Respiratory Nurse Career Overview

Time to become: two to four years. Degree required: ADN, plus an RN license. Average annual salary: $85,698 (ZipRecruiter). Projected RN job growth, 2024-2034: 5%.

Respiratory nurses care for patients who struggle to breathe because of illness or injury. They run tests, manage medications and respiratory equipment, and carry out treatment plans.

What a Respiratory Nurse Does

Respiratory nurses work in hospitals and other facilities, treating patients with respiratory problems and helping diagnose those with breathing trouble who have no current diagnosis. They manage asthma, emphysema, and other chronic lung conditions, treat newborns with underdeveloped lungs and elderly patients with lung disease, and perform emergency procedures on patients who have had heart attacks, shock, or drowning.

Typical Duties

• Taking patient histories and communicating with physicians or NPs
• Running diagnostic tests, such as measuring lung capacity
• Updating health records
• Performing respiratory procedures, like clearing mucus from airways
• Inserting breathing tubes and monitoring ventilators
• Teaching breathing exercises and smoking cessation
• Conducting home visits for patients on ventilators or breathing equipment

The job rewards collaboration, clear communication, problem-solving, and attention to detail.

Where Respiratory Nurses Work

The BLS does not break out respiratory nurses specifically, but reports that most RNs (59%) work in hospitals, 19% in ambulatory services, and 6% in residential care. Duties shift by setting.

1. Hospitals: Monitor patients in emergency departments, neonatal ICUs, recovery, and other inpatient and outpatient units. Educate patients and families and keep respiratory equipment working.
2. Skilled nursing facilities: Check ventilators, assist with breathing exercises, and run standard respiratory tests.
3. Physician offices: Educate patients with asthma and other conditions, run diagnostic tests, update records, and teach patients to use equipment like CPAP machines and oxygen tanks.

Why Become a Respiratory Nurse

The work is rewarding, but it has tradeoffs.

On the upside, you make a real difference in patients' lives and often see immediate results as breathing improves. Demand is high. You can enter the field with an associate degree and grow your earnings and career with more education.

On the downside, the work is physically demanding, especially around equipment. Demand can spike hard during COVID, flu season, or after wildfires and chemical leaks, so you have to manage stress. Hospital work means weekend and night shifts, and you will be present during patient deterioration and death.

How to Become a Respiratory Nurse

1. Earn a nursing degree. An associate degree (two years) or BSN (four years) qualifies you for RN licensure. Many employers require or strongly prefer a BSN.
2. Pass the NCLEX-RN for RN licensure. The exam covers nursing practice and skills, communication, the healthcare system, and legal and ethical topics.
3. Earn a BSN if you started with an ADN. An RN-to-BSN program builds on your associate degree.
4. Pursue certification if needed. Unlike respiratory therapists, respiratory nurses have no standardized certification. You can earn critical care nurse certification or certified pulmonary function technology standing. Most employers require CPR, and some require advanced cardiovascular life support.

What Respiratory Nurses Make

The median RN salary is $93,600, per the BLS. Respiratory nurses average about $85,698, per ZipRecruiter. The BLS projects 5% growth for RNs (not respiratory nurses specifically) over the decade.

Top-paying states for RNs:

State	Average Salary	Total RNs
California	$120,560	307,060
Hawaii	$104,830	11,260
Massachusetts	$96,250	84,030
Oregon	$96,230	6,240
Alaska	$95,270	6,430

Source: BLS

Top-paying industries for RNs:

Industry	Average Salary
Business Support Services	$106,670
Federal Executive Branch	$96,230
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	$92,110
Other Investment Pools and Funds	$91,990
Office Administrative Services	$89,490

Source: BLS

Resources

• Respiratory Nursing Society and Interprofessional Collaborative: Covers all healthcare respiratory professionals. Offers publications, professional achievement awards, and an annual conference. Students, retirees, and corporations can join.
• American Thoracic Society: The ATS Nursing Assembly offers education, research, publications, and networking, connecting professionals across pulmonology, critical care, sleep medicine, infectious disease, pediatrics, and allergy/immunology.
• American Association for Respiratory Care: Provides medical education to respiratory practitioners including nurses, physicians, and therapists. Respiratory nurses qualify for associate membership. Offers a job board, publications, and a conference.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a respiratory nurse do? Helps patients with breathing problems from illness, injury, or chemical or smoke inhalation. They monitor conditions, adjust equipment, and teach breathing exercises and equipment use, working closely with physicians and other clinicians.

What skills do you need? A solid grasp of anatomy and the respiratory system, the ability to run breathing tests and monitor for breathing difficulty, and command of equipment like ventilators, humidifiers, nebulizers, and oxygen delivery systems, plus strong communication with patients and families.

Respiratory nurse vs. respiratory therapist pay? RNs earn a median of $93,600, compared with respiratory therapists at a median of $80,450. Location, experience, and degree all factor in. An experienced respiratory therapist with a bachelor's or advanced degree can out-earn an RN with an associate degree.

Can a respiratory nurse become a respiratory therapist? RNs can return to school for a respiratory therapy degree, but since RTs generally earn less with fewer career options, it is rare. The reverse is more common, so some RN programs offer RT-to-RN bridges.