Respiratory Care RCT3

The respiratory care associate degree is a sequence of courses that prepares students for careers in the field of respiratory care. Learning opportunities develop academic and professional knowledge and skills required for job acquisition, retention, and advancement. The program emphasizes specialized training in areas such as pulmonary and cardiac pharmacology, medical gases, humidity/aerosol therapy, positive pressure ventilation, incentive spirometry, patient assessment, postural drainage, percussion/vibration, assessment of diseases and conditions, critical respiratory care, advanced critical care monitoring, pulmonary function testing, and pediatric and neonatal respiratory care. Program graduates receive a respiratory care associate degree which qualifies them to take the examinations to become Registered Respiratory Therapists. The goal of the program is to prepare graduates with the demonstrated competence in cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains of respiratory care practice as performed by registered respiratory therapists. (RRTs). The standards for the program can be viewed by clicking here. 

Students may take the National Board for Respiratory Care’s (NBRC’s) Therapist Multiple Choice Exam (TMC).  Graduates seeking to earn an NBRC credential in order to enter the profession must take this examination.  The NBRC utilizes two cut scores for the TMC exam; graduates attaining the low-cut score will obtain the CRT credential.  Achieving the high cut score means that, in addition to earning the CRT, a graduate is eligible to take the Clinical Simulation Exam (CSE).  Graduates who pass the CSE earn the RRT credential. To work in the state of Georgia, all respiratory care practitioners must apply and be granted a license. The only way to obtain a license in the state of Georgia is to pass both TMC and CSE exams and earn RRT credential.

Program Accreditation

“The Coastal Pines Technical College Respiratory Care Technology Program (CoARC Program Number: 200480) awards an Associate of Applied Science degree on the Waycross campus and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com).”

Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC)
264 Precision Blvd. Telford, TN 37690
http://www.coarc.com/

CoARC Program Number: 200480

Programmatic Data Information

“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.”
Programmatic Outcomes Data

Certification Information

Graduates will take the National Board for Respiratory Care’s (NBRC’s) Therapist Multiple Choice Exam (TMC).  Graduates seeking to earn an NBRC credential in order to enter the profession must take this examination.  The NBRC utilizes two cut scores for the TMC exam; graduates attaining the low-cut score will obtain the CRT credential.  Achieving the high cut score means that, in addition to earning the CRT, a graduate is eligible to take the Clinical Simulation Exam (CSE).  Graduates who pass the CSE earn the RRT credential.

State Respiratory Care Boards