Registered Respiratory Techologist

Medical Ethics

This course covers information necessary to understand the legal and ethical standards of practice for respiratory care. Students will study ethics, professionalism, stress management, critical thinking, and HIPAA Guidelines for Confidentiality as they pertain to the field of respiratory care. Also covered will be information related to professional credentialing and licensure, as well as a basic introduction to legal aspects and the principles of managed care.

Respiratory Care Sciences

This course is intended to teach the principles of physics, mathematics, and chemistry necessary for the understanding and application of respiratory care. Topics covered will include use of the metric measurements; temperature scales, the nature and behavior of gases; the gas laws; diffusion, solubility, and flow of gases and liquids; basic principles of fluids; basic atomic structure; formation of ions and calculating valence; theory of pH and acid and bases. Also included will be discussion of biochemistry and basic microbiology.

Introduction to Clinical Application

This course is designed for the Respiratory Care Practitioner student. The focus is observation and assistance in delivery of respiratory care procedures taught in the Respiratory Therapy Procedures I classroom and Lab. The student is supervised in the affiliate facility's Respiratory Care Department.

Respiratory Therapy Procedures I & Lab

This course is designed to cover the theory and practice of basic respiratory care procedures. Included in this course are laboratory demonstrations and practice to prepare the student to be minimally proficient in basic respiratory care skills. Each student will be expected to satisfactorily evaluate in a laboratory situation on the instructed skills as scheduled throughout the course.

Respiratory Therapy Procedures II & Lab

This is the second of two respiratory care procedures courses for the respiratory care student. It is designed to cover the theory and practice of more advanced respiratory care procedures which build upon those presented in Respiratory Therapy Procedures I. Included in this course are laboratory demonstrations and practice to prepare the student to be proficient in more advanced respiratory care skills. Each student will be expected to satisfactorily evaluate in a laboratory situation on the instructed skills before completion of the course.

Respiratory Pharmacology

This course is designed to study medications used in the treatment of respiratory and cardiac disorders. General drug groups, including their physiologic actions, uses and hazards are covered. Dosages, contraindications, precautions, duration and mode of action, elimination, indications for use, potential side effects, and adverse effects are also discussed for the most commonly used respiratory care and related drugs in each group.

Cardiopulmonary Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology

This course is designed to specifically cover the anatomy and physiology of the healthy and diseased cardiopulmonary system. Emphasis is placed on the normal physiology of the lungs, and respiratory system as well as the pathology of respiratory diseases and how they effect the lung. Topics which are covered include: structure and function, mechanics of ventilation, compliance and airway resistance, minute and alveolar ventilation, diffusion, pulmonary and bronchial circulation, ventilation/perfusion ratio, oxygen-carbon dioxide transport, oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve, regulation of ventilation, hypoxia, Henderson-Hasselbach equation, acid-base - pH balance, pathological processes and pulmonary disease classification specifically including: asthma, bronchiectasis, chronic bronchitis, bronchial neoplasms, cystic fibrosis, atelectasis, emphysema, interstitial lung diseases, pulmonary hypertension, embolic disease, pulmonary edema, ARDS, pneumonias, radiographic assessment, chest trauma, cardiovascular diseases, pleural effusions, Guillian-Barré, myasthenia gravis, and other diseases of the lung-chest wall and interstitium.

Pediatric and Neonatal Respiratory Care

This course is designed to cover the various aspects of respiratory care which are unique to the neonatal and/or pediatric patient. The course covers development of the fetus, evaluation and stabilization of high-risk newborns, pediatric respiratory therapeutics, pediatric and neonatal resuscitation, the study of pediatric diseases with respiratory implications and appropriate therapeutic interventions. Mechanical ventilation of the newborn, nitric oxide administration, high frequency ventilation are also covered.

Clinical Application of Basic Respiratory Therapeutics

This course is designed as the actual clinical application of respiratory procedures which are taught in Respiratory Therapy Procedures I and II classroom and Procedures I and II Lab. The student is supervised in the affiliate Respiratory Care Departments by the adjunct faculty and program faculty.

Clinical Application of Advanced Respiratory Therapeutics

This course is designed as the actual clinical application of respiratory procedures which are taught in Respiratory Therapy Procedures I and II, classroom, lab and clinical situation. This clinical rotation is designed to be a period of practice and refinement of all respiratory therapeutics which are presented in the first year of the program. The student is supervised in the affiliate clinical facility Respiratory Department

Critical Care Respiratory Therapy

This course is designed for the advanced respiratory care practitioner. It reinforces the areas of patient management in the intensive care unit, development of care plans, in-depth patient assessment and evaluation. It includes use and care of arterial lines, pulmonary artery catheters, and chest tubes. Students participate in computer and paper-pencil simulations of the CRT exam during this course. Successful completion of at least one version of these exams will be required in order to receive a passing grade. Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) training and certification is included as a component of this course as well

Pulmonary Function Testing & Bronchoscopy

This is a procedures course for the advanced practitioner. It is designed to cover the technique for procedures utilized in the diagnosis of cardiopulmonary disease. Included in this course are laboratory demonstrations and practice to prepare the student to be minimally proficient in more advanced diagnostic skills. Each student will be expected to satisfactorily evaluate in the laboratory situation on the instructed skills before completion of the course

Respiratory Therapy Seminar

This course covers the various skills utilized in specialty areas of the respiratory care profession such as personnel management, organization of the hospital department, budgeting and personnel evaluation. Included are sections on exercise testing, metabolic management, quality improvement, patient education, smoking cessation, and home care.

Clinical Experience I

This course is the direct clinical application of pulmonary function testing and bronchoscopy assistance taught in the Pulmonary Functions Testing and Bronchoscopy course. Students will complete clinical rotations in the hospital pulmonary function laboratory observing and performing comprehensive patient testing. This course will also include additional adult intensive care rotations to promote continued practice and mastery of basic ventilator management skills

Clinical Experience II

This course is designed as the actual clinical application of Pediatric and Neonatal Respiratory Care and Critical Care Respiratory Therapy. The student will be supervised in various clinical facility Respiratory Care Departments for an equivalent of eight hours per week. This course is intended for second year students that are continuing their study of Respiratory Care in pursuit of advanced practitioner eligibility.

Advanced Patient Management

This course is designed to advance and refine assessment and critical thinking skills as related to respiratory patient care management. Students will focus on concepts related to total patient care management related to specific disease processes from admission to discharge and/or follow-up care. The skills of data collection, evaluation, assessment and clinical interventions will be stressed to emphasize functioning at an analysis cognitive level. Activities will be development of advanced patient care plans and respiratory care procedural protocols, participation in simulated case studies and laboratory simulations. Students will also participate in computer and paper-pencil simulations of the current credentialing examinations after reviewing preparation techniques to enhance performance on these exams.