Preparation
An associate degree is the minimum educational requirement, but a bachelor's
or master's degree may be important for advancement. All States, except
Alaska and Hawaii, require respiratory therapists to be licensed.
Among the areas of study in respiratory therapy programs are
human anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, chemistry, physics,
microbiology, pharmacology, and mathematics. Other courses deal with
therapeutic and diagnostic procedures and tests, equipment, patient
assessment, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the application of clinical
practice guidelines, patient care outside of hospitals, cardiac and
pulmonary rehabilitation, respiratory health promotion and disease
prevention, and medical recordkeeping and reimbursement.
High school students interested in applying to respiratory therapy programs
should take courses in health, biology, mathematics, chemistry, and
physics. Respiratory care involves basic mathematical problem solving and
an understanding of chemical and physical principles. For example,
respiratory care workers must be able to compute dosages of medication and
calculate gas concentrations.
Therapists should be sensitive to a patient's physical and
psychological needs. Respiratory care practitioners must pay attention to
detail, follow instructions, and work as part of a team. In addition,
operating advanced equipment requires proficiency with computers.
Respiratory therapists advance in clinical practice by
moving from general care to the care of critically ill patients who have
significant problems in other organ systems, such as the heart or kidneys.
Respiratory therapists, especially those with a bachelor's or master's
degree, also may advance to supervisory or managerial positions in a
respiratory therapy department. Respiratory therapists in home health care
and equipment rental firms may become branch managers. Some respiratory
therapists advance by moving into teaching positions. Some others use the
knowledge gained as a respiratory therapist to work in another industry,
such as developing, marketing, or selling pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
Licensure and Certification
A
license is required to practice as a respiratory therapist, except in
Alaska and Hawaii. Also, most employers require respiratory therapists to
maintain a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification. Licensure is
usually based, in large part, on meeting the requirements for certification
from the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC). The board offers the
Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) credential to those who graduate from
entry-level or advanced programs accredited by CAAHEP or the Committee on
Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) and
who also pass an exam.
The board also awards the Registered Respiratory Therapist
(RRT) to CRTs who have graduated from advanced programs and pass two
separate examinations. Supervisory positions and intensive-care specialties
usually require the RRT.
Accredited
Programs
An associate degree is required to become a respiratory
therapist. Training is offered at the postsecondary level by colleges and
universities, medical schools, vocational-technical institutes, and the
Armed Forces. Most programs award associate or bachelor's degree and
prepare graduates for jobs as advanced respiratory therapists. A limited
number of associate degree programs lead to jobs as entry-level respiratory
therapists. The Commission on Accreditation
of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) is the nationally
recognized accrediting authority for respiratory therapist education
accreditation. The following is a list of accredited advanced respiratory
therapy programs, but be sure to check with the Commission for updates and
changes.
Accredited Advanced Respiratory Therapy Programs
(Associate's
and Bachelor's Degrees)
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Alabama
● Shelton State Community
College (Associate)
● University of Alabama at Birmingham
(Baccalaureate)
● University of South Alabama
(Baccalaureate)
● Wallace Community College
(Associate)
● Wallace State Community
College (Associate)
Arkansas
● Northwest Arkansas Community
College (Associate)
● University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences-Little Rock (Associate; Baccalaureate)
● University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences - Texarkana (Associate)
Arizona
● Apollo College-Mesa
(Associate)
● GateWay
Community College (Associate)
● Kaplan
College-Phoenix (Associate)
● Pima Community College-Tucson
(Associate)
● Pima Medical Institute-Mesa
(Associate)
● Pima Medical Institute-Tucson
(Associate)
California
● American River College
(Associate)
● Butte Glenn Community College
(Associate)
● California College San Diego
(Associate)
● ConCorde
Career College-Garden Grove (Associate)
● ConCorde
Career College-North Hollywood (Associate, Certificate)
● Concorde Career College-San Bernadino (Associate)
● Crafton Hills College
(Associate)
● East Los Angeles College
(Associate)
● Foothill College
(Associate)
● Fresno City College
(Associate)
● Grossmont College (Associate)
● Loma Linda University
(Baccalaureate)
● Los Angeles Valley College
(Associate)
● Maric
College (Associate)
● Modesto Junior College
(Associate)
● Mt San Antonio College
(Associate)
● Napa Valley College
(Associate)
● Ohlone
College (Associate)
● Orange Coast College
(Associate)
● Pima Medical Institute-Chula Vista
(Associate)
● San Joaquin Valley College - Rancho
Cucamonga (Associate)
● San Joaquin Valley College
-Bakersfield (Associate)
● San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia
(Associate)
● Skyline College
(Associate)
● Victor Valley College
(Associate)
Colorado
● Pickens Technical College
(Associate)
● Pima Medical Institute-Denver
(Associate)
● Pueblo Community College
(Associate)
Connecticut
● Manchester Community College
(Associate)
● Naugatuck Valley Community
College (Associate)
● Norwalk Hospital/Norwalk
Community Tech College (Associate)
● Quinnipiac University
(Associate)
● University of Hartford
(Certificate, Baccalaureate)
District of Columbia
● University of the District of
Columbia (Associate)
Delaware
● Delaware Tech and Community College
- Owens Campus (Associate)
● Delaware Technical and Community
College - Wilmington (Associate)
Florida
● ATI Health Education
Centers (Associate)
● Broward Community College
(Associate)
● Daytona Beach Community College
(Associate)
● Edison College - Ft Myers
(Associate)
● Florida A & M University
(Baccalaureate)
● Florida Community College
(Associate)
● Gulf Coast Community College
(Associate)
● Hillsborough Community College
(Associate)
● Indian River Community College
(Associate)
● Miami-Dade College (Associate)
● Palm Beach Community College
(Associate)
● Santa Fe Community College
(Associate)
● Seminole Community College
(Associate)
● St Petersburg College
(Associate)
● Tallahassee Community College
(Associate)
● University of Central Florida
(Baccalaureate)
● Valencia Community College
(Associate)
Georgia
● Armstrong Atlantic State
University (Baccalaureate)
● Athens Technical College
(Associate)
● Augusta Technical
College (Associate)
● Coosa Valley Technical
College (Associate)
● Darton
College (Associate)
● Georgia State University
(Baccalaureate)
● Griffin Technical College
(Associate)
● Gwinnett Technical College
(Associate)
● Heart of Georgia Technical College
(Associate)
● Macon State College
(Associate)
● Medical College of Georgia
(Baccalaureate)
● Okefenokee Technical
College (Associate)
● Southwest Georgia
Technical College (Associate)
Hawaii
● Kapiolani
Community College (Associate)
Iowa
● Des Moines Area Community
College-Ankeny (Associate)
● Kirkwood Community College
(Associate)
● Northeast Iowa Community College
(Associate)
● Southeastern Community College
(Associate)
● St. Luke's College
(Associate)
Idaho
● Boise State University
(Associate, Baccalaureate)
Illinois
● College of DuPage (Associate)
● Illinois Central College
(Associate)
● Kankakee Community College
(Associate)
● Kaskaskia College
(Associate)
● Malcolm X College
(Associate)
● Moraine Valley Community
College (Associate)
● Olive-Harvey College
(Associate)
● Parkland College
(Associate)
● Rock Valley College (Associate)
● Southwestern Illinois
College - Belleville (Associate)
● St. John's Hospital
(Associate)
● Triton College (Associate)
Indiana
● Clarian Health Partners (Baccalaureate)
● Indiana University Northwest
(Associate)
● Ivy Tech Community College,
Central Indiana Region (Associate)
● Ivy Tech Community College-Ft.
Wayne (Associate)
● Ivy Tech Community
College-Lafayette (Associate)
● Ivy Tech Community
College-Michigan City (Associate)
● Ivy Tech Community
College-Sellersburg (Associate)
● Ivy Tech Community College-Terre
Haute (Associate)
● University of Southern Indiana
(Associate)
Kansas
● Bethany Medical Center / Kansas
City Kansas Community College (Associate)
● Johnson County Community College
(Associate)
● Labette Community College
(Associate)
● Newman University
(Associate)
● Seward County Community College
(Associate)
● University of Kansas Medical Center
(Baccalaureate)
● Washburn University
(Associate)
Kentucky
● Bellarmine University
(Associate, Baccalaureate)
● Big Sandy Community and
Technical College (Associate)
● Bluegrass Community and
Technical College (Associate)
● Bowling Green
Technical College (Associate)
● Jefferson Community and
Technical College - Louisville (Associate)
● Madisonville
Community College (Associate)
● Maysville Community
& Technical College - Morehead (Associate)
● Northern Kentucky University
(Associate)
● Southeast Kentucky
Community and Technical College (Associate)
● West Kentucky
Community and Technical College (Associate)
Louisiana
● Bossier Parish Community College
(Associate)
● Delgado Community College
(Associate)
● Louisiana State University Health
Sciences Center (Baccalaureate)
● Louisiana State University Health
Sciences Center - Shreveport (Baccalaureate)
● Nicholls State University
(Associate, Certificate, Baccalaureate)
● Our Lady of Holy Cross/Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation (Associate)
● Southern University at Shreveport
(Associate)
Massachusetts
● Berkshire Community College
(Associate)
● Massasoit Community
College (Associate)
● North Shore Community College
(Associate)
● Northeastern University
(Baccalaureate)
● Northern Essex Community
College (Associate)
● Quinsigamond
Community College (Associate)
● Springfield Technical Community
College (Associate)
Maryland
● Allegany College of Maryland
(Associate)
● Baltimore City Community College
(Associate)
● Columbia Union College
(Associate, Baccalaureate)
● Community College of Baltimore
County - Essex Campus (Associate)
● Frederick Community College
(Associate)
● Prince George's Community College
(Associate)
● Salisbury University
(Associate)
Maine
● Kennebec Valley Community
College (Associate)
● Southern Maine Community College
(Associate)
Michigan
● Charles Stewart Mott Community
College (Associate)
● Delta College (Associate)
● Ferris State University
(Associate)
● Henry Ford Community College
(Associate)
● Kalamazoo Valley Community College
(Associate)
● Macomb Community College
(Associate)
● Monroe County Community
College (Associate)
● Muskegon Community College
(Associate)
● Oakland Community
College-Southfield (Associate)
Minnesota
● College of St Catherine
(Baccalaureate)
● Lake Superior College (Associate)
● Northland Community and
Technical College (Associate)
● St Paul Technical College
(Associate)
● University of Minnesota/Mayo
Clinic, College of Medicine (Baccalaureate)
Missouri
● Cape Girardeau Career and
Technology Center (Associate)
● ConCorde
Career College-Kansas City (Associate, Certificate)
● Hannibal Career &
Technology Center/Hannibal LaGrange College (Associate)
● Missouri Southern State College
(Associate)
● Missouri State
University-West Plains (Associate)
● Ozarks Technical Community College
(Associate)
● Rolla Technical Center
(Associate)
● St Louis Community College-St.
Louis (Associate)
● University of Missouri-Columbia
(Baccalaureate)
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Mississippi
● Coahoma Community College
(Associate)
● Copiah - Lincoln Community College
(Associate)
● Hinds Community College -
Raymond (Associate)
● Itawamba Community College
(Associate)
● Meridian Community College
(Associate)
● Mississippi Gulf Coast Community
College (Associate)
● Northeast Mississippi Community
College (Associate)
● Northwest Mississippi
Community College (Associate)
● Pearl River Community College
(Associate)
Montana
● Montana State University College
of Tech (Associate)
● University of Montana
(Associate)
North Carolina
● Carteret Community College
(Associate)
● Catawba Valley Community College
(Associate)
● Central Piedmont Community College
(Associate)
● Durham Technical Community
College (Associate)
● Edgecombe Community College
(Associate)
● Fayetteville Technical
Community College (Associate)
● Forsyth Technical Community
College (Associate)
● Pitt Community College
(Associate)
● Robeson Community College
(Associate)
● Rockingham Community College
(Associate)
● Sandhills Community College
(Associate)
● Southwestern Community
College-Sylva (Associate)
● Stanly Community College
(Associate)
North Dakota
● North Dakota State University
(Baccalaureate)
● St Alexius Medical
Center/University of Mary (Associate)
Nebraska
● Alegent Health
(Baccalaureate)
● Metropolitan Community College -
Omaha (Associate)
● Nebraska Methodist
College (Associate, Baccalaureate)
● Southeast Community College
(Associate)
New Hampshire
● River Valley Community
College (Associate)
New Jersey
● Bergen Community College
(Associate)
● Brookdale Community
College (Associate)
● Northwest NJ Consortium
Respiratory Care Education (Associate)
● University of Medicine &
Dentistry of New Jersey-North (Associate)
● University of Medicine and
Dentistry of New Jersey-Stratford (South) (Associate)
New Mexico
● Central New Mexico Community College
(Associate)
● Dona Ana Community College
(Associate)
● Eastern New Mexico University
(Associate)
Nevada
● Community College of Southern
Nevada (Associate)
● Pima Medical
Institute-Las Vegas (Associate)
New York
● CUNY Borough of Manhattan
Community College (Certificate, Associate)
● Erie Community College - North Campus
(Associate)
● Genesee Community College
(Associate)
● Hudson Valley Community College
(Associate)
● Long Island University
(Baccalaureate)
● Mohawk Valley Community College
(Associate)
● Molloy College (Associate)
● Nassau Community College
(Associate)
● Onondaga Community College
(Associate)
● Stony Brook University
(Baccalaureate)
● SUNY Upstate Medical University
(Baccalaureate)
● Westchester Community College
(Associate)
Ohio
● Bowling Green State University
(Associate)
● Cincinnati State
Technical and Community College (Associate)
● Collins Career Center -
Chesapeake (Associate)
● Columbus State Community College
(Associate)
● Cuyahoga Community College
(Associate)
● James A. Rhodes State
College (Associate)
● Jefferson Community and
Technical College (Associate)
● Kettering College of Medical Arts
(Associate)
● Lakeland Community College
(Associate)
● North Central State
College (Associate)
● Ohio State University (Baccalaureate)
● Shawnee State University
(Associate)
● Sinclair Community College
(Associate)
● Stark State College of
Technology (Associate)
● University of Akron
(Associate)
● University of Toledo
(Associate, Baccalaureate)
● Washington State Community College
(Associate)
● Youngstown State University
(Baccalaureate)
Oklahoma
● Francis Tuttle Vocational
Technical Center (Associate)
● Northwest Oklahoma Respiratory
Care Consortium (Associate)
● Rose State College (Associate)
● Tulsa Community College
(Associate)
Oregon
● Lane Community College (Associate)
www.lanecc.edu
● Mt Hood Community College
(Associate)
● Oregon Institute of Technology
(Associate)
Pennsylvania
● Community College of Allegheny County-
Allegheny Campus (Associate)
● Community College of Philadelphia
(Associate)
● Delaware County Community
College/Crozer-Chester Med Center
(Associate)
● Gannon University (Associate,
Baccalaureate)
● Gwynedd-Mercy
College (Associate)
● Harrisburg Area Community
College-Harrisburg Campus (Associate)
● Indiana University of Pennsylvania
(Baccalaureate)
● Luzerne County Community College
(Associate)
● Mansfield University
(Associate)
● Millersville University of
Pennsylvania (Baccalaureate)
● Reading Area Community College
(Associate)
● Thaddeus Stevens College
of Technology (Associate)
● University of Pittsburgh -
Johnstown (Associate)
● West Chester University
(Baccalaureate)
● Western School of
Health and Business Careers-Pittsburgh (Associate)
● York College of Pennsylvania
(Associate, Baccalaureate)
Rhode Island
● Community College of Rhode Island
(Associate)
South Carolina
● Florence-Darlington Technical
College (Associate)
● Greenville Technical College
(Associate)
● Midlands Technical College
(Associate)
● Orangeburg Calhoun Technical
College (Associate)
● Piedmont Technical College
(Associate)
● Spartanburg Community College
(Associate)
● Tri-County Technical College
(Associate)
● Trident Technical College
(Associate)
South Dakota
● Dakota State University
(Associate, Baccalaureate)
Tennessee
● Baptist Memorial College of Health
Science (Baccalaureate)
● Chattanooga State
Technical Community College (Associate)
● Columbia State Community
College (Associate)
● ConCorde
Career College-Memphis (Associate, Certificate)
● East Tennessee State University
(Baccalaureate)
● Jackson State Community College
(Associate)
● Roane State Community College
(Associate)
● Tennessee State University
(Associate)
● Volunteer State Community
College (Associate)
Texas
● Alvin Community College
(Associate)
● Amarillo College (Associate)
● Angelina College
(Associate)
● Collin County Community College
District (Associate)
● Del Mar College (Associate)
● El Centro College
(Associate)
● El Paso Community College
(Associate)
● Houston Community College System
(Associate, Baccalaureate)
● Howard College - San
Angelo (Associate)
● Kingwood College - NHMCCD
(Associate)
● Lamar Institute of
Technology-Beaumont (Associate)
● McLennan Community College
(Associate)
● Midland College (Associate)
● Midwestern State University
(Baccalaureate)
● San Jacinto College
(Associate)
● South Plains College
(Associate)
● St Philip's College
(Associate)
● Tarrant County College
(Associate)
● Temple College (Associate)
● Texas Southern University
(Baccalaureate)
● Texas State University-San
Marcos (Associate, Baccalaureate)
● Tyler Junior College (Associate)
● University of Texas Health
Science Center at San Antonio (Baccalaureate)
● University of Texas Medical Branch
(Baccalaureate)
● University of Texas-Brownsville and
Texas Southmost College (Associate)
● Victoria College
(Associate)
● Weatherford College (Associate)
Utah
● California College for
Health Sciences-Independence University (Associate)
● Stevens Henager College-Murray (Associate)
● Weber State University
(Associate, Baccalaureate)
Virginia
● Central Virginia Community
College (Associate)
● J Sargeant
Reynolds Community College (Associate)
● Jefferson College of Health
Sciences (Associate)
● Mountain Empire Community
College (Associate)
● Northern Virginia Community College
(Certificate, Associate)
● Shenandoah University (Associate,
Baccalaureate)
● Southwest Virginia Community
College (Associate)
● Tidewater Community College
(Associate)
Vermont
● Vermont Technical College
(Associate)
Washington
● Highline Community College
(Associate)
● Seattle Central Community
College (Associate)
● Spokane Community College
(Associate)
● Tacoma Community College
(Associate)
Wisconsin
● Chippewa Valley Technical College
(Diploma, Associate)
● Madison Area Technical
College (Associate)
● Mid-State Technical College
(Associate)
● Milwaukee Area Technical College
(Associate)
● Moraine Park Technical
College (Associate)
● Northeast Wisconsin Technical
College (Associate)
● Western Technical College
(Associate)
West Virginia
● Carver Career & Tech
Education Center (Associate)
● Mountain State University
(Associate)
● West Virginia Northern
Community College (Associate)
● Wheeling Jesuit University
(Baccalaureate)
Wyoming
● Casper College (Associate)
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Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
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