Career Overlap Transition record Edition 1 · ESCO v1.2.1
Table 1Transition record

cytotechnologisttorespiratory 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.

From cytotechnologist
38%
Overlap1
To respiratory therapy technician
9 Skills carried over
9 Required, not held
63.3 Difficulty2
Career overlap Distant match

38%

Learning distance Substantial retraining

63.3/ 100

1 Share of the respiratory therapy technician role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the cytotechnologist profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Why

Why this move works

A respiratory therapy technician role treats 8 of its required skills as things a cytotechnologist already does. These are the ones it depends on most.

  • 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

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.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • 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

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 22 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier
01 health and welfare 4 required, 5 supplementary
  • required, not held clinical perfusion required
  • required, not held respiratory medicine required
  • required, not held respiratory therapy required
  • required, not held 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
02 assisting and caring 3 required
  • required, not held carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures required
  • required, not held contribute to continuity of health care required
  • required, not held ensure safety of healthcare users required
03 working with machinery and specialised equipment 2 required
  • required, not held operate breathing equipment required
  • required, not held operate heart-lung machines required
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 3 supplementary
  • 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
05 information skills 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
  • optional, not held interpret medical images optional
  • optional, not held manage healthcare users' data optional
06 management skills 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held respond to changing situations in health care optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

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.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 9 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • 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
Skill to acquire Tier
07 working with computers 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to acquire Tier
  • 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
Skill Type
  • 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.

Skill to acquire Tier
  • required, not held clinical perfusion required
  • required, not held respiratory medicine required
  • required, not held respiratory therapy required
  • required, not held 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
Index
Note

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.