy modalities and respiratory assessments to patients of all ages in all patient care areas, including critical care, NICU or Labor and Delivery. Performs responsibilities independently and without supervision except as necessary during orientation or training.

   Qualifications

   Job Requirements:

   Education:
   Graduate of an AMA approved Respiratory Technician/Therapist program.

   Experience:
   1 year in adult respiratory preferred.

   Technical Skills:
   Demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care/service appropriate to the age of the patients served on the assigned unit/department and provide the care/service as described in the department policies and procedures.

   License/Certification:
   Registered Respiratory Therapist credential from the National Board of Respiratory Care. Current Nevada Practitioner of Respiratory Care License, Nevada Blood Gas Technologist (minimum),* Basic Life Support (BLS) certified by the American Heart Association, and Advance Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certified by the American Heart Association; The following to be obtained within the first 90 days of hire date if applicable to specific facility Pediatric Advance life support (PALS) certified by the American Heart association and/ or Neonatal Resuscitative Provider (NRP) certified by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

   Other:
   Must be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care/service appropriate to the age of the patients served on the assigned unit/department.

   Note

   * For new blood gas license personnel applicants- you must apply within the first 14 days of hire. ** Additional certifications may require for certain facilities ."

   Compensation Range:

   $ 32.56 / hour - $ 43.14 / hour

   EEO Statement

   All UHS subsidiaries are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. UHS subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers and as such, openly support and fully commit to recruitment, selection, placement, promotion and compensation of individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), genetic information, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

   We believe that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success.

   Notice

   At UHS and all our subsidiaries, our Human Resources departments and recruiters are here to help prospective candidates by matching skillset and experience with the best possible career path at UHS and our subsidiaries. We take pride in creating a highly efficient and best in class candidate experience. During the recruitment process, no recruiter or employee will request financial or personal information (Social Security Number, credit card or bank information, etc.) from you via email. The recruiters will not email you from a public webmail client like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. If you are suspicious of a job posting or job-related email mentioning UHS or its subsidiaries, let us know by contacting us at: or 1-800-###-####.

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5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find respiratory therapy assistants for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your respiratory therapy assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit respiratory therapy assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as healthcarejobsite, health jobs nationwide, hospitalcareers, medreps.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting respiratory therapy 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 therapy assistant

   Once you've found the respiratory therapy 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.

   To prepare for the new respiratory therapy assistant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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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