Professional Development & Career Readiness
FREE Respiratory CEU’s
Staying up to date with the latest in respiratory care is essential for providing the best patient outcomes. Continuing education helps you stay informed and advance your career. Below, you’ll find a list of free CEU opportunities covering a range of respiratory therapy topics. Take advantage of these resources to expand your knowledge and maintain your licensure—all at no cost!
Sample Resume
This sample resume is a good template to use as a starting place. Some of the aspects that make for an effective resume are:
- It should be one page
- Your clinical experience should be front and center, be sure to include:
- The clinical site
- The clinical hours achieved
- What rotation it was (floors, ICU, NICU/PICU, or specialty such as homecare, PFT lab, etc.)
- Brief description of the skills acquired at the site
- Include your state licenses and any certifications you have
- Past work experience is ok to include, but it shouldn’t take up too much space
- References “offered upon request” is acceptable. Most hospitals request references as part of their hiring process.
Interview Tips
The interview for a respiratory therapist position can seem like a stressful and daunting task. The interview can be broken down into two pieces. Personality questions and clinical questions.
Some examples of personality questions
- “Tell me about a time you made a mistake, and how did you handle it?”
- “Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work, and how did you address the conflict?”
- “What would your classmates or co-workers say about you?”
Some possible clinical questions
- ABG interpretation
- ARDS net protocol
- Status Asthmatics Management
- Obstructive/restrictive disease processes
- Ventilator concepts
- What changes would you make based on an ABG
- Airway resistance and pulmonary compliance and their effect on the measured parameters
- What mode is best for certain disease processes or clinical situations
The clinical questions may seem like the most important. However, they play a very small part in if a facility would want to hire you. You need to present yourself as teachable, enthusiastic, and humble. You can answer the clinical questions with physician level depth and precision, but if you don’t come across as teachable or likeable you will not be hired.