Respiratory Therapy Assistant

Duties and Responsibilities: Respiratory therapists care for patients who have trouble breathing—for example, from a chronic respiratory disease, such as asthma or emphysema. Their patients range from premature infants with undeveloped lungs to elderly patients who have diseased lungs. They also provide emergency care to patients suffering from heart attacks, drowning, or shock.

Average Salary: $55,870

Educational Requirements: Respiratory therapists need at least an associate’s degree, but employers may prefer applicants who have a bachelor’s degree. Many colleges and universities, vocational–technical institutes, and the Armed Forces offer education and training programs. Most programs award an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

Respiratory therapy programs include courses in human anatomy and physiology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, pharmacology, and mathematics. Other courses deal with therapeutic and diagnostic procedures and tests, equipment, patient assessment, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Reflection: I would never see myself as a Respiratory Therapy Assistant because it seems so distant from my interests and abilities.