Mercy Medical Center Merced logo
Mercy Medical Center Merced
Merced, California

Respiratory Therapist

Respiratory TherapistFull-Time

Listed compensation

$46.27-$62.28/hr

The week · per this posting · weekdays assumed

Ask the employer about call expectations, weekend coverage, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 50m ago · Verified live

Job Description

Where You’ll Work

Founded in 1873, Dignity Health - Mercy Medical Center is a 186-bed, acute care, nonprofit hospital located in Merced, California. Serving over 150,000 patients annually, the hospital offers a full complement of services including a Level II NICU, heart care, the Mercy Cancer Center, and a family birth center.

Additionally, Merced Medical Center has been recognized as an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality High Performer by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and is a Joint Commission-certified Primary Stroke Center.

One Community. One Mission. One California

Job Summary and Responsibilities

As a Respiratory Therapist, you will join an established team of RTs who share your passion for delivering highly specialized cardiopulmonary care to patients experiencing breathing issues.

You'll be instrumental in providing a range of treatments from breathing techniques and nebulizer treatments to ventilator management, oxygen therapies, and external ventilation support.

Every day you will apply your keen assessment skills and critical thinking to manage diverse patient needs, develop and execute effective care plans, and ensure calm, focused intervention in both routine and emergent situations.

To be successful in this role, you will demonstrate a strong sense of urgency, unwavering calm under pressure, and the ability to anticipate outcomes. Your dedication to patient well-being and exceptional problem-solving abilities will drive success in this vital role.

Clinical Assessments & Care Planning: Conducts comprehensive respiratory and skin assessments to design, implement, and update interdisciplinary care plans

Routine & Advanced Therapeutics: Performs routine procedures including mechanical ventilation, aerosol therapies, spirometry, airway maintenance, medical gas administration, and EKGs

Emergency Response & Physician Collaboration: Responds immediately to Code Blue and STAT emergencies, administering life-support care (BLS, ACLS, NRP, PALS) and assisting with advanced bedside procedures

Medication Administration & Safety: Administers medications using strict hospital identifiers, processes orders with mandatory read-backs, manages Omnicell inventory, and updates MARs accurately

Documentation & Continuity of Care: Completes all patient education, shift documentation, and billing promptly while tracking missed treatments to ensure uninterrupted patient care

  • Job Requirements
  • Required
  • Respiratory Care Practitioner: CA (RESP-LIC: CA)
  • Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT)
  • Associates degree Respiratory Care
  • Basic Life Support (BLS) - CPR
  • Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), within 6 - months
  • Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), within 6 - months
  • Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), within 6 - months
  • Preferred

Previous Clinical Experience in Respiratory Care

Please be advised that this location requires quarterly American Heart Association (AHA) Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI) competency certification post-hire. This ongoing competency is required through resources internal to the facility; outside RQI competency resources are not acceptable for CommonSpirit Health compliance requirements.

Key Responsibilities

The Respiratory Therapist will provide specialized cardiopulmonary care, including ventilator management, oxygen therapies, and routine respiratory treatments. They are responsible for conducting clinical assessments, developing care plans, and responding to emergency situations like Code Blues.

Requirements

Candidates must hold a valid California Respiratory Care Practitioner license and be a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) with an Associate degree. Required certifications include BLS, with ACLS, PALS, and NRP to be obtained within six months of hire.

Key Skills

Respiratory therapyPatient assessmentAerosol therapyEKG

Respiratory Therapy Career Context

Of the 40 active Respiratory Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 3% are remote, 57% have no call, 40% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for California is 110.7 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$113k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $102k in an average-cost state. 63.6% of California clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Respiratory Therapy by the numbers
MeasureThis jobMarket
Listed pay$96k–$130kRespiratory Therapy median $95k (middle half $79k–$109k)64 comparable listings, Nov 2026
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$102k in purchasing powerCalifornia index 110.7 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Respiratory Therapy listings in California164 active3,959 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 3% remote · 57% no call · 40% no weekends40 benchmarked listings
Sign-on & loan repaymentnot statedCalifornia healthcare professional listings (all specialties): 8% state a sign-on bonus (median $1k) · 2% offer loan repayment172 active listings, Nov 2026
New Respiratory Therapy listings1,263 in the last 30 days749 the 30 days before (+69%)U.S., first seen on WeekdayDoc, Nov 2026
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index, BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Nov 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

Top Respiratory Therapist Jobs

23 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution

23 jobs · 13 employers
8
<$85k
3
$85k-95k
5
$95k-105k
5
$105k-115k
2
$115k+

Annual compensation range

Benefits & Perks

14 jobs · 13 employers
401k / retirement match
86%
Sign-on bonus
57%
Loan repayment
43%
PSLF eligible
21% this job
CME allowance
7%

Share of similar jobs offering each benefit

#1

Senior Respiratory Therapist -Dayshift

Sentara Health · Norfolk, Virginia

$41.74-$62.48/hr
#2

Respiratory Therapist

St Francis Hospital · Colorado Springs, Colorado

$34-$56.1/hr
#3

Respiratory Therapist

$37.61-$55.27/hr
#4

Respiratory Therapist (RT) - Adults

$35.5-$53.25/hr
+ 21 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 3.0this job 3.0
Better work-life than 50% of Respiratory Therapy listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 3,919 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • On-site
Mercy Medical Center Merced logo

About Mercy Medical Center Merced

Hospitals and Health Care
Merced, CA
11-50 employees

Benefits & Perks

Nonprofit hospital - PSLF eligible

Living in Merced

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$370k
Typical market rent
$2,041/mo
Residents’ average commute
29 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
98.3
State income tax
Up to 13.3%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Sep 2026), Zillow market rents (Sep 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Merced, CA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.