What does a staff therapist do?
A staff therapist is someone who assists in the treatment of patients using electrical stimulation, exercise, and other means of electrotherapy to regain their bodily functions. The core skills that a staff therapist should possess to accomplish their responsibilities include a keen eye for details and excellent mathematical and problem-solving skills. The job's education requirements include completing a physical therapy program and possessing a bachelor's degree in medical technician, physical work, occupational therapy, or a related field.
Staff therapist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real staff therapist resumes:
- Manage ventilator care, intubation, arterial line placement, mechanical ventilation, BIPAP, and CPAP.
- Lead RRT position involves direct resident care such as ventilator set up, changes, weaning, and maintaining.
- Provide high-quality patient care in all areas of the facility including ICU, CCU, PACU, NICU and ER.
- Chart record of patient therapy; teach patients proper use and administration of respiratory medication such as MDI s and spacers.
- Conduct weekly Medicare, Medicaid and private pay reports, submit quality indicator and MDS reports and metrics for QA/QC reports.
- Document resident progress using MDS weekly, quarterly, annually and significant changes regarding therapeutic activity pattern.
- Treat skilled nursing facility and assist living patients with a variety orthopedic, neurological, psychological, and medical conditions.
- Organize community trips for patients in order to assess functional mobility within an open environment and the ability for community reintegration.
- Facilitate pulmonary rehabilitation and education.
- Formulate respiratory rehabilitation education and exercise programs.
- Plan treatment goals for clients with TBI.
- Collaborate with psychiatry residents to provide drama base DBT.
Staff therapist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 17% of Staff Therapists are proficient in Patients, Individual Therapy, and Mental Health. They’re also known for soft skills such as Science and math skills, Detail oriented, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Staff Therapists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 17%
Organized community trips for patients in order to assess functional mobility within an open environment and the ability for community reintegration.
- Individual Therapy, 16%
Performed outpatient as well as residential individual therapy and group therapy for seriously mentally ill adults.
- Mental Health, 7%
Conducted comprehensive assessments for adults and children seeking outpatient mental health and substance abuse therapy.
- Group Therapy, 5%
Facilitated group therapy sessions with mandated sex offenders who were on probation or parole; utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy !
- Crisis Intervention, 4%
Delivered crisis intervention to patients in states of emotional, behavioral, and psychiatric emergency.
- Physical Therapy, 3%
Managed scheduling, including supervising 5 physical therapy staff members.
Most staff therapists use their skills in "patients," "individual therapy," and "mental health" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential staff therapist responsibilities here:
Detail oriented. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling staff therapist duties is detail oriented. The role rewards competence in this skill because "respiratory therapists must stay focused to ensure that a patient receives appropriate treatments and medications." According to a staff therapist resume, here's how staff therapists can utilize detail oriented in their job responsibilities: "perform arterial puncture, ekg' s, and detailed patient assessments. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of staff therapists is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday staff therapist duties, as "respiratory therapists must evaluate patients’ symptoms, consult with other healthcare professionals, and recommend and administer the appropriate treatments." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide group therapy to children ages 5-18, using cognitive behavioral and solution focused models. "
Interpersonal skills. staff therapist responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "respiratory therapists interact and build relationships with patients." This resume example shows what staff therapists do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "plan weekly outings for increased social interaction and to improve interpersonal skills. "
Patience. Another crucial skill for a staff therapist to carry out their responsibilities is "patience." A big part of what staff therapists relies on this skill, since "respiratory therapists may work for long periods with patients who need special attention." How this skill relates to staff therapist duties can be seen in an example from a staff therapist resume snippet: "exhibited patience and compassion toward patients with long-term, debilitating diseases and conditions. "
Compassion. Another skill commonly found on staff therapist job descriptions is "compassion." It can come up quite often in staff therapist duties, since "respiratory therapists should be able to provide emotional support to patients undergoing treatment." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day staff therapist responsibilities: "earned repeated commendations from supervisor and patients for providing high-quality, compassionate care. "
The three companies that hire the most staff therapists are:
- Haven Behavioral Healthcare8 staff therapists jobs
- Aspire Health5 staff therapists jobs
- comhar2 staff therapists jobs
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Compare different staff therapists
Staff therapist vs. Respiratory care faculty
A Respiratory Care Practitioner assesses and treats patients with pulmonary diseases. They diagnose lung and breathing disorders and recommend treatment methods.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a staff therapist are more likely to require skills like "patients," "individual therapy," "mental health," and "group therapy." On the other hand, a job as a respiratory care faculty requires skills like "patient care," "bls," "acls," and "pals." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Respiratory care faculties tend to reach lower levels of education than staff therapists. In fact, respiratory care faculties are 10.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.2% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Staff therapist vs. Respiratory care practitioner
A respiratory supervisor is tasked with the job of administering life support and respiratory therapy to patients with abnormalities, deficiencies, and injuries of the cardiopulmonary system. They work under the supervision of the physician in charge. They monitor patients' conditions and report to the medical team or nurses. Their duties and responsibilities also include assigning, training, supervising, and counseling employees.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that staff therapist responsibilities requires skills like "individual therapy," "mental health," "group therapy," and "crisis intervention." But a respiratory care practitioner might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "bls," "acls," "rcp," and "rrt."
On average, respiratory care practitioners earn a higher salary than staff therapists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, respiratory care practitioners earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $58,106. Whereas staff therapists have higher pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $55,251.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Respiratory care practitioners tend to reach lower levels of education than staff therapists. In fact, they're 23.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Staff therapist vs. Respiratory supervisor
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, staff therapists are more likely to have skills like "individual therapy," "mental health," "group therapy," and "crisis intervention." But a respiratory supervisor is more likely to have skills like "bls," "acls," "nrp," and "advanced life support."
Respiratory supervisors typically earn lower educational levels compared to staff therapists. Specifically, they're 19.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Staff therapist vs. Respiratory director
Types of staff therapist
Updated January 8, 2025
