Respiratory Therapy is an allied health profession in which the provider cares for patients with breathing disorders. The respiratory therapist assumes primary responsibility for all respiratory care treatments. They treat patients of all ages, from premature infants to the elderly. Health conditions that require respiratory care include asthma, emphysema, chronic obstructive lung disease, pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, infant respiratory distress syndrome, and conditions brought on by shock, trauma or postoperative complications.
Respiratory therapists are employed in hospital specialty areas such as labor and delivery, neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, pulmonary function laboratories, sleep laboratories, adult intensive care units, extra corporeal membrane oxygenation, and ECG testing. In addition to hospitals, the respiratory therapist delivers respiratory care in the home, rehabilitation agencies, nursing homes, out-patient clinics, and physicians' offices. Starting yearly salaries often begin between $35,000 - $40,000.
The U.S. Department of Labor states that demand for respiratory therapists, also known as respiratory technicians or respiratory care practitioners, is growing faster than the average for all occupations. Job opportunities are best for therapists with cardiopulmonary care skills and for those with experience working with newborns and infants.
Students graduate from the program with an Associate of Science degree in Respiratory Therapy. The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Programs, in collaboration with the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care Programs.
The minimum number of credits for the degree is 64.
Curriculum: