About the Program
The Respiratory Therapy Program at Delaware County Community College is a consortium program with Crozer-Chester Medical Center (www.crozer.org). This joint affiliation provides the student with the varied clinical experience from one of Delaware County's finest health care institutions, with the academic excellence of Delaware County Community College, all with affordable tuition rates. The program is accredited by the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com)..
Upon completion of the program, the student will be awarded an Associate in Applied Science in Respiratory Therapy from Delaware County Community College, as well as a Certificate of Completion from Crozer-Chester Medical Center. The Respiratory Therapy program is an advanced-practitioner program, providing the graduate with the academic background to be eligible to take the credentialing exam to be a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT).
What is a Respiratory Therapist?
Respiratory Therapists are Allied Health professionals who work with patients to help diagnose, treat and prevent lung disease. Treatments may consist of assisting a patient who is having severe difficulty breathing with a mechanical ventilator, or providing supplemental oxygen to a person suffering from emphysema.
Respiratory Therapists work along side of nurses, physicians, and other allied health professionals to provide direct patient care. They are the only allied health professionals who are specially trained to use life-support equipment such as mechanical ventilators.
Where do they work?
Most Respiratory Therapists work in hospitals. Within the hospital, they work with all age groups...from a premature infant's first breath, to a great-grandfather's last breath, and every age in between. A Respiratory Therapist may initially meet a patient in the Emergency Department where they came for severe shortness of breath. Then, may be followed up to the Intensive Care Unit, where they will continue to be taken care of by a Respiratory Therapist. They may work in a diagnostic area in a hospital to measure blood oxygen levels or the volume of air in the lungs.
Home health companies may employ Respiratory Therapists to assist patients with lung disease in their own homes.
With continuing improvements in technology, Respiratory Therapists may choose to work with equipment companies to sell and/or train current Respiratory Therapists with new technology.
Credentialing process
After graduation, there are a series of exams that must be taken to become a Registered Respiratory Therapist. These exams are given by the National Board for Respiratory Care (www.NBRC.org). Successful completion of the first exam in the series, the entry-level exam, will allow the therapist to obtain a Pennsylvania state license. This exam will grant the therapist the credential of a Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT). The next two exams must both be completed to obtain the RRT (Registered Respiratory Therapist) credential. One of these exams is a multiple-choice exam, while the other assesses clinical experience. All of the exams given by the NBRC are computerized exams, to be taken at specific NBRC testing sites.