Prosthetist-orthotist to respiratory therapy technician
A prosthetist-orthotist already meets 47% of what the respiratory therapy technician role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.4/ 100
1 How much of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do is already part of a prosthetist-orthotist’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 9 of its required skills as things a prosthetist-orthotist 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 8 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 13 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 prosthetist-orthotist 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 use e-health and mobile health technologies working with computers
- already held respond to changing situations in health care management skills
- already held contribute to continuity of health care assisting and caring
All 13 carried skills, including the 9 the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 18 missing skills fall into 6 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 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
- optional, not held manage healthcare users' data 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 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 13 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 medical terminology knowledge
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held first aid knowledge
- 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
10 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 manage healthcare users' data optional
44 held skills the respiratory therapy technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role advise on rehabilitation exercises skill
- not needed by the target role answer patients' questions skill
- not needed by the target role archive healthcare users' records skill
- not needed by the target role assist patients with rehabilitation skill
- not needed by the target role biomechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect healthcare user's general data skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to the rehabilitation process skill
- not needed by the target role create lifecasts skill
- not needed by the target role design medical supportive devices skill
- not needed by the target role develop therapeutic relationships skill
- not needed by the target role finish prosthetic-orthotic devices skill
- not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify patients' medical records skill
- not needed by the target role instruct patients on supportive devices skill
- 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 listen actively skill
- not needed by the target role maintain prosthetic-orthotic devices skill
- not needed by the target role manipulate plastic skill
- not needed by the target role manipulate prosthetic-orthotic device materials skill
- not needed by the target role manipulate wood skill
- not needed by the target role modify casts for prostheses skill
- not needed by the target role modify lifecasts skill
- not needed by the target role orthopaedic conditions knowledge
- not needed by the target role orthopaedic goods industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role orthopaedics knowledge
- not needed by the target role orthotics knowledge
- not needed by the target role pathology knowledge
- not needed by the target role pedorthics knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform a prosthetic examination of the patient skill
- not needed by the target role place orders for orthopedic products skill
- not needed by the target role prosthetic devices knowledge
- not needed by the target role prosthetic-orthotic device materials knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide health education skill
- not needed by the target role recommend orthopedic goods to customers depending on their condition skill
- not needed by the target role recommend orthotic devices skill
- not needed by the target role record data from biomedical tests skill
- not needed by the target role record healthcare users' progress related to treatment skill
- not needed by the target role rehabilitation knowledge
4 further entries not listed here
8 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
- 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 a prosthetist-orthotist become a respiratory therapy technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A prosthetist-orthotist already covers 47% of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 9 of which the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
What skills does a prosthetist-orthotist need to become a respiratory therapy technician?
8 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 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 prosthetist-orthotist to respiratory therapy technician?
Its learning distance is 55.4 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.