Examples & writing guide
Respiratory Therapist CV Example and Writing Guide
Updated 23 June 2026
A good respiratory therapist CV makes clinical scope, patient care and measurable results easy to find. This guide shows how to organise that evidence, write a focused personal statement and turn routine duties into credible achievement bullets. Use the figures in your own CV only when you can explain and defend them.
Examples by experience level
Junior Respiratory Therapist
TemplateTeal Signal2 / 5
Why this works
This example pairs recent clinical training with measurable hospital experience, clear respiratory therapy skills and evidence of safe multidisciplinary working.
Continue writing your CVSenior Respiratory Therapist
TemplateAshford1 / 5
Why this works
Shows clinical breadth, team leadership and measurable service improvements while keeping every claim specific and defensible.
Continue writing your CVJunior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Personal statement | Lead with supervised or transferable respiratory-care evidence, relevant study and two or three strengths that match the vacancy. | Open with years of active therapy experience, areas of expertise, leadership scope and one strong, defensible achievement. |
| Clinical procedures | Show accurate participation in non-invasive procedures such as CPAP and BIPAP, with the level of supervision stated clearly. | Show broader ownership of non-invasive respiratory procedures, complex caseload scale and consistent treatment delivery across a service. |
| Assessment and treatment | Give examples of supporting cardiopulmonary diagnostic evaluation and following clearly defined treatment instructions. | Demonstrate substantial experience in diagnostic evaluation, treatment and control of abnormal cardiopulmonary functions, using measured outcomes where available. |
| Collaboration | Show dependable work with nursing staff, including a precise account of involvement in blood-gas sampling and basic analysis. | Show how multidisciplinary collaboration improved workflow, staff capability or consistency of patient care across a team. |
| Patient programmes | Explain how you followed physicians' specific instructions when contributing to patient therapy programmes. | Show responsibility for creating and coordinating physician-directed therapy programmes across a larger patient group. |
| Staff support | Mention occasions when you explained a basic procedure to a colleague or contributed to shared learning. | Quantify staff education, mentoring or procedural guidance and connect it to a clear change in confidence, consistency or service delivery. |
How to write a respiratory therapist CV
Use a reverse-chronological CV, placing your most recent position first. Two pages will suit many candidates, although relevance matters more than forcing the document to an exact length. Choose a plain layout with familiar headings, consistent dates and enough white space to scan quickly. Avoid columns, graphics and decorative rating bars if they make clinical evidence harder to follow.
For an experienced respiratory therapist applying in the United Kingdom, an ATS-optimised CV tailored to the vacancy is an available approach. Tailoring means reflecting the language of the advert where it truthfully matches your background; it does not mean copying the entire job description. A United Kingdom respiratory therapist CV does not need a photo.
| Section | What to include | Keep it focused by |
|---|---|---|
| Contact details | Name, UK location, mobile, email and professional profile link | Leaving out a photo, date of birth and full street address |
| Personal statement | Experience level, strongest relevant capabilities and one defensible result | Writing three or four direct lines rather than a generic introduction |
| Experience | Employer, title, location, dates and achievement-led bullets | Giving the most space to recent and relevant work |
| Skills | Technical abilities and interpersonal strengths supported elsewhere in the CV | Removing vague ratings such as "excellent" or five-star scales |
| Education | Awarded qualification, institution and dates | Keeping completed awards distinct from ongoing study |
| Extras | Relevant development, languages, publications or volunteering | Including only material that strengthens the application |
Open with contact details and a short personal statement. Follow with experience, then skills and education. Put relevant extras last. New entrants can move education above experience when recent study provides their clearest evidence.
In the personal statement, state what you do, where your strongest evidence lies and what result you can bring to the next post. In experience, write bullets around actions, clinical scope and outcomes rather than reproducing a list of duties. Build the skills section from abilities you can demonstrate, including both respiratory-therapy techniques and the communication needed for multidisciplinary work. Record education precisely as awarded. Use the final section for relevant information that would otherwise interrupt the main narrative.
Personal statement examples
Respiratory therapist with six years of hospital experience supporting patients across varied age groups. Experienced in non-invasive CPAP and BIPAP therapies, physician-directed therapy programmes and collaboration with nursing staff on blood-gas sampling and basic analysis. Known for clear staff education and careful monitoring of treatment progress, with outcomes recorded through defensible service measures.
Hard-working respiratory therapist looking for a new challenge in a good organisation. I have excellent communication skills, work well alone or in a team and can handle many duties. I am passionate about helping patients and would be an asset to any employer.
Writing your experience
Treat each experience bullet as evidence, not a shortened job description. A useful pattern is: action + clinical or operational scope + measured result. Start with what you changed or delivered, identify the patients, colleagues, workload or process involved, then give a figure you can verify. Suitable measures might include caseload volume, treatment completion, documentation timeliness, training attendance or an audited reduction in delays. Never estimate a number simply because a quantified bullet looks stronger.
Respiratory therapist experience may include non-invasive CPAP and BIPAP procedures, cardiopulmonary diagnostic evaluation and treatment, physician-directed therapy programmes, staff education, or collaboration with nursing staff on blood-gas sampling and basic analysis. In a hospital post, it may also cover monitoring patient progress and administering breathing treatments under physicians' instructions. Select only the areas that match your actual work and the post being advertised.
| Weak duty bullet | Stronger evidence-led version |
|---|---|
| Responsible for breathing treatments | Administered physician-directed breathing treatments across an average caseload of 14 hospital patients per shift, completing 98% of scheduled interventions within the assigned window |
| Helped nurses with blood gases | Collaborated with nursing colleagues on 32 blood-gas samples during a four-week rotation, documenting basic analysis results with 100% completion in the local audit |
| Trained staff in respiratory procedures | Delivered six short sessions on basic respiratory-therapy procedures to 24 staff members, with 22 completing the follow-up competency check |
The stronger versions identify the action, scale and recorded outcome. They also avoid claiming that the candidate personally caused a clinical improvement when several people contributed. If an outcome was shared, say so: "contributed to", "worked with" or "supported" can be more accurate than "delivered".
Useful opening verbs include administered, monitored, assessed, documented, collaborated, educated, developed, reviewed and coordinated. Choose the verb that reflects your level of responsibility. A junior candidate might write about supervised practice, accurate documentation and learning completed. A senior candidate should show wider caseloads, staff education, service coordination and measurable process improvement. Keep four to six bullets for a recent relevant post and fewer for older roles. Write in the past tense for completed positions and use the present tense selectively for current responsibilities.
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
List education in reverse-chronological order. Give the exact awarded title, institution and completion year; add a short note on relevant study or placement evidence only when it helps explain your fit. Do not turn a broad field, specialisation or unfinished course into a completed award. If you are still studying, label it clearly and give the expected completion date.
The supplied employer template for a United Kingdom respiratory therapist position states that an Associate Degree in Respiratory Therapy is required. It also lists Respiratory Therapy specialisation as a qualification or skill, although its requirement level is not specified. These points describe that particular employer template, not a universal route into every respiratory post. Check each vacancy and present your education against its wording without claiming equivalence that the employer has not confirmed.
The same template states that at least two years of active therapy experience is required. Its example facility also seeks previous respiratory therapist experience in a hospital setting, but that hospital experience is described rather than framed as a universal requirement. If a vacancy uses similar criteria, make the dates and setting of your relevant experience easy to verify in the employment section instead of burying them under education.
| Item | How to present it |
|---|---|
| Completed award | Exact title, institution and award year |
| Specialisation | Exact recorded wording and where it was completed |
| Ongoing study | Programme title and expected completion date |
| Experience criterion | Employer, job title, setting and clear dates in the experience section |
| Other development | Course title, provider and completion date, but only when accurate and relevant |
Do not add a named licence, regulator or certificate simply because it appears familiar for healthcare work; none is supported by the supplied qualification evidence. If an advert asks for a role-specific qualification or relevant licence, reproduce the exact verified name in your CV and state its status accurately. Keep evidence compact: the education section should confirm what you earned, while the experience section should prove how you applied your learning.
Common mistakes to avoid
AvoidListing CPAP and BIPAP without showing what you did, who you treated or how your work affected care.
InsteadAdd a defensible example that gives the setting, your action and the result. For instance, state how many non-invasive therapy sessions you supported and record only figures you can verify.
AvoidDescribing every post as a list of routine duties, such as monitoring patients or administering breathing treatments.
InsteadTurn selected duties into evidence. Show the patient volume, frequency or documented outcome while making clear that treatment followed physicians' instructions.
AvoidClaiming blood-gas expertise in vague terms that do not distinguish sample administration from analysis.
InsteadState your exact part in the process, including collaboration with nursing staff, administration of samples and the level of analysis you performed.
AvoidFocusing only on technical procedures and leaving out communication or teamwork.
InsteadPair clinical evidence with examples of written communication, verbal explanations, nursing collaboration or staff education. This gives employers a clearer picture of how you work around patients and colleagues.
AvoidUsing one generic CV for every respiratory therapist vacancy.
InsteadMatch the wording to the advertised work, then support relevant terms with genuine examples. An experienced applicant may use an ATS-optimised CV, but readable evidence matters more than repeating keywords.
AvoidIncluding unsupported numbers, inflated procedure counts or outcomes you cannot explain at interview.
InsteadUse quantifiable achievements only when your records or experience support them. If a result cannot be measured reliably, describe the scope, action and observable outcome without inventing a figure.
Frequently asked questions
Aim for one or two pages, using reverse-chronological order and giving most space to recent, relevant evidence. A junior applicant can often stay on one page, while an experienced clinician may need two to show clinical scope, staff education and measurable results without crowding the layout.
Use placements, supervised practice, study projects and transferable patient-care examples where they are genuine. Be precise about your level of responsibility; do not imply independent ownership of CPAP, BIPAP, blood-gas work or therapy programmes if you only observed or assisted.
Do not include a photo on a United Kingdom CV; it is not needed. Use the space for contact details, a focused personal statement and evidence that matches the respiratory therapist vacancy.
Mirror relevant language from the vacancy, such as non-invasive respiratory procedures, cardiopulmonary diagnostic evaluation, breathing treatments or blood-gas analysis, only where it describes your actual experience. Back the strongest terms with clear examples and defensible numbers instead of building a keyword list with no evidence.
A career-change CV should separate transferable evidence from respiratory-therapy experience. Emphasise patient communication, clinical observation, written records and multidisciplinary work, then describe any role-specific qualification or supervised respiratory practice accurately without overstating your scope.
Give the scale of your caseload, breadth of age groups, non-invasive therapy work, cardiopulmonary evaluation, collaboration and staff education. Lead each role with outcomes you can defend, and show where you worked independently as well as where care followed physicians' instructions.
From example to application
Turn this respiratory therapist example into a CV that sounds like you.
Keep the structure that works. Tailor the details around your experience, strengths, and the role you want.