NBRC CRT study guide
NBRC CRT · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) credential is awarded by the NBRC to candidates who pass the Therapist Multiple-Choice (TMC) Examination, which objectively measures the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities required of respiratory therapists at entry into practice. It is aimed at graduates of accredited respiratory therapy education programs and at credentialed therapists pursuing RRT eligibility, and it matters well beyond the exam room: all 49 states that regulate the practice of respiratory care use the CRT or RRT credential as the basis for state licensure. The exam is a single three-hour, multiple-choice test of 160 items, 140 of which are scored and 20 of which are pretest items, drawn from the NBRC Detailed Content Outline. Two cut scores apply; the low cut score earns the CRT credential, while the high cut score earns the CRT and makes you eligible for the Clinical Simulation Examination, provided you qualify. The NBRC CRT study guide has 3 sections and about 1,076 words.
01Patient Data: Gathering, Validating, and Interpreting Clinical Information
Every data question starts with the same discipline: confirm the source and quality of the value before reasoning from it. Verify that a blood gas is arterial (PaO2 and PaCO2 relationship is plausible), that a pulse oximeter is tracing a believable plethysmograph, and that a spirometry effort meets acceptability and repeatability criteria before you act on the number.
380 words, about 2 min02Troubleshooting and Quality Control of Equipment and Infection Control
This domain tests two reflexes: find the cause of an equipment problem fast, and never contaminate a patient or yourself while doing it. Work in order: patient, circuit, machine.
345 words, about 2 min03Initiation and Modification of Therapeutic Interventions
Every intervention item yields to the same sequence: confirm the indication, select the device, set the parameter, set alarm limits that bracket the goal, reassess, then document. Know your targets: SpO2 94–98% for most adults and 88–92% for patients at risk of hypercapnic respiratory failure.
351 words, about 2 min