Dec 03, 2024  
2024-2025 Catalog with Addendum 
    
2024-2025 Catalog with Addendum

Respiratory Care, AAS

Location(s): Central Campus


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Respiratory therapists play an important role in helping patients with breathing difficulties and cardiopulmonary disorders get the best care possible.

Our Respiratory Care degree helps you gain the technical proficiencies and academic training required to become a respiratory therapist. Within this field, you are tasked with important responsibilities, such as providing and managing therapeutic and life support services, administration of gasses and aerosol therapy, and cardiopulmonary assessment and monitoring.

Our Respiratory Care program is a two-year curriculum that includes one semester (15 credit hours) of prerequisite courses and four semesters (51 credit hours) of didactic, laboratory, and clinical classes that prepare the student for a career as a Respiratory Therapist. The program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).

Enrollment in this program is limited. All prerequisite courses should be completed before application for enrollment into the respiratory care program. See the Selective Admissions  requirements in the Admissions section of this Catalog or at www.tjc.edu/respiratorycare.

As a graduate of the program, you will receive an associate of applied science degree and be eligible to apply for the Therapist-Multiple Choice (TMC) examination administered by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC). The graduate who achieves the low cut score will attain the CRT credential. The graduate who passes the TMC at the high cut score will then be eligible to sit for the NBRC Clinical Simulation Exam. When successful, the credential of Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) will be attained.

After obtaining your RRT credential, you will also be eligible to apply for additional specialty examinations which include: neonatal/pediatric specialist (NPS), certified pulmonary function technologist (CPFT), registered pulmonary function technologist (RPFT), sleep disorders specialty (SDS) credentials, and Adult Critical Care Specialty Examination (ACCS).

In addition, all graduates are trained American Heart Association Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) providers, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) providers.

Marketable skills for this award include: critical thinking, interpersonal skills, self-starter, team work, technical skills and time management.

 

Associate of Applied Science
TSI Complete

General Education Requirements: 31 Credits


Every Associate of Applied Science degree plan must contain at least 15 semester hours of general education courses. At least one course must be taken from each of the following areas: humanities/fine arts (language, philosophy & culture/creative arts), social/behavioral science (social and behavioral sciences/American history/government/political science), and natural science/mathematics (life and physical sciences/mathematics).

Major Courses: 35
General Education Requirements: 31

Total Semester Hours: 66


Recommended Course Sequence:


Prerequisites


Third Semester


Total Semester Hours: 66


Courses titled in bold type represent general education courses and may be taken prior to acceptance into the Respiratory Care program.

*NOTE: BIOL 2401  and CHEM 1406  must be completed with a “C” or better before application to the Respiratory Care program. See department chair for possible exceptions.

Selective Admissions   and retention rules apply. Contact the department chair for details. Department-specific courses must be taken in sequence and may have a prerequisite course. All required courses of the Respiratory Care curriculum must be completed with a grade of “C” or better and a grade point average of at least 2.5 must be maintained while in the program. Contact the department chair for details.

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