Podiatrist to respiratory therapy technician
A podiatrist already meets 26% of what the respiratory therapy technician role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
72.5/ 100
1 How much of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do is already part of a podiatrist’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 5 of its required skills as things a podiatrist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply context specific clinical competences
- comply with legislation related to health care
- comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
- ensure safety of healthcare users
- human anatomy
What stands in the way is 12 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 7 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 podiatrist background worth leading with.
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage healthcare users' data information skills
- already held apply context specific clinical competences communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice assisting and caring
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users assisting and caring
- already held human anatomy health and welfare
All 7 carried skills, including the 5 the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 24 missing skills fall into 9 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 work in multidisciplinary health teams required
- still to learn communicate in healthcare required
- optional, not held promote health and safety optional
- optional, not held provide pre-treatment information optional
- still to learn carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures required
- still to learn contribute to continuity of health care required
- still to learn operate breathing equipment required
- still to learn operate heart-lung machines required
- still to learn health care legislation required
- still to learn hygiene in a health care setting required
3 further areas 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 7 skills that carry over
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held comply with legislation related to health care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held interpret medical images optional
- optional, not held respond to changing situations in health care optional
- optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies 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 use e-health and mobile health technologies optional
- optional, not held clinical imaging techniques optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held medical informatics optional
- optional, not held respond to changing situations in health care optional
36 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 anaesthetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply massage therapy skill
- not needed by the target role behavioural therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role biomechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role chiropody knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct podiatry consultation skill
- not needed by the target role dermatology knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop foot orthoses skill
- not needed by the target role follow clinical guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role foot problems knowledge
- not needed by the target role health care system knowledge
- not needed by the target role histology knowledge
- not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role hydrotherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role immunology knowledge
- not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role kinetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain medical devices skill
- not needed by the target role orthopaedic conditions knowledge
- not needed by the target role orthopaedic treatment alternatives knowledge
- not needed by the target role orthotics knowledge
- not needed by the target role paediatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role pharmacology knowledge
- not needed by the target role podiatric surgery knowledge
- not needed by the target role process medical insurance claims skill
- not needed by the target role promote foot health skill
- not needed by the target role provide footwear advice to patients skill
- not needed by the target role recommend orthotic devices skill
- not needed by the target role record healthcare users' billing information skill
- not needed by the target role refer healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role rheumatology knowledge
- not needed by the target role sport and exercise medicine knowledge
- not needed by the target role sterilization techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role use foreign languages in patient care skill
- not needed by the target role work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
12 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 hygiene in a health care setting 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
Common questions about this move
Can a podiatrist become a respiratory therapy technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A podiatrist already covers 26% of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 5 of which the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
What skills does a podiatrist need to become a respiratory therapy technician?
12 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 9 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 podiatrist to respiratory therapy technician?
Its learning distance is 72.5 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.