Respiratory therapist phone screen questions: CRT or RRT, the 2027 exam change, the job state's license, unit and vent recency, and pay

A respiratory therapist phone screen is a 20-minute recruiter call that checks whether the therapist can practice in the job's state by the start date and has recent hands-on time with the client's patients and equipment. Confirm the NBRC credential (CRT or RRT, plus any specialty), the license for the job's state or where the application stands, the units and patient ages of the last two years, and the ventilators and modes they managed without help. Then confirm the life support cards, the shift pattern, motivation and pay. The NBRC exam changes in January 2027, so screen new graduates against the rules as of November 2026.

This page is the first-call version. The deeper bank, with ventilator management, ABG and setting questions, is in respiratory therapist screening questions; sourcing is in Boolean search strings for respiratory therapists, and the general call structure in phone screen questions for recruiters.

What do you need from the client before the call?

An adult ICU therapist, a NICU therapist and a pulmonary function technologist share a profession and little else on day one. Get these facts first; the respiratory therapist job description template shows where each belongs in the posting.

How should a 20-minute respiratory therapist phone screen run?

1. Opening (1 minute). The units, shift and credential needed in two sentences, how long the call will take, and your consent line if you record.
2. Knockouts (4 to 5 minutes). Credential, license for the job's state, unit and age recency, shift, work authorization.
3. Credential path and license (4 minutes). RRT or CRT, the exam path for new graduates, what is filed with the state.
4. Unit and ventilator recency (4 minutes). Patients, modes, protocols and the last time they did each.
5. Motivation, pay expectations and logistics (4 minutes). Why now, pay needed, start date.
6. Their questions and the next step (2 minutes). Consent to submit and interview availability.

The timings are a planning example. If a knockout fails, say so kindly and end the call or redirect to another opening.

Which knockout questions come first?

The authorization wording follows the Justice Department's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section FAQ, which says an employer may generally ask whether applicants have the legal right to work in the United States and whether they will need visa sponsorship (as of November 2026).

How do you check CRT, RRT and the 2027 exam change?

The NBRC is moving to a single exam. Its RT exam page and its 2027 changes notice say, as of November 2026, that beginning in January 2027 the Respiratory Therapy Examination, with 185 multiple-choice items over four hours, replaces the current pair, and that applications open October 1, 2026. The low cut score earns the CRT and the high cut score earns the RRT. The Clinical Simulation Examination ends on December 31, 2027 and is open only to candidates who passed the Therapist Multiple-Choice Examination at the high cut score by December 31, 2026.

Check every credential in the NBRC's public verify credentials directory, and record what you saw and the date.

How do you check the job state's license on the first call?

The NBRC credential and the state license are separate. The AARC's state licensure table lists Alaska as the one state with no respiratory therapist licensure, with renewal periods and continuing education hours for the rest. One state example: the Respiratory Care Board of California's application requirements say an NBRC credential does not authorize practice in California; the therapist needs a Respiratory Care Practitioner license or a valid work permit from the board, must hold the RRT unless they earned the CRT before January 1, 2015, and must complete a law and professional ethics course (as of November 2026).

Candidates who move often may ask about the compact. The Respiratory Care Interstate Compact's commission page says the compact reached activation status in April 2026 and that the commission would convene for the first time in October 2026 (its meetings page lists October 5 and 6) and then write rules and build its data system. Until privileges are being issued, plan on a license from the job state, and do not promise the client a start date until the state's lookup shows it.

How do you check unit and ventilator recency quickly?

• "On your last shift, how many ventilated patients did you carry, and what else was on your assignment?" Good: numbers and a mix ("four vents, two on high-flow, ED calls"). Weak: no sense of their own assignment.
• "Tell me about the last patient you weaned under protocol. What did you look at before the trial?" Good: names the criteria and who they called. Weak: "the doctor decides".
• "Neonatal roles: which modes and therapies do you run now, and do you attend deliveries?" Good: names the modes, surfactant or nitric oxide where used, and delivery attendance. Weak: neonatal experience only from rotations.
• "Have you done intrahospital transports on a ventilator, and with which transport vent?" Good: names the device and the checklist. Weak: never transported a ventilated patient, for a role that does it daily.

The longer clinical bank is in respiratory therapist screening questions.

Which cards and onboarding steps should you raise on the call?

Ask only about cards and training, not health. Confirm the dates on BLS, ACLS and PALS cards, and for neonatal roles the American Academy of Pediatrics' Neonatal Resuscitation Program, now in its 9th edition. Respirator fit testing for N95s is the employer's job after the offer: OSHA's respiratory protection standard at 29 CFR 1910.134(e) requires a medical evaluation of the employee's ability to use a respirator before fit testing (as of November 2026). Tell the candidate it is part of onboarding; do not ask health questions on the call.

How do you test motivation on a respiratory therapist phone screen?

How do you ask about pay without asking salary history?

Many states and cities bar employers and their agents from asking about current or past pay, as of November 2026; the list is in salary history ban states. Therapist pay is usually hourly with night, weekend and credential differentials, so state the package the job pays.

If the candidate volunteers a number, keep it out of your notes and the submittal and record the expectation instead. This is general information, not legal advice; check the law where the job is located.

When should you advance a respiratory therapist?

An example rule to agree with the respiratory care manager: advance when every knockout passes, credential match and license readiness score at least 2, and two other areas score 3. Hold when one fact, such as a simulation exam date, needs confirming. Decline when a knockout fails. Once hired, the 30-60-90 day plan for respiratory therapists covers the sign-offs and the first full assignment.

What should you not ask a respiratory therapist on a phone screen?

The EEOC says pre-employment inquiries should be limited to what is needed to judge whether someone is qualified, and its guidance on pre-employment questions allows asking whether a candidate can perform the job's functions, with or without reasonable accommodation, but not disability-related questions before an offer.

If you take therapist screens through your computer, Interview Signal keeps the credential, license and unit questions pinned until you ask them and writes the modes and devices exactly as the candidate named them, with no bot in the call.