BS-Respiratory Care
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Program Title
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Degree
Department
Distance Education Program
Program Description
There are few things more frightening than not being able to breathe. You can live without water for a few days, and without food for a few weeks. But, when deprived of air, you will die within minutes. In terms of survival, breathing is your most immediate need. Respiratory care practitioners are heart-lung specialists who evaluate, treat, and care for patients with breathing disorders. Many patients suffer from respiratory conditions as a result of complications due to inherited disease, heart disease, environmental exposures and many other conditions.
Students suited for a career in the Respiratory Care share a desire to help people in their time of need. Respiratory Care offers the opportunity to connect with patients and families while providing direct patient care. Respiratory Therapists work under the direction of a physician and assist in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with general to the most critical cardiac and respiratory disorders. Combined with an in-depth knowledge of respiratory disease, patient assessment skills, critical thinking skills, and technical equipment understanding, the Respiratory Therapist is a vital part of the healthcare team.
The need for respiratory therapists is projected to grow faster than the national average for all job growth. Additionally, practitioners enjoy a bright future with abundant opportunities for advancement, professional development, specialty credentials, and employment in a variety of patient care settings. Some areas of this specialized profession include neonatal- pediatric care, critical care, diagnostics, pulmonary rehabilitation, flight transport, sleep medicine, disease management, homecare, research, education, management, and many others.
The Respiratory Care Program offers an entry-level Bachelor of Science degree and qualifies the student to become a Registered Respiratory Therapist. The four-year degree is designed to prepare Respiratory Therapists to become leaders in their field and work in advanced settings. Gannon University’s Respiratory Care Program also provides the option for students to pursue a Sleep Disorders Specialty Certificate.
Students enrolled in the program must maintain an overall grade point average of 2.5. Only those students with a 2.5 grade point average or higher after completing the pre-professional courses will advance to the professional phase of the program. All math, science, and courses denoted by the RSPC prefix must be passed with a “C” grade or higher to progress in the program. Applicants must meet the technical standards for admission to the program. Admission requirements may be obtained by contacting the Admission’s office.
The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).
www.coarc.com
264 Precision Blvd
Telford, TN 37690
814-283-2835
Technical and Performance Standards
A candidate for admission to the Respiratory Care Program must have the use of certain sensory and motor functions to permit them to carry out the activities described in the sections that follow.
The information below includes information also available in the Respiratory Care Student Handbook.
Observation:
Candidates and students ordinarily must have sufficient vision to be able to observe demonstrations, experiments, and laboratory exercises.
They must be able to observe and assess a patient accurately in close proximity and at a distance.
Communication:
Candidates and students ordinarily must be able to communicate with patients and colleagues.
They should be able to hear, but if technological compensation is available, it may be permitted for some handicaps in this area.
Students must be able to hear and assess faint sounds and sensations, also through touch, including but not limited to, breath sounds and faint pulses.
Candidates and students must be able to read, write, and speak English.
Motor:
Candidates and students ordinarily should have sufficient motor function such that they are able to execute movements reasonably required to provide general care, technologic therapy and maintenance, and emergency treatment to patients.
Examples of technologic therapy include but is not limited to manipulation and administration of specialty gases and delivery devices; initiation and maintenance of life support equipment; respiratory therapeutic equipment; transport of patients that may involve manual bagging of the patient, pushing, pulling, and care of the patient, and heavy equipment; interpretation and documentation of clinical and patient data; and assist physicians with invasive and diagnostic procedures.
Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of respiratory therapists include but is not limited to quick response and performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, performance of arterial puncture or arterial catheter insertion, assistance or administration of intravenous medication and/or fluids, the application of pressure to stop bleeding, and the opening and maintenance of obstructed airways.
These actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision, and frequently result in stressful situations.
Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities:
These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis and synthesis.
Problem solving, the critical intellectual skill demanded of a respiratory therapist, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, candidates and students should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationships of structures.
Behavioral and Social Abilities:
Candidates and students must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of the intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment and identify ethical responsibilities, needs and interventions, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the assessment and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients.
Candidates and students must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads, adapt to changing environments, display flexibility, and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients.
Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities to be assessed during the admissions and educational processes.
Demonstrate and practice professional attributes of a member of the health care team, including but not limited to legal requirements and professional code of ethics.
The Respiratory Care Department is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to students with an identifiable disability as defined by the Americans with Disability Act. In doing so, however, the Respiratory Care Program must maintain the integrity of its curriculum and preserve those elements deemed essential to educating candidates to become effective respiratory care therapists. Students in the Respiratory Care Program must be of sufficient health in order to meet the criteria of our clinical affiliates.
The Respiratory Care Program reserves the right to reassess the student’s ability to meet the technical and performance standards at any time during the duration of their training and to act accordingly.