Respiratory Therapists
Assess, treat, and care for patients with breathing disorders. Assume primary responsibility for all respiratory care modalities, including the supervision of respiratory therapy technicians. Initiate and conduct therapeutic procedures; maintain patient records; and select, assemble, check, and operate equipment.
139,790 people do this job in the US. $82,280 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 23%
- 0%
- 77%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 3%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 23%. Today's estimate: 23%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 23 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Work as part of a team of physicians, nurses, or other healthcare professionals to manage patient care by assisting with medical procedures or related duties.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 13% | 38 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Use a variety of testing techniques to assist doctors in cardiac or pulmonary research or to diagnose disorders.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform pulmonary function and adjust equipment to obtain optimum results in therapy.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min17 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Conduct tests, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), stress testing, or lung capacity tests, to evaluate patients' cardiopulmonary functions.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Educate patients and their families about their conditions and teach appropriate disease management techniques, such as breathing exercises or the use of medications or respiratory equipment.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 33 min17 min to 1.1 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Monitor patient's physiological responses to therapy, such as vital signs, arterial blood gases, or blood chemistry changes, and consult with physician if adverse reactions occur.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Determine requirements for treatment, such as type, method and duration of therapy, precautions to be taken, or medication and dosages, compatible with physicians' orders.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Perform bronchopulmonary drainage and assist or instruct patients in performance of breathing exercises.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min13 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Enforce safety rules and ensure careful adherence to physicians' orders.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Teach, train, supervise, or use the assistance of students, respiratory therapy technicians, or assistants.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).