Respiratory Care - Program of Study
The Respiratory Care Program provides an integrated online/hands-on course of study. Theory and concepts are provided through highly interactive online delivery. Laboratory activities are managed in small groups during on-campus sessions. Clinical rotations are managed and arranged by the program’s Director of Clinical Education in co-operation with fifteen clinical affiliates. Clinical rotations begin spring term of the first year, and require the student to complete 24 hours per week (two twelve-hour shifts) at a clinical site under the direction of a preceptor. Students may have to travel more than 90 miles from the college campus to complete the clinical education requirements for graduation.
All courses must be taken in sequence. Concepts include review of sciences relevant to the field, professionalism and ethics, basic therapeutic modalities, patient monitoring and evaluation, respiratory disease and medications, and acute and critical respiratory care of adults and infants. Graduates have the opportunity to receive certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and Neonatal Resuscitation Protocol (NRP). For a look at the entire curriculum for Respiratory Care, view the online catalog information.
Respiratory therapists work at hospitals, clinics, nursing care facilities, in private care facilities and commercial home care businesses that specialize in the treatment, management, diagnostic testing, control and care of patients with breathing disorders that range from chronic lung conditions such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema to heart attack and accident victims, premature infants, and people with cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, or AIDS. (OHLA-52 Rev 2/07).
