Cytotechnologist to respiratory therapy technician
A cytotechnologist already meets 38% of what the respiratory therapy technician role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
63.3/ 100
1 How much of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do is already part of a cytotechnologist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the respiratory therapy technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A respiratory therapy technician role treats 8 of its required skills as things a cytotechnologist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply context specific clinical competences
- communicate in healthcare
- comply with legislation related to health care
- comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
- health care legislation
- hygiene in a health care setting
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A respiratory therapy technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a cytotechnologist background worth leading with.
- already held medical informatics health and welfare
- already held hygiene in a health care setting services
- already held medical terminology health and welfare
- already held health care legislation business, administration and law
- already held apply context specific clinical competences communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice assisting and caring
All 9 carried skills, including the 8 the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 22 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn clinical perfusion required
- still to learn respiratory medicine required
- still to learn respiratory therapy required
- still to learn human anatomy required
- optional, not held emergency surgery optional
- optional, not held rehabilitation of all organ systems optional
- optional, not held surgery optional
- optional, not held clinical imaging techniques optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- still to learn carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures required
- still to learn contribute to continuity of health care required
- still to learn ensure safety of healthcare users required
- still to learn operate breathing equipment required
- still to learn operate heart-lung machines required
- optional, not held promote health and safety optional
- optional, not held provide pre-treatment information optional
- optional, not held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship optional
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held interpret medical images optional
- optional, not held manage healthcare users' data optional
- optional, not held respond to changing situations in health care optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a respiratory therapy technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures practise this
- 02 clinical perfusion study this
- 03 contribute to continuity of health care practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held communicate in healthcare skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held health care legislation knowledge
- already held hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
- already held medical terminology knowledge
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held medical informatics knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held emergency surgery optional
- optional, not held interpret medical images optional
- optional, not held promote health and safety optional
- optional, not held provide pre-treatment information optional
- optional, not held rehabilitation of all organ systems optional
- optional, not held surgery optional
- optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
- optional, not held clinical imaging techniques optional
- optional, not held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held manage healthcare users' data optional
- optional, not held respond to changing situations in health care optional
46 held skills the respiratory therapy technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accept own accountability skill
- not needed by the target role address side effects of menopause skill
- not needed by the target role apply good clinical practices skill
- not needed by the target role apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the production of laboratory documentation skill
- not needed by the target role biosafety in biomedical laboratory knowledge
- not needed by the target role biostatistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out flow cytometry skill
- not needed by the target role cervical screening knowledge
- not needed by the target role check the received biological samples skill
- not needed by the target role chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role clinical cytology knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct cancer screening tests skill
- not needed by the target role conduct health related research skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate the procurement of organs for transplantation skill
- not needed by the target role cytopathology knowledge
- not needed by the target role deal with emergency care situations skill
- not needed by the target role ensure public safety and security skill
- not needed by the target role examine cell specimens microscopically skill
- not needed by the target role fine-needle aspiration knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow clinical guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role follow procedures to control substances hazardous to health skill
- not needed by the target role genomics knowledge
- not needed by the target role infection control knowledge
- not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role interpret urology diagnostic tests skill
- not needed by the target role label medical laboratory samples skill
- not needed by the target role maintain medical laboratory equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage infection control in the facility skill
- not needed by the target role medical genetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role microscopic techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
- not needed by the target role operate microscope skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform gynecological examination skill
- not needed by the target role perform virological test skill
- not needed by the target role professional documentation in health care knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide test results to medical staff skill
- not needed by the target role recognize cytologic abnormalities skill
- not needed by the target role sterilization techniques knowledge
6 further entries not listed here
9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn clinical perfusion required
- still to learn respiratory medicine required
- still to learn respiratory therapy required
- still to learn human anatomy required
- optional, not held emergency surgery optional
- optional, not held rehabilitation of all organ systems optional
- optional, not held surgery optional
- optional, not held clinical imaging techniques optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
Common questions about this move
Can a cytotechnologist become a respiratory therapy technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A cytotechnologist already covers 38% of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 8 of which the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
What skills does a cytotechnologist need to become a respiratory therapy technician?
9 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures.
How hard is the move from cytotechnologist to respiratory therapy technician?
Its learning distance is 63.3 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.