According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics the demand for respiratory therapists is projected to grow 26% through 2020, faster than the average for other occupations. There are over one hundred thousand respiratory therapy positions nationwide, of which seven thousand are in Florida. South Florida, a retiring place for many northerners, as well as a winter home for others has a force of two thousand respiratory therapists at this time. These numbers continue to grow as the population dramatically increases a fact that has forced hospital chains like Baptist Health South Florida, Hospital Corporation of America®/HCA, and Tenet Healthcare Corporation/Tenet to build new facilities to meet the needs of the community.

Currently the basic requirement for a career in respiratory therapy is an Associate in Science degree. The process takes approximately two years; during the first year students take pre-requisites that include anatomy and physiology, algebra, and computer science. The remaining time is divided into two parts: didactic work and clinical apprenticeship. Didactics are taught by seasoned professionals in the field and include courses in cardiopulmonary anatomy and physiology, pulmonary pathophysiology, hemodynamic monitoring, and mechanical ventilation. The clinical aspect is also monitored by seasoned professionals and conducted in a selection of hospitals that offer students the opportunity to first observe up close and then practice under supervision all the skills they will need once they become professionals in the field.
 
Emphasis is placed on courses and on the performance of procedures that constitute the profession’s backbone which include arterial blood gas sampling and analysis as well as pulmonary function testing and adult, pediatric, and neonatal intensive care. Some jobs within the profession allow therapists to have flexible schedules that allow them to further their education as well as to adapt to their personal and family needs; these include work in pulmonary function laboratories, staff therapist in a doctor’s office and home respiratory care.
 
After completion of the course, the student must pass a comprehensive exit exam. This is followed by filling a request with the National Board for Respiratory Care, the profession’s credentialing agency, to take a series of three boards required to earn the title of registered respiratory therapist. Once the candidate passes the first of these boards, called the entry level exam, she or he is allowed to apply for the state license. The individual must possess a state license from the Board of Respiratory Care in order to practice respiratory therapy and begin working in the profession. The average starting salary for a recent graduate from a respiratory therapy program is fifty thousand dollars per year. Years or experience and specialties within the profession such as neonatal respiratory care and sleep studies, as well as membership and participation in professional associations are ways in which therapist increase their value within the profession as well as their salaries. At present therapists with several years experience in the field can earn yearly salaries in the mid sixty thousand ranges.
 
Career demands and progressive technological developments are pushing respiratory therapy educational requirements to the bachelor’s level. This type of educational progress increases the market value of respiratory care professionals. Teaching in a variety of capacities that include department educational coordinator to professor in a respiratory care program as well as a variety of managerial positions offer venues and opportunities to grow and branch out. All of the above have encouraged more colleges throughout the nation to offer programs in respiratory care.