Registered Respiratory Therapist Associate Degree

Graduates are eligible to sit for the Certification Examination for Entry-Level Respiratory Therapists and the Registry Examination for Advanced Respiratory Therapy Practitioners offered by the National Board for Respiratory Care, Inc. Graduates are also eligible to apply to become licensed as Respiratory Care Professionals by the Ohio Respiratory Care Board.

Respiratory therapists are life support specialists concerned with managing, controlling, and treating problems related to the cardiopulmonary system. Respiratory care practitioners work with the physician, nurse, and other health care personnel.

The complexity of the respiratory care worker’s responsibility requires extensive training, dedication, and professionalism. Respiratory care takes place in such settings as the newborn nursery, surgical and medical units, emergency departments, outpatient departments, and intensive care units of hospitals.

In addition to classroom learning, students enrolled in the Respiratory Care program gain hands-on experience while working in area health care facilities, under the supervision of qualified instructors. These clinical experiences teach students to apply their knowledge and skills in actual work environments. Because students and workers in the health care field may be exposed to infectious materials and communicable diseases, the program emphasizes safety and prevention.

Columbus State’s program is accredited by the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care.

Upon completion of the Associate Degree in Respiratory Care, the graduate will be able to:

• Review existing data in patient medical record and recommend diagnostic procedures based on available patient information.

• Collect and evaluate pertinent clinical information.

• Perform diagnostic procedures and interpret results.

• Determine appropriateness of prescribed respiratory care plan, recommend modifications where indicated, and participate in the development of respiratory care plan.

• Select and obtain equipment, and assure cleanliness of equipment appropriate to the respiratory care plan.

• Assemble, check for proper function, identify malfunctions of equipment, and take action to correct malfunctions of equipment.

• Explain planned therapy and goals to patient, maintain records and communication, and protect against patient nosocomial infections.

• Conduct therapeutic procedures to achieve maintenance of a patient airway, including the care of artificial airways, to achieve the removal of secretions.

• Conduct therapeutic procedures to achieve adequate spontaneous and artificial ventilation.

• Conduct therapeutic procedures to achieve adequate arterial and tissue oxygenation.

• Evaluate and monitor the patient's response to respiratory care.

• Make necessary modifications in therapeutic procedures, and recommend respiratory care plan modifications based on patient response.

• Initiate and conduct, or modify respiratory care techniques in an emergency setting.

• Demonstrate personal and professional behaviors required for successful employment.

• Apply the principles of continuous quality improvement and quality assurance to work situations.

Specific Program Admissions Information

Advanced standing credit may be awarded for previous health care training and/or experience. Please contact Sue Donohue at (614) 287-2633 or sdonohue@cscc.edu. For additional information, please see the program Web site.

Listed below are additional requirements for admission to the Respiratory Care program.

• High school graduate or GED equivalency

• Official transcripts of all previously attended colleges/universities

• Placement into MATH 135–Elementary Statistics

• Placement into ENGL 101–Beginning Composition

• Placement into “No Reading Required”

• High school biology with a "C" or above

• High school chemistry with a “C” or above

• CHEM 113 with a "C" or above

• MULT 120 with a "C"

• Completion of the Nurse Entrance Test (NET)

• RESP102 with a "C" or above

• Completed health statement

• Minimum GPA of 2.50 or above

• Drug Testing and Background Screening must be completed (Students will receive this information upon acceptance into the program.)

Statement Regarding Infectious Diseases:

Students in this program perform their clinical work on patients in health care facilities and may therefore be exposed to many types of communicable diseases and infectious materials. These are not limited to but may include Hepatitis (A, B, C or D), HIV/AIDS, TB, measles, German measles, and mumps.

All students are required to have appropriate immunizations after they are admitted to the program (information is given to all admitted students). Additionally, although all precautions are taken to minimize exposure and risk, there is always a slight possibility that precautions may fail or that a student may have an accidental exposure. All students entering the program must be aware of this slight, but real, potential. All students are encouraged to have personal health insurance in effect by the first day of class.