Pharmacist to respiratory therapy technician
A pharmacist already meets 40% of what the respiratory therapy technician role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
61.5/ 100
1 How much of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do is already part of a pharmacist’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 pharmacist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- 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
- human anatomy
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 10 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 pharmacist background worth leading with.
- already held hygiene in a health care setting services
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers
- already held manage healthcare users' data information skills
- already held contribute to continuity of health care assisting and caring
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice assisting and caring
- already held communicate in healthcare communication, collaboration and creativity
All 10 carried skills, including the 8 the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 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 medical terminology 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
- optional, not held medical informatics optional
- still to learn operate breathing equipment required
- still to learn operate heart-lung machines required
- still to learn apply context specific clinical competences 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
- still to learn carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures required
- still to learn health care legislation required
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held interpret medical images 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 apply context specific clinical competences practise this
- 02 carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures practise this
- 03 clinical perfusion study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 10 skills that carry over
- 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 human anatomy knowledge
- already held hygiene in a health care setting knowledge
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held respond to changing situations in health care optional
12 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
- optional, not held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held medical informatics optional
- optional, not held respond to changing situations in health care optional
76 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 accounting techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- not needed by the target role advise on poisoning incidents skill
- not needed by the target role analytical chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role applied therapeutics related to medicines knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply blended learning skill
- not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
- not needed by the target role biological chemistry knowledge
- not needed by the target role botany knowledge
- not needed by the target role check information on prescriptions skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role conduct health related research skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to public health campaigns skill
- not needed by the target role counsel healthcare users on medicines skill
- not needed by the target role deal with emergency care situations skill
- not needed by the target role dispense medicines skill
- not needed by the target role empathise with the healthcare user skill
- not needed by the target role ensure client orientation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure pharmacovigilance skill
- not needed by the target role ensure the appropriate supply in pharmacy skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate scientific data concerning medicines skill
- not needed by the target role follow clinical guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role handle the logistics of medicinal products skill
- not needed by the target role homeopathy knowledge
- not needed by the target role improve safety of medicines skill
- not needed by the target role inorganic chemistry knowledge
- 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 maintain adequate medication storage conditions skill
- not needed by the target role maintain medical devices skill
- not needed by the target role maintain pharmacy records skill
- not needed by the target role manage adverse reactions to drugs skill
- not needed by the target role manage medical supply chains skill
- not needed by the target role manage medication safety issues skill
- not needed by the target role manage personal professional development skill
- not needed by the target role manufacture medicines skill
- not needed by the target role medical devices knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role medicines knowledge
36 further entries not listed here
11 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 health care legislation required
- still to learn medical terminology 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
- optional, not held medical informatics optional
Other moves recorded from pharmacist
- hospital pharmacist 82% covered · adjacent
- specialist pharmacist 69% covered · moderate
- industrial pharmacist 68% covered · moderate
- pharmacy technician 63% covered · moderate
- pharmacy assistant 63% covered · moderate
- homeopath 46% covered · substantial
- healthcare assistant 45% covered · substantial
- dental hygienist 43% covered · substantial
Common questions about this move
Can a pharmacist become a respiratory therapy technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A pharmacist already covers 40% of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 8 of which the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
What skills does a pharmacist need to become a respiratory therapy technician?
9 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is apply context specific clinical competences.
How hard is the move from pharmacist to respiratory therapy technician?
Its learning distance is 61.5 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.