Health and Safety Sciences: Respiratory Care
Program number: 200523
The Associates of Science in Respiratory Care Program at Antelope Valley College is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com).
CoARC accredits respiratory therapy education programs in the United States. To achieve this end, it utilizes an ‘outcomes based’ process. Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which the educational goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented.
Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care
CoARC outcomes data is available at the following link: https://coarc.com/students/
What is respiratory care?
- Respiratory care is a health profession that specializes in the promotion of optimum cardiopulmonary function and health. Respiratory care practitioners apply scientific principles to prevent, identify, and treat acute or chronic dysfunction of the cardiopulmonary system.
Primary goal
The respiratory care program's goal at Antelope Valley College is: "to prepare graduates with demonstrated competence in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains of respiratory care practice as performed by registered respiratory therapists (RRTs)." Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care Standard 3.01.
Objectives
Upon completion of the program, the student will demonstrate:
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The ability to comprehend, apply and evaluate clinical information relevant to their role as a respiratory care practitioner (knowledge domain).
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The technical proficiency in all of the skills necessary to fulfill the role as a respiratory care practitioner (psychomotor domain).
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Professional behavior consistent with employer expectations for a respiratory care practitioner (affective domain).
Respiratory therapists have an in-depth knowledge of
- Cardiopulmonary anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology
- Patient assessment and cardiopulmonary diagnostics
- Pulmonary disease
- Advance life support and critical care
- Pharmacology
- Biomedical engineering and technology
Respiratory therapists effectively
- Assess, educate and treat patients with heart and lung problems
Respiratory care is focused on
- Prevention
- Assessment
- Treatment
- Management
- Control
- Diagnostic evaluation
- Education and care
What do respiratory therapists do?
- Apply critical thinking
- Apply patient/environment assessment skills
- Apply evidence based clinical practice skills
- Develop and implement effective care plans
- Apply patient driven protocols
- Implement disease management programs
- Perform therapeutic and diagnostic procedures
What are the prerequisites for entrance into the program?
- Prerequisites for RCP 101 in the Associate Degree Respiratory Care Program are: Completion of BIOL 101 (General Biology – 4 units), BIOL 201 (General Human Anatomy – 4 units), BIOL 202 (General Human Physiology – 4 units) CHEM 101 (Introductory Chemistry – 5 units), MATH 102 or higher and ENGL 101 (Academic Composition - 3 units) at Antelope Valley College or the equivalent at another accredited college. All science courses require a lab. Students are also required to meet the following prerequisites: minimum GPA of 2.0 for all college courses taken; minimum GPA of 2.0 for BIOL 101, BIOL 201, BIOL 202, CHEM 101, English 101, and Math 115 (Transfer level math)
How do I enroll?
Students will be given spaces in the program based on a multiple screening criteria. Complete applications must be turned in by June 1 of each year in order to be considered for the Fall semester. Should the 1st fall on a weekend, the due date will be the Monday immediately after. Students are admitted into the program in the fall of each year. All students wanting to enroll in RCP 101 should follow the instructions on the “Verification of Prerequisites for RCP 101”.
Applications can be mailed or dropped off to the Health and Safety Sciences Department.
For more information about respiratory care as a career, visit the web site for the Respiratory Care Board of California: www.rcb.ca.gov