Radiation therapist to respiratory therapy technician
A radiation therapist already meets 45% of what the respiratory therapy technician role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
58.4/ 100
1 How much of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do is already part of a radiation therapist’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 radiation therapist 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
- health care legislation
- 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 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 radiation therapist background worth leading with.
- already held provide pre-treatment information communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held interpret medical images information skills
- 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 manage healthcare users' data information skills
All 13 carried skills, including the 8 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
- optional, not held medical informatics optional
- still to learn apply context specific clinical competences required
- still to learn work in multidisciplinary health teams required
- optional, not held promote health and safety optional
- optional, not held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship optional
- still to learn carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures required
- still to learn ensure safety of healthcare users required
- still to learn operate breathing equipment required
- still to learn operate heart-lung machines required
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held use e-health and mobile health technologies 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 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 first aid knowledge
- already held interpret medical images skill
- already held manage healthcare users' data skill
- already held provide pre-treatment information skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held emergency surgery optional
- optional, not held promote health and safety 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 medical informatics optional
50 held skills the respiratory therapy technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adhere to organisational code of ethics skill
- not needed by the target role adhere to the ALARA principle skill
- not needed by the target role administer contrast media skill
- not needed by the target role administer radiation treatment skill
- not needed by the target role advocate for healthcare users' needs skill
- not needed by the target role apply radiation protection procedures skill
- not needed by the target role biomarkers 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 conduct radiotherapy computer planning skill
- not needed by the target role conduct video telemetry skill
- not needed by the target role deal with emergency care situations skill
- not needed by the target role delineate organs at risk skill
- not needed by the target role determine medical images' diagnostic suitability skill
- not needed by the target role dosimetric planning knowledge
- not needed by the target role electroencephalography knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with radiation protection regulations skill
- not needed by the target role formulate a treatment plan 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 identify progression of disease skill
- not needed by the target role immunotherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role influence of adjuvant treatment on radiotherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role medical contrast agents knowledge
- not needed by the target role medical oncology knowledge
- not needed by the target role oncologic hormone therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform image guidance in radiation therapy skill
- not needed by the target role perform on-treatment review skill
- not needed by the target role perform pre-treatment imaging skill
- not needed by the target role perform radiation treatments skill
- not needed by the target role perform transcranial magnetic stimulation skill
- not needed by the target role perform venous cannulation skill
- not needed by the target role perform virtual simulation skill
- not needed by the target role pharmaceutical products knowledge
- not needed by the target role post-process medical images skill
- not needed by the target role prepare examination room for radiation treatment skill
- not needed by the target role prepare patients for imaging procedures skill
- not needed by the target role promote cancer preventive information skill
- not needed by the target role provide anti-cancer medical treatment skill
10 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
- 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 medical informatics optional
Common questions about this move
Can a radiation therapist become a respiratory therapy technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A radiation therapist already covers 45% of what a respiratory therapy technician is expected to do: 13 skills carry over, 8 of which the respiratory therapy technician role treats as required.
What skills does a radiation therapist need to become a respiratory therapy technician?
9 required skills are missing, plus 9 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 radiation therapist to respiratory therapy technician?
Its learning distance is 58.4 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.