A respiratory therapist is also called as the inhalation therapist. The professional treats patients with breathing difficulties. These patients can vary from infants to the elder people with lung problems. The respiratory therapist is needed to operate the equipment like respirator and ventilator. Most of these therapists work in hospitals and thus report to professional physicians. There is even the trend that a therapist can be contracted not in the hospital but in nursing homes and other medical facilities.
Respiratory therapist salary depends on various factors like the candidate’s experience, license, certification and schooling. The salary range can even depend on the location where the professional decides to work. The salary given in a town is different from pay that one can get in a larger city.
The role of a respiratory therapist is to assist in treatment, diagnosis and management of patients having pulmonary problems. They further collect as well as analyze the blood, breath specimens and sputum in order to determine the carbon dioxide, oxygen and level of other gases. The practitioner further measures the patient’s lung capacity in order to know if there is some impaired function. The respiratory therapist requires associate’s degree and the credential of registered respiratory therapist and may even be expected to maintain the CPR certification.
As far as respiratory therapist salary is concerned, more the education and number of years of experience, higher will be the pay scale. This pay scale can go higher in case you have the option to travel. There are various positions like home health care in which you will need to travel. As per a survey done on respiratory therapist salary, these professionals can have a pay of about $45,000 to $55,000. As of the year 2006, the average annual salary for respiratory therapist was approximately $47,440. A small percentage of these respiratory therapists saw reduced average salary at just $32,000 annually while some saw the annual salary of about $58,000 a year.
Working hours of these therapists are forty hours per week however they are sometimes expected to work on weekends and evenings. It is even not uncommon that some respiratory therapists work for part time. In such cases, the respiratory therapist salary can be a bit low as compared to the professional who works for full time.
Furthermore, the respiratory therapist salary may continue to be at higher levels as compared to the other allied medical occupations. Being respiratory therapist is indeed a viable option for all those who wish to enjoy job security in unsecure world. You can even earn good salary in case you position yourself properly for opportunities that you await. Working in proper work setting and in a good state, having accurate higher education and being on the same job will gain much rapport and fetch you the salary that you always desired for.
So, proper education, license, certification, location and experience play a very important role in deciding the respiratory therapist salary to a great extent. You can even have a look at the surveys and studies conducted on the average salary of respiratory therapist in order to get a clear picture of the pay scale.