Program Description
Respiratory therapists deliver care that helps people manage a wide range of breathing problems caused by disease, accident, or illness. Whenever and wherever breathing is an issue, respiratory therapists are there to provide care. Respiratory therapists work in hospitals or other acute care settings or are employed in clinics, physicians’ offices, or skilled nursing facilities. Vermont State University’s Associate of Science in Respiratory Therapy program prepares graduates who can demonstrate the attitudes, skills, and knowledge relevant to their role as registered respiratory therapists.
Under instructor supervision, students provide patient care in a variety of healthcare settings in VT, NY, and NH. All students are required to travel to hospital sites at a distance from their local site. All students are required to complete BIO 2011 and BIO 2012: Anatomy & Physiology Parts 1 and 2 prior to entry into the program.
Graduates are eligible to apply to take the Therapist Multiple-Choice Examination offered by the National Board for Respiratory Care.
Programmatic outcomes are defined by The Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC), 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.
Students must achieve a grade of C or better in all BIO and RSP courses to continue in the program.
Program Outcomes
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Collect, review and evaluate clinical data to determine the appropriateness of the prescribed respiratory care plan, and participate in the development of the respiratory care plan.
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Initiate, conduct, and modify prescribed therapeutic procedures to achieve the desired objectives.
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Assemble, check function, correct malfunctions and perform quality control of respiratory therapy equipment.
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Acquire knowledge by questioning, analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information.
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Use numbers and formulate relationships between them to analyze, interpret and develop appropriate strategies for respiratory care.
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Work together with other professionals on the health care team in a manner that fosters mutual respect and facilitates the effective handling of -patient care issues.
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Completely document patient care sessions in the medical record in a concise and legible manner following a problem-oriented format and using the SOAP or other generally accepted notation.
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Write clear, coherent, and comprehensive laboratory and clinical case reports.
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Communicate with clients, family members of clients, and members of the health care team using appropriate verbal and nonverbal skills.
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Inform the practice of respiratory care by actively seeking new knowledge from colleagues, clients, the community, and related educational research.
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Expand the role of the respiratory therapist as an essential member of the health care team.
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Practice respiratory care effectively in a variety of cultural contexts.
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Become aware of the ethical dimension of health care and strive to understand and maintain the highest personal and professional standards.
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