What is a respiratory therapy director and how to become one

Key steps to become a respiratory therapy director

1. Explore respiratory therapy director education requirements

   Most common respiratory therapy director degrees

   Associate

   47.1 %

   Bachelor's

   32.9 %

   Master's

   15.3 %

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2. Start to develop specific respiratory therapy director skills

   Skills	Percentages
   Patients	26.31%
   RRT	17.53%
   Rehabilitation	10.34%
   JCAHO	6.08%
   Infection Control	5.38%

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3. Complete relevant respiratory therapy director training and internships

   Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New respiratory therapy directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a respiratory therapy director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real respiratory therapy director resumes.

4. Research respiratory therapy director duties and responsibilities

   • Manage and evaluate post-graduate and healthcare activity.
   • Monitor for quality assurance and concentrator maintenance checks and that company policies and procedures follow JCAHO standards.
   • Perform assessments of patients as prospective clients/admissions.
   • Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information.

5. Get respiratory therapy director experience

   Generally, it takes 4-6 years to become a respiratory therapy director. The most common roles before becoming a respiratory therapy director include respiratory therapist, staff therapist team lead and respiratory care practitioner.

6. Apply for respiratory therapy director jobs

   Now it's time to start searching for a respiratory therapy director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

   1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
   2. Consult your professional network
   3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
   4. Watch out for job scams