Orthoptist to respiratory therapy technician
An orthoptist already meets 60% of what the respiratory therapy technician role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
44.7/ 100
1 How much of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do is already part of an orthoptist’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 11 of its required skills as things an orthoptist 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
- contribute to continuity of health care
- ensure safety of healthcare users
What stands in the way is 6 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 17 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 an orthoptist 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 develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers
All 17 carried skills, including the 11 the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 14 missing skills fall into 5 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
- 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
- still to learn operate breathing equipment required
- still to learn operate heart-lung machines required
- still to learn carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures required
- optional, not held promote health and safety optional
- optional, not held provide pre-treatment information optional
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held interpret medical images optional
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 operate breathing equipment 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 17 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 contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held health care legislation knowledge
- already held human anatomy 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 develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held first aid knowledge
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held medical informatics knowledge
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
8 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 clinical imaging techniques optional
53 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 adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- not needed by the target role advise patients on vision improvement conditions skill
- not needed by the target role anaesthetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
- not needed by the target role carry out orthoptic treatments skill
- not needed by the target role conduct specialised orthoptic tests skill
- not needed by the target role contact lens fitting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role deal with emergency care situations skill
- not needed by the target role determine eye disease progression skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose problems of the visual system skill
- not needed by the target role educate on the prevention of illness skill
- not needed by the target role empathise with the healthcare user skill
- not needed by the target role follow clinical guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role health care occupation-specific ethics knowledge
- not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role listen actively skill
- not needed by the target role neuro-ophthalmology knowledge
- not needed by the target role neurology knowledge
- not needed by the target role neurophysiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role ophthalmological examination methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role optics knowledge
- not needed by the target role orthoptics knowledge
- not needed by the target role paediatric psychology knowledge
- not needed by the target role paediatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role participate in medical inventory control skill
- not needed by the target role pathology knowledge
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform vision rehabilitation skill
- not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
- not needed by the target role prescribe corrective lenses skill
- not needed by the target role professional documentation in health care knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote inclusion skill
- not needed by the target role promote ocular health skill
- not needed by the target role provide health education skill
- not needed by the target role provide therapy of the visual system skill
- not needed by the target role provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health skill
13 further entries not listed here
7 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
- 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
Common questions about this move
Can an orthoptist become a respiratory therapy technician?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An orthoptist already covers 60% of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 11 of which the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
What skills does an orthoptist need to become a respiratory therapy technician?
6 required skills are missing, plus 8 optional ones. They fall into 5 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 orthoptist to respiratory therapy technician?
Its learning distance is 44.7 out of 100, which is the moderate 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.