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Key Takeaways
- RRT beats CRT in screening. Write which one you hold, with the NBRC credential and your state licence.
- Ventilator experience is the core keyword. Name the modes and the vendors.
- Specialty credentials — ACCS, NPS, RRT-ACCS, AE-C — are strong differentiators and frequently required.
- Unit type is a matching keyword: MICU, SICU, NICU, ED, step-down. Postings screen on these.
- Patient load and vent count per shift are the numbers that separate RT resumes.
Respiratory therapy postings are specific about credentials and setting because the work differs sharply between a NICU, an adult ICU and an outpatient clinic. A resume that does not name the unit type and the ventilator experience is hard to place.
Best Respiratory Therapist Resume Format for 2026
Reverse-chronological, one to two pages, single column.
Single column, no tables or text boxes — hospital ATS installations handle them badly. See ATS formatting mistakes and, on length, our resume length guide.
Section order:
- Header with credentials
- Licensure and certification
- Summary
- Clinical skills and equipment
- Experience
- Education
Header and Credentials
Priya Raman, RRT, RRT-ACCS
Phoenix, AZ · (602) 555-0173 · p.raman@email.com
The NBRC credentials:
- CRT — Certified Respiratory Therapist (entry level)
- RRT — Registered Respiratory Therapist (advanced; the standard for hospital roles)
- RRT-ACCS — Adult Critical Care Specialty
- RRT-NPS — Neonatal/Pediatric Specialty
- RRT-SDS — Sleep Disorders Specialty
- AE-C — Certified Asthma Educator
Write the highest you hold plus any specialty. Most acute-care postings require or strongly prefer RRT.
Licensure and Certification Section
LICENSURE & CERTIFICATION
Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT), NBRC — credential #98211, current
Adult Critical Care Specialist (RRT-ACCS), NBRC — 2023
Respiratory Care Practitioner License, Arizona, #RCP-4471, active through 05/2028
BLS / ACLS / PALS / NRP — all current through 2027
NRP matters for anyone touching deliveries or neonatal transport; PALS for pediatric coverage. These are frequently hard requirements, and each takes one line.
Ventilator Experience Is the Core Keyword
This is the section hiring managers read first, and vague versions fail.
Ventilation: Invasive and non-invasive ventilation · Volume and pressure control · PRVC · APRV · SIMV · Pressure support · High-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) · BiPAP/CPAP · High-flow nasal cannula Vendors: Puritan Bennett 980 · Hamilton G5 · Servo-i / Servo-u · Dräger Evita · Trilogy · V60 Adjuncts: Inhaled nitric oxide · Heliox · ECMO circuit support · Prone positioning protocol
Name modes and vendors. A unit running Hamilton G5s wants someone who has used them, and postings say so. Generic "ventilator management" matches far less than the specifics.
Unit Type Is a Matching Keyword
Postings screen on setting because the skill sets genuinely differ:
MICU · SICU · CVICU · NICU · PICU · Neuro ICU · Emergency Department · Step-down / progressive care · Long-term acute care (LTACH) · Pulmonary function lab · Sleep lab · Home care / DME
Write the units you have covered, with duration. If you are moving between them — adult to neonatal, or ICU to outpatient — name the target explicitly and connect what transfers.
Best ATS Keywords for an RT Resume
Clinical: mechanical ventilation, airway management, intubation assist, extubation, weaning protocol, ABG draw and interpretation, arterial line sampling, bronchoscopy assist, tracheostomy care, chest physiotherapy, aerosol therapy, nebuliser treatment, oxygen titration, suctioning
Assessment: ventilator weaning, spontaneous breathing trial, RSBI, capnography, pulse oximetry, pulmonary function testing, spirometry, six-minute walk test
Emergency: rapid response, code blue, RSI support, transport ventilation, neonatal resuscitation, stroke and trauma response
Credentials: RRT, CRT, NBRC, ACCS, NPS, AE-C, ACLS, PALS, NRP
Writing Experience Bullets
Weak:
Managed ventilators and provided respiratory treatments to patients.
Strong:
Manage 8-12 ventilated patients per shift across a 24-bed MICU, including APRV and HFOV, with independent weaning under protocol and daily spontaneous breathing trials.
Weak:
Participated in the ventilator weaning programme.
Strong:
Co-authored the unit's spontaneous breathing trial protocol, reducing mean ventilator days from 6.4 to 4.9 across 12 months without an increase in reintubation rate.
Numbers most RTs have: vented patients per shift, total patient load, ABGs per shift, intubations assisted, codes responded to, ventilator days, reintubation rate, transport runs, students precepted. See how to quantify achievements and best action verbs.
Respiratory Therapist Resume Example (Experience Section)
Registered Respiratory Therapist, Valley Medical Center — Phoenix, AZ · 2021-Present - Manage 8-12 ventilated patients per shift in a 24-bed MICU; independently titrate and wean per protocol. - Respond to all code blues and rapid responses for the adult tower; assist RSI and manage post-intubation stabilisation. - Draw and interpret 15-20 ABGs per shift; adjust ventilator settings under standing orders. - Co-authored the SBT protocol adopted unit-wide; mean ventilator days fell from 6.4 to 4.9. - Precept 2-3 RT students per rotation and onboard new hires to Hamilton G5 platform.
New Graduate Respiratory Therapists
Lead with clinical rotations and credential status.
CLINICAL ROTATIONS — 800+ hours, 2025-2026 Adult ICU, St. Joseph's (240 hrs). Managed up to 4 ventilated patients under supervision; ABG draws, weaning trials, code response. NICU, Children's Medical (160 hrs). CPAP and conventional ventilation, surfactant administration support, NRP-certified deliveries. Emergency Department (120 hrs). Airway management, nebuliser therapy, BiPAP initiation. Pulmonary Function Lab (80 hrs). Spirometry, DLCO, six-minute walk testing.
Our no-experience resume guide covers the general framing. State credential status plainly: "CRT earned 06/2026; RRT clinical simulation exam scheduled 09/2026." Hospitals hire on that basis regularly, and being explicit is better than leaving it ambiguous.
Common Respiratory Therapist Resume Mistakes
Writing "respiratory therapist" without RRT or CRT. The credential is the filter.
Generic ventilator language. Name the modes and vendors.
Omitting unit type. MICU and NICU experience are not interchangeable and postings know it.
Leaving out ACLS/PALS/NRP. Frequently hard requirements; one line each.
No patient or vent numbers. Load is the operational fact hiring managers need — see weak resume bullets.
Hiding float or cross-unit coverage. Flexibility across units is valuable — say it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is RRT required, or will CRT do? Most acute-care hospital roles require or strongly prefer RRT. Outpatient and some long-term settings accept CRT.
Do specialty credentials matter? Yes. ACCS and NPS are often listed as preferred and sometimes required, and they are strong differentiators in a competitive posting.
Should I list ventilator vendors? Yes, where you have used them. Postings name platforms and the workflow differences are real.
How do I move from adult to neonatal? Name the target in the summary, list NRP and any neonatal clinical hours, and connect transferable airway and ventilation skills honestly.
How long should the resume be? One page for new graduates; two once you have multiple units, specialty credentials and protocol work worth listing.
Make This Practical
RT postings state what they need: credential level, unit, ventilator platform, shift, specialty certification. The usual reason a qualified RT gets filtered is a requirement they meet but phrased differently.
Scan your resume against the posting and check which stated requirements come back unevidenced. It is free and takes about a minute.
See also our ATS score guide, and for adjacent roles the nursing and nurse practitioner guides.
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Templates that keep this structure intact
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