Respiratory therapist interview questions

What this hire must get done

Write the scorecard before you interview, then hire against it. Set the bracketed targets from your own numbers.

What to tell candidates before the interview

Say the hard parts plainly. People who wouldn't stay drop out early, and the ones who stay knew what they signed up for.

• Say plainly that the RT is often the only one in the building, and on [your home-call nights] is at home until paged. Name the backup: [the ER provider, the house supervisor and your transfer or tele-critical care service].
• Give the posted schedule and pay: [12-hour day or night shifts], home call on [your rotation] with a response time of [your standard], and the standby and call-back rates.
• Explain that a ventilated patient may need an RT on the ambulance to a larger hospital, and say [who goes, who covers here and how the ride is paid].
• List what comes after an offer and when: the state license and NBRC credential checks, [your background check, timed to your fair-chance rules], the federal exclusion check, and a respirator fit test, done the same way for every new RT.

How to run the interview

1. Same questions, same order. Ask every candidate the questions below and the same follow-ups. It is the only way to compare people fairly.
2. Two interviewers. An owner or manager and someone who does the work. Take notes on what the candidate says, not on how you feel about them.
3. Score right after each answer. 5 sounds like the strong answer, 3 like the mixed one, 1 like the weak one. Use 2 and 4 for answers in between.
4. Rate alone, then compare. Compare candidates question by question, and talk only after everyone has scored. Big gaps are worth a conversation.

1. Situational · Airway emergencies

   A patient on a ventilator in the ER is waiting for a flight crew. The high-pressure alarm sounds and the oxygen reading starts to fall. What do you do?

   It shows whether they check the patient before the machine and call for help at once, the habit that matters most with no intensivist nearby.

   Follow-ups

   • What do you look at on the patient before you look at the ventilator?
   • Who do you call, how soon, and what do you say first?
   • What goes in the chart, and what does the crew hear when they arrive?

   5Strong

   Goes to the patient before the machine: looks at the patient and makes sure they're breathing, following your ventilator emergency policy and training. Calls the provider at once, and a rapid response if the patient keeps worsening. Charts times and actions, and briefs the flight crew on the event.

   3Mixed

   Assesses the patient first and calls the provider at once, but charts afterward without times or what they tried, and gives the flight crew only a quick verbal summary.

   1Weak

   Silences the alarm or starts changing ventilator settings first, or waits to see whether it settles before calling anyone.

2. Behavioral · Airway emergencies

   Think of a code or hard airway you worked. What was your job in the room, and what would you change about how it went?

   It shows whether they know their role at a code, confirm orders out loud, and learn from each one.

   Follow-ups

   • How did you and the team leader confirm orders?
   • What did you do when something you needed wasn't there?
   • Was there a debrief, and what came out of it?

   5Strong

   Names their role, such as airway, suction or the ventilator. Repeats orders back and calls out when a task is done. Speaks up when something is missed. Names one concrete change they made afterward, like how they set up the airway supplies.

   3Mixed

   Gives a real example and did the job well, but can't say how orders were confirmed, or names a lesson without anything they changed.

   1Weak

   Stays vague about their role, takes credit for the whole code, or sees nothing to improve.

3. Situational · Covering alone

   At [2] a.m. you're the only RT in the building. The ER calls a rapid response for a patient struggling to breathe, and you have [four] treatments due on the unit. What do you do?

   It shows how they choose who comes first and whether they tell the people left waiting.

   Follow-ups

   • Who do you tell about the late treatments, and what do you ask them to watch for?
   • When would you ask for more help, and from whom?
   • What goes in the chart for the treatments that ran late?

   5Strong

   Goes to the rapid response. On the way, tells the unit nurse which treatments will be late and what to call about. Tells the house supervisor if the ER will keep them, asks for backup as policy allows, catches up as soon as it's safe, and charts each delay.

   3Mixed

   Goes to the ER and tells the unit nurse what will be late, but doesn't chart why the treatments ran late or let the supervisor know the night is stretched.

   1Weak

   Finishes the unit round first, or leaves the unit without telling anyone what's late.

4. Situational · Covering alone

   A ventilated patient is leaving by ground ambulance, and the crew asks you to ride along. You're the only RT on tonight. What do you do?

   Rural transfers can pull the only RT out of the building for hours, so the answer shows whether they think about the patients left behind.

   Follow-ups

   • Who has to know before you leave, and who decides?
   • What has to be in place here while you're gone?
   • What do you hand the crew if you don't go?

   5Strong

   Follows your transfer policy and doesn't decide alone. Tells the house supervisor and the provider right away, lists who here is on oxygen, BiPAP or treatments, and helps them choose: call in another RT, or use a crew with its own critical care staff. Leaves only once coverage is set.

   3Mixed

   Gets the supervisor and provider to decide and waits until coverage is in place, but charts nothing about who covered, or when they left and came back.

   1Weak

   Goes without telling anyone in charge, or refuses outright without helping find another way to move the patient safely.

5. Behavioral · Working within protocols

   Describe a patient on one of your protocols who needed something the protocol didn't allow. What did you do?

   It tests whether they can tell where a protocol stops and bring the provider facts instead of a worry.

   Follow-ups

   • What did you tell the provider, and in what order?
   • What happened when the provider saw it differently?
   • How did you chart it?

   5Strong

   Saw the limit, called the provider with assessment findings and a clear request, read back any phone order, and charted the call. When the answer didn't fit and the patient was at risk, went up the chain.

   3Mixed

   Got the right change in the end, but first called with a vague worry instead of findings, so it took a second call.

   1Weak

   Stretched the protocol to cover it, or waited for the next shift to raise it.

6. Technical · Infection prevention

   The ER provider orders a breathing treatment for a patient who may have an airborne infection. Walk me through how you protect yourself, the staff and the next patient.

   Aerosol treatments can spread infection, so this shows whether the candidate knows your infection program at the bedside.

   Follow-ups

   • Where does the patient need to be, and who decides?
   • What do you wear, and when was your last fit test?
   • What happens to the equipment afterward?

   5Strong

   Checks isolation status and asks for the room your policy names. Wears the protective equipment your policy lists, including a fit-tested respirator. Limits who comes in, and bags and labels the equipment for cleaning as policy says. Tells the next RT and the nurse about the precautions.

   3Mixed

   Protects everyone in the room the right way, but isn't sure where the policy lives or when their own fit test is due.

   1Weak

   Gives the treatment in an open bay in a surgical mask, or treats it like any other patient.

7. Situational · Infection prevention

   The ER needs a BiPAP unit now. The backup unit in storage has no tag showing it was cleaned and checked. What do you do?

   It shows whether they'll use equipment they can't vouch for when someone is rushing them.

   Follow-ups

   • What would you use instead?
   • What do you do with the untagged unit?
   • Who do you tell, and why?

   5Strong

   Doesn't use it. Gets another ready unit or tells the provider at once what's available. Pulls the untagged unit out of service, labels it, and reports it under your policy so the cleaning and check process gets looked at.

   3Mixed

   Uses another ready unit and labels the untagged one out of service, but doesn't report it, so nobody finds out why it was shelved that way.

   1Weak

   Uses it because the ER needs it, or puts it back on the shelf.

8. Behavioral · Equipment readiness

   Think of a time equipment or supplies were missing or broken right when you needed them, or just before. What did you do, then and afterward?

   Everyone finds gaps. You want the RT who fixes the check that missed it.

   Follow-ups

   • How did you take care of the patient in that moment?
   • Who did you tell?
   • What changed in the checks afterward?

   5Strong

   Handled the moment safely, reported it, and changed something that lasted, like the checklist, the stock level or who restocks the cart after a code.

   3Mixed

   Handled the moment and reported it, but left the fix to someone else and never checked whether anything changed.

   1Weak

   Can't name an example, or blames the last shift and moves on.

9. Behavioral · Equipment readiness

   Tell me how you got ready the last time a ventilator or device model was new to you, before you used it on a patient alone.

   Small hospitals often run different models from the ones a candidate trained on, and nobody should meet a new ventilator for the first time on a sick patient.

   Follow-ups

   • What did you do when training wasn't offered in time?
   • How did you show someone you were ready?
   • What surprised you in the first weeks?

   5Strong

   Asked for training, used the manufacturer's materials and a test lung where available, practiced setup and alarms, got signed off, and kept a quick reference. Asked for help early on the first real case.

   3Mixed

   Took the training and got signed off, but didn't practice beyond it, and can't name anything they'd do differently.

   1Weak

   Figured it out at the bedside, or says all ventilators work the same.

10. Situational · Patient teaching

    A patient going home tomorrow on oxygen tells you they plan to keep smoking. What do you do?

    Home oxygen near a flame is a fire risk, and this shows whether the candidate can teach without lecturing and make sure the team knows.

    Follow-ups

    • How do you check they understood?
    • Who else needs to know before discharge?
    • What goes in the chart?

    5Strong

    Stays respectful and explains the fire risk in plain words, covering any open flame or heat source, not just cigarettes. Has the patient explain it back, gives written steps, offers help to quit through your process, tells the provider and case manager, and charts it all.

    3Mixed

    Explains the risk clearly and charts it, but checks understanding with "Any questions?" instead of having the patient explain it back.

    1Weak

    Lectures or scolds, or skips the topic because the patient has made up their mind.

Work exercise: case discussion: a long wait for a bed

Give finalists a made-up case: an ER patient on BiPAP waiting [several hours] for a transfer bed, with nursing notes, a short history and a page log showing [two] other calls coming in. There are no settings or numbers to grade. In [20] minutes they talk through what they'd watch, when they'd call the provider and what they'd say, how they'd handle the other calls, and what they'd hand the transport crew. An experienced RT [from your network] scores the clinical reasoning.

Use made-up materials, never real customer work, and keep it to the time shown. Follow your own safety rules for anything hands-on.

Reference check questions

Tell finalists you'll call a former manager, and get their permission first. Ask about what they did, not whether they were nice.

• Tell me about a code or rapid response they worked with you. What did they do, and how did they talk with the team?
• When their protocol patients were reviewed, what did the reviews find?
• When the next RT took over from them, what shape were the equipment, the carts and the charting in?
• Would you have them cover a night as the only RT, and why or why not?

Questions to skip, and what to ask instead

Ask only what the job needs. Questions that touch age, health, family or pay history can break federal, state or local law, even when you mean well.

• SkipCan you still do chest compressions at your age?

  AskDescribe the physical duties the same way to every candidate, [moving fast to codes, chest compressions, pushing ventilators and oxygen cylinders], and ask whether anything would keep them from doing those, with or without reasonable accommodation.

• SkipDoes your husband or wife mind you getting called in at night?

  AskHome call is [your rotation], and you need to be here within [your response time] of a page. Can you meet that every time you're on call?

• SkipHave you ever had TB or a lung problem?

  AskDon't ask about health before an offer. Tell candidates that after an offer every new RT gets [your health screening and a respirator fit test], the same as everyone in the job.

• SkipWhat does your current hospital pay you?

  AskOur package is [the base rate, night and weekend differentials, and the standby and call-back rates]. How does that line up with what you need?

Common mistakes when hiring a respiratory therapist

• Quizzing settings instead of judgment

  Asking for ventilator settings and formulas shows what a candidate studied. The alarm, the rapid response and the ride-along questions show what they do as the only RT. Have an experienced RT score the clinical side of the case.

• Skipping the home-call math

  A strong candidate who can't reach the hospital within your call response time can't cover home call. Say the response time before the interview, not after the offer.

• Taking the credential for the license

  The NBRC credential and the state license are separate. NBRC says every state that regulates respiratory care bases its license on the CRT or RRT, but your state board issues the license and may require more. Check both before the first shift.

Respiratory therapist interview FAQ