RESPIRATORY THERAPY (51.0908)

Graduation Requirements (A Minimum of 80 Credits)

The field of respiratory care is a rapidly expanding specialty in the medical profession. This program prepares the students to pass the Entry and Advance Level Exam National Board for Respiratory Care. The program offers the knowledge and skills necessary for a position as a member of a health care team in a hospital, respiratory care departments, anesthesiology or pulmonary rehab, pulmonary diagnostics, nursing homes, and home health agencies. The program also includes credit-hour components of general education/liberal arts courses. FNU awards an Associate of Science Degree upon graduation.

Medical students are required to wear medical attire at all times.

Students must furnish their own uniforms.

All students must have liability insurance and all seminars (BLS, OSHA, HIV, and HIPPA) completed in order to participate in clinical rotations.

*** BLS, ACLS and PALS certifications must be completed prior to Respiratory Clinical III.

+ This course must be passed with a minimum of a B as it is part of the admission’s criteria to the RET Program (core courses).

++ HSC 1538 must be taken together with RET 1001 the term before the beginning of the core courses.

Disclosure of additional expenses: Mandatory certifications: CPR, OSHA, HIV, ACLS, PALS, OSHA, HIV, HIPPA, and the RT Board Review program, the Kettering Seminars Comprehensive Review, an NBRC SAE Clinical Simulation and a TMC SAE (program exit exam). In addition: Textbooks, uniforms, lab coat, stethoscope, a pulse oximeter, Level II and AHCA Background Checks, Liability Insurance, Physical Exam and Immunizations.

Disclosure of academic progress: Primary criterion include completion of college general education courses required by the major with a “C” or better in each of the general education courses, having the minimum 2.50 GPA or better and concurrence with the technical standards of the profession of Respiratory Care, with the exception of Natural Science courses and the RET courses that must be passed with a “B” or better in each course (See Program Policies and Procedures, Grading). Students will be allowed to repeat only one core course. After repeating one core course, a C or less in any of the subsequent courses will result in not being allowed to continue in the program.

Re-entry policy into the Respiratory Therapy associates program Policy:

• If a student earns less than a B grade in an RET core course, the student will not be allowed to continue with her/his current cohort and be temporarily withdrawn from the program.
• The student will have the option of re-entering the program the next time a cohort reaches the RET course that the student needs to re-take (usually within the period of one academic year). However, the student will first have to meet with the DCE and the PD for them to re-assess acceptance criteria.
• If the student earns a C grade or less in the same course or in any other RET core course after the re-entry, the student will be terminated from the program, with no option to return.
• Student opting for re-entry into the program must retake all core courses taken by the cohort where student is re-inserting in the Audit modality, but with the same attendance requirements as all students in the re-inserting cohort. Audit courses are mandatory for re-entry students but free of charge.
• Students that want to re-enter the program after a period of a year has lapsed since the student was temporarily withdrawn, will have to go through the entire program’s admission procedure and will have to audit, at no extra charge all of the RET core courses taken (in sequence as per program policy) up to the re-insertion course.
• The latter will serve as a refresher for the student to keep the knowledge fresh since both the Program’s Exit Exam and the NBRC National Boards are comprehensive in nature.
• Student disqualified for legal, ethical, and or safety issues, will not be considered for re-entry.

Procedure:

Students who do not earn a B grade in an RET core course will be notified in a joint session by the professor in charge of the class and either the DCE or the PD.

• The notification will be done in writing.
• The student will be invited to read the form and sign it.
• If the student refuses to sign the form, it will be noted on the form and co-signed by the faculty in attendance.
• A note will be written in the student’s electronic record as well, and an email will be sent to the student with information about the options: re-enter the program when a new cohort starts, or drop from the program.
• The student will have 8 weeks to make a decision about either re-entering at a later date or dropping from the program, and will write a letter to the DCE and PD notifying them of their final decision.

Admissions Policy for CRT to RRT Bridge Option

• Candidates must have a current NBRC CRT credential.
• Credit will be given to candidates meeting the above mentioned prerequisite for RET 1026C: Respiratory Care Equipment, and RET 1486C: Respiratory Anatomy and Physiology.
• The following courses may be challenged by examination: RET 2350: Respiratory Therapy Pharmacology, and RET 2418: Cardiopulmonary Diagnostics.
• Credit for clinical practicum will be given, at the discretion of the PD and DCE upon receiving a letter from the candidate’s respiratory department director stating the candidate has recent experience in pediatric, adult, and neonatal critical care.
• Transferred credits: * the university adheres to the Florida Statewide Course Numbering System. Credits will be transferred at the discretion of the University Registrar and the VP of Academics. See the ASRT curriculum posted in the university’s catalog for a list of general education and core courses required to complete the degree.

Accreditation

Accreditation information: www.coarc.com

Program #: 200557

Programmatic outcomes: https://coarc.com/students/programmatic-outcomes-data/

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.

Note: FNU accepts credits from regionally accredited institutions that are applicable to the program of study.