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Healthcare · Updated Aug 2026

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.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
AI Exposure
58/100
Moderate

How much of this occupation’s work can be materially affected by current AI systems.

Replacement Risk
50/100
Moderate

How likely exposure is to translate into reduced human demand.

Includes provisional estimates for AI adoption pressure and labour-market resilience. How this is measured

Evidence quality
Confidence82/100
Task coverage86%

Confidence reflects task coverage, mapping and capability-evidence quality, and how much of the score rests on provisional inputs.

Task-level evidence

What is driving the score?

Occupation scores are built from the task mix—not a single prediction about a job title.

JVS 2.0.0-phase4b
TaskImportanceAI impactExposure
Enforce safety rules and ensure careful adherence to physicians' orders.High
72
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.High
61
Maintain charts that contain patients' pertinent identification and therapy information.High
57
Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition.High
67
Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.High
61
Determine requirements for treatment, such as type, method and duration of therapy, precautions to be taken, or medication and dosages, compatible with physicians' orders.High
65
Explain treatment procedures to patients to gain cooperation and allay fears.High
64
Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.High
72
Conduct tests, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), stress testing, or lung capacity tests, to evaluate patients' cardiopulmonary functions.High
66
Perform bronchopulmonary drainage and assist or instruct patients in performance of breathing exercises.High
57
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.High
37
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.High
52
Use a variety of testing techniques to assist doctors in cardiac or pulmonary research or to diagnose disorders.High
66
Perform pulmonary function and adjust equipment to obtain optimum results in therapy.High
65
Demonstrate respiratory care procedures to trainees or other healthcare personnel.High
67
Perform endotracheal intubation to maintain open airways for patients who are unable to breathe on their own.High
56
Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary.High
26
Monitor cardiac patients, using electrocardiography devices, such as a holter monitor.Medium
40
Most exposed

Where AI can do more

Routine, digitized, and highly repeatable tasks face the greatest pressure.

  1. Enforce safety rules and ensure careful adherence to physicians' orders.72
  2. Provide emergency care, such as artificial respiration, external cardiac massage, or assistance with cardiopulmonary resuscitation.72
  3. Read prescription, measure arterial blood gases, and review patient information to assess patient condition.67
  4. Demonstrate respiratory care procedures to trainees or other healthcare personnel.67
Hardest to automate

Where people still matter

These tasks score lowest on automation feasibility—physical presence, judgement, accountability and real-world variability all resist end-to-end automation.

  1. Inspect, clean, test, and maintain respiratory therapy equipment to ensure equipment is functioning safely and efficiently, ordering repairs when necessary.01
  2. Set up and operate devices, such as mechanical ventilators, therapeutic gas administration apparatus, environmental control systems, or aerosol generators, following specified parameters of treatment.02
  3. Determine requirements for treatment, such as type, method and duration of therapy, precautions to be taken, or medication and dosages, compatible with physicians' orders.03
  4. Use a variety of testing techniques to assist doctors in cardiac or pulmonary research or to diagnose disorders.04
  5. Perform pulmonary function and adjust equipment to obtain optimum results in therapy.05
Where else this work leads

Related occupations

Occupations O*NET links to this one. Relatedness reflects shared work, not a claim that these roles are safer.

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Beyond AI capability

Adoption and labour-market outlook

Structural factors are kept separate from raw capability so you can see what actually resists automation. Adoption pressure and labour-market resilience are still provisional models—25% of this occupation’s replacement-risk weight rests on them.

Human dependency60
Physical dependency48
Adoption pressure59
Labour-market resilience72
Methodology & sources

O*NET 30.3 occupational data interpreted through the JobsVsAI capability, automation and structural-constraint models.

Confidence82/100
CalculatedAug 21, 2026
Read methodology →