Respiratory Therapists
Official O*NET title: Respiratory Therapists (29-1126.00)
Also called: crrt, crt, diagnostics rrt, infant rt, licensed crt
Do you do this at work?
Answer each card — it takes about a minute.
Do you do this at work?
Educate patients and their families about their conditions and teach appropriate disease management techniques
Swipe right for yes, left for not me. On a keyboard: → yes, ← not me, Z undo. +2 XP per answer.
How AI is changing respiratory therapists work
3 of 22 measurable main tasks for this job show up in real AI-use data, so we rate it Green (little AI use yet) — 14%.
This shows where people already use AI, not whether the job will disappear. How we measure this.
Tasks in this job and recorded AI use
- Educate patients and their families about their conditions and teach appropriate disease management techniques (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Explain treatment procedures to patients to gain cooperation and allay fears (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Determine requirements for treatment (main task) — some recorded AI use
- Set up and operate devices (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Relay blood analysis results to a physician (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Provide emergency care (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Enforce safety rules and make sure careful adherence to physicians' orders (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Work as part of a team of physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals to manage patient care by assisting with medical procedures or related duties (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Make emergency visits to resolve equipment problems (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to make sure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Perform bronchopulmonary drainage and assist or instruct patients in performance of breathing exercises (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Demonstrate respiratory care procedures to trainees or other healthcare staff (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Perform pulmonary function and adjust equipment to obtain optimum results in therapy (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Conduct tests (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Perform endotracheal intubation to maintain open airways for patients who are unable to breathe on their own (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Teach, train, supervise, or use the assistance of students, respiratory therapy technicians, or assistants (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Use a variety of testing techniques to assist doctors in cardiac or pulmonary research or to diagnose disorders (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Monitor cardiac patients, using electrocardiography devices (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Transport patients to the hospital or within the hospital (main task) — no recorded AI use
- Attend high-risk and caesarian section infant deliveries to provide neonatal respiratory care as needed — too new for the AI data
Tasks: O*NET 31.0. AI use: Anthropic Economic Index (exact or close text match).
Your first steps (guidance)
- Week 1: Open a free AI assistant and say hello. Follow our “Getting started with AI” guide. Ask it one simple question about your work.
- Week 2: Use AI on one task you do often. Try the prompt for: “Educate patients and their families about their conditions and teach appropriate disease management techniques”. Try the prompt for: “Teach, train, supervise, or use the assistance of students, respiratory therapy technicians, or assistants”.
Tick your own tasks above to get a plan based on what you really do. The first 2 weeks are free; Premium (coming soon) adds weeks 3–12. New to AI? Read our beginner’s guide.
Questions about AI and respiratory therapists
Will AI replace respiratory therapists?
Our data can’t predict job losses, and we don’t try to. What it does show: 3 of the 22 main tasks for this job match tasks people already use AI for (Anthropic Economic Index), giving a Green rating (little AI use yet). Using AI on a task is not the same as AI doing the whole job, and 19 of the 23 listed tasks show no recorded AI use yet.
Which respiratory therapist tasks is AI used for most?
In the data, the most AI use among this job’s tasks is for: educate patients and their families about their conditions and teach appropriate disease management techniques; explain treatment procedures to patients to gain cooperation and allay fears; determine requirements for treatment.
Which respiratory therapist tasks show little or no AI use?
For example: set up and operate devices; monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy; read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition. These are good places to keep building your own skills.
How does this job compare to others?
In Microsoft Research’s “Working with AI” study, this job’s AI applicability score is equal to or higher than 14% of the occupations they scored. That measures overlap with AI chat use, not risk of job loss.
How can a respiratory therapist start learning AI?
Start small: open a free AI assistant, try it on one task you do often, and always check facts and numbers yourself. The plan on this page is guidance, not professional advice.
See how this job ranks
Respiratory Therapists ranks #412 of 572 jobs for the share of main tasks with AI use (#1 = most), and #52 of 80 in Healthcare.
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