Respiratory Therapist Interview Questions for Hiring

Introduction

Hiring the right Respiratory Therapist is essential in health care settings where patient breathing support, ventilator management, and pulmonary care directly affect outcomes. A skilled therapist improves patient safety, shortens length of stay, and supports multidisciplinary care.

This guide provides role-specific interview questions for Respiratory Therapists across experience levels. It also includes five pre-screening one-way video interview prompts that are ideal for ScreeningHive to help hiring teams quickly standardize initial assessments.

Respiratory Therapist Interview Questions

Basic Respiratory Therapist Interview Questions

• What are the primary responsibilities of a Respiratory Therapist in an acute care setting?
• Explain the difference between oxygen delivery devices such as nasal cannula, simple mask, and non-rebreather mask.
• What is arterial blood gas analysis and why is it important for patient care?
• Describe the indications for initiating mechanical ventilation.
• How do you perform basic suctioning and what precautions do you take?
• What infection control practices are essential when working with respiratory patients?
• Define peak inspiratory pressure and its significance on a ventilator.
• Describe common signs of respiratory distress to watch for in patients.

Intermediate Respiratory Therapist Interview Questions

• A patient on a ventilator shows rising PaCO2 and decreasing pH. How would you assess and intervene?
• Walk through how you would wean a stable ICU patient from mechanical ventilation.
• Describe a time you identified and resolved a ventilator alarm. What steps did you take?
• A patient with COPD requires bronchodilator therapy. How do you select and administer treatment?
• How do you adjust ventilator settings for a patient with ARDS to minimize ventilator-induced lung injury?
• Explain your process for performing and interpreting a bedside spirometry test.
• How do you prioritize tasks when covering multiple critical patients during a busy shift?
• Describe how you would manage a patient with suspected aspiration and declining oxygenation.
• How do you educate patients and families about home oxygen therapy and equipment safety?
• Explain how you collaborate with physicians, nurses, and physical therapists to create a respiratory care plan.

Advanced Respiratory Therapist Interview Questions

• Describe your experience with advanced modes of ventilation such as APRV, HFOV, or airway pressure release strategies and when you would apply them.
• How have you led or contributed to protocol development for ventilator management or extubation criteria?
• Explain an optimization you made to respiratory workflow or equipment utilization that improved patient outcomes or efficiency.
• Discuss your familiarity with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation ECMO and the role of the respiratory therapist on the ECMO team.
• How do you approach complex cases of severe hypoxemia where conventional ventilation is failing?
• Describe how you audit and improve compliance with ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention bundles.
• How do you evaluate new respiratory devices or technologies for clinical adoption in your department?
• Share an example of mentoring or training junior therapists and how you measure their competency progress.
• How would you design a quality improvement project focused on reducing ventilation time or readmission rates?
• Describe how you balance evidence-based guidelines with individualized patient needs when making complex respiratory care decisions.

Pre-Screening Video Interview Questions for Respiratory Therapist

These pre-screening prompts are ideal for one-way video interviews on ScreeningHive. They help hiring teams quickly evaluate candidate communication, clinical judgment, and cultural fit before scheduling live interviews.

1. Describe your most relevant respiratory care experience and why you are interested in this Respiratory Therapist role.

   This question evaluates background, motivation, and how well the candidate summarizes clinical experience for a hiring team.

2. Explain how you would respond to a ventilator alarm indicating high pressure on an intubated patient.

   This prompt tests clinical reasoning, familiarity with common ventilator problems, and the ability to communicate a safe stepwise approach.

3. Give an example of a time you worked effectively with a multidisciplinary team to improve a patient outcome.

   This checks collaboration skills, communication style, and the candidate's role in team-based care.

4. How do you ensure infection control and patient safety when performing aerosol-generating procedures?

   This assesses knowledge of safety protocols, attention to detail, and adherence to institutional policies in respiratory care.

5. Describe a challenging clinical decision you made under pressure and what you learned from it.

   This prompt reveals problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and the ability to reflect on performance improvements.

Conclusion

This set of Respiratory Therapist interview questions helps hiring managers and recruiters screen candidates across skill levels, from basic clinical knowledge to advanced leadership and optimization. The included one-way video prompts are tailored for efficient initial screening.

Using ScreeningHive for one-way video interviews accelerates hiring by standardizing candidate responses, enabling faster screening decisions, and providing consistent evaluation criteria for hiring teams and HR professionals.