The demand for respiratory therapists is rising faster than the available workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the profession is expected to grow by 14% by 2031, with an annual shortage of approximately 9,400 positions. A 2023 article in Respiratory Care described the current workforce shortage as “the worst in memory.”

What Is a Respiratory Therapist?

A respiratory therapist is a medical professional who develops treatment plans to help restore natural breathing functions and improve care for patients at all stages of life. Respiratory therapists work under the direction of doctors and treat a range of patients, from premature infants whose lungs are not fully developed to older adults with lung disease. They give patients oxygen, manage ventilators and administer drugs to the lungs.

How Do I Become a Respiratory Therapist?

• You must complete either an associate or bachelor’s degree at an accredited program and complete a required certification.
• While enrolled in an accredited program, you can apply to work as a respiratory therapy apprentice as part of Norton Healthcare’s Respiratory Therapy Apprentice Program. This program allows you to job shadow in all areas of our organization.
• Respiratory therapy apprentices also can work with Norton Healthcare while in school to gain more clinical experience and exposure to career options.

Where Can I Work at Norton Healthcare?

Our respiratory therapists have the opportunity to work with children or adults in a variety of clinical settings, such as transport services, emergency departments, critical care, sleep medicine or diagnostic pulmonary function laboratory.

What Is a Typical Day in This Role?

A full-time respiratory therapist typically works three days per week with 12-hour shifts, during which the respiratory therapist may:

• Assist with diagnosing lung or breathing disorders.
• Evaluate patients and perform tests and studies.
• Work with physicians to determine appropriate therapy and treatment options.
• Manage equipment and devices needed to help people who can’t breathe well on their own.
• Educate patients and families about lung diseases and breathing disorders.

Norton Healthcare offers flexible scheduling options, with varying work hours for respiratory therapists. There are opportunities to work full time, part time, as needed, days, nights and weekends, based on your preference.

Are You Interested in the Career?

Here’s how you can get started!

• Job shadow: Norton Healthcare offers job shadowing opportunities so you can observe respiratory therapists firsthand and determine if this is the right career for you!
• Tuition assistance: We offer up to $45,000 to help pay for your education through the Norton Healthcare Scholars Program. This can help you get your original license or help you advance your career by getting the next degree (from an associate degree to a bachelor’s degree).
• Student pathway: Norton Healthcare’s Respiratory Therapy Apprentice Program is the first hospital-based respiratory therapy apprentice program in Greater Louisville. The program is a three-tiered, 18- to 24-month paid program designed as a pathway for students to obtain shadowing and hands-on experience while earning their degree.

Are You Already Licensed?

• Job opportunities: All job openings require a registered respiratory therapist (RRT) credential, or a certified respiratory therapist (CRT) credential. Start your job search here.

Requirements: A respiratory therapist with a CRT credential must obtain an RRT credential within 12 months of hire. (Reimbursement opportunities are available for certification.) Applicants must have a license for the state they are working in (Indiana and Kentucky).  

• Residency programs: Norton Healthcare and Norton Children’s offers two residency programs — pediatric and adult critical care – to enhance the skills and confidence of new graduate respiratory therapists.

Requirements: Must have an accepted position in a Norton Healthcare respiratory therapy department.

• Advanced skills: Norton Healthcare also offers positions for advanced respiratory care practitioners. This position offers therapists the ability to further their scope of practice with additional training to perform endotracheal intubations, arterial line placements and midline and peripherally inserted central catheter placements, or to have a focus of education.

Requirements: Must have adult critical care specialist (ACCS) or neonatal-pediatric specialist (NPS) certifications.