Respiratory Therapist

Summary

The purpose of the position is to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate the delivery of respiratory therapy services for neonatal, pediatric, adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients with acute or chronic cardiopulmonary disorders. A REAL ID will be required beginning May 7, 2025, in accordance with 6 C.F.R. 37.5 (2021).

Duties

Provide respiratory care, diagnostic testing, and therapeutic treatments for adult and pediatric patients in emergency, inpatient, and outpatient settings. Assess patients, perform respiratory procedures and diagnostic tests, monitor patient progress, and work with healthcare providers to develop and adjust treatment plans. Serve as a clinical resource by educating staff, maintaining respiratory equipment, supporting quality patient care, and ensuring accurate documentation. Educate and support patients and healthcare staff by providing instruction on respiratory treatments, equipment use, and breathing techniques to promote safe and effective care. Maintain respiratory therapy equipment and records by ensuring equipment is functioning properly, documenting patient care, and supporting continuous, high-quality respiratory services. 10/01/2026: Position re-announced to solicit for additional applicants. Applicants who previously applied have the option to update their application during the re-announcement.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, your resume must state sufficient experience and/or education, to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are applying. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer and part time experience. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week. Individual Occupational Requirements Specialized Experience for positions at GS-4 and above: Qualifying specialized experience must have demonstrated a knowledge of basic equipment used in respiratory therapy and included duties such as: Making regular rounds on hospital nursing units to review or collect clinical data to insure that the respiratory equipment is operating properly and in compliance with physicians' orders. Transporting, setting up, or testing the operation of and changing simple oxygen administering devices, e.g., masks and nasal cannulas with cylinder or centralized medical gas systems. Disassembling, cleaning, assembling, and sterilizing reusable respiratory equipment such as oxygen analyzers and regulators, including recognizing and reporting variations from expected results. Examples of qualifying experience include work as a practical nurse, nursing assistant, medical machine aid, medical technician, or respiratory therapy aid if the above duties were performed. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirements, you must also meet the Minimum Qualifications stated below. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: GS-07: Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector performing the following type of work and/or tasks: Independently providing emergency inhalation therapy treatments to critically ill and high risk patients. Sets up and operates pressure ventilators, pneumatic nebulizers to administer complex inhalation therapy treatments. Calibrates and maintains blood gas analyzer and blood gas supplies. OR Completed 1 year (18 semester hours) of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position. OR Possess a combination of education and experience that when combined fully meet the minimum qualifications for this position. The total percentage equals at least 100 percent to qualify for this GS-07 grade level. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: GS-08: Your resume must demonstrate at least one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the Federal service obtained in either the private or public sector performing the following type of work and/or tasks: Performing a variety of difficult respiratory therapy such as administering various medications to patients with acute and chronic respiratory distress. Performs airway and tube care on intensive care patients. Sets up, manages and monitors a variety of complex respiratory equipment. OR Completed 1 1/2 year (27 semester hours) of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position. OR Possess a combination of education and experience that when combined fully meet the minimum qualifications for this position. The total percentage equals at least 100 percent to qualify for this GS-08 grade level. Time In Grade Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade Requirements: Merit Promotion (status) candidates must have completed one year of service at the next lower grade level. Time-In-Grade provisions do not apply under the Excepted Service Examining Plan (ESEP). You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

Education

If you are substituting education for experience; You are strongly encouraged to submit a copy of your transcripts or a list of your courses including titles, credit hours completed, and grades. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required from all selectees prior to receiving an official offer. Only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education may be credited. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: https://www.ed.gov/accreditation. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. This position meets the criteria specified in pillar number one of the five pillars of the PHS Commissioned Corps. PHS Commissioned Officers interested in performing the duties of this position within the Commissioned Corps MUST apply online under the merit promotion announcement indicated above in order to receive consideration. For more information on PHS Commissioned Corps, visit the website at: https://www.usphs.gov/.