Respiratory Care - B.S.

Make a difference in patients' lives with Kent State's Respiratory Care Bachelor of Science program. Our comprehensive curriculum prepares you with the skills needed to provide quality respiratory care services. Enroll now and start your journey toward a fulfilling career in healthcare. Read more...

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Program Information

Program Description

Full Description

The Bachelor of Science degree in Respiratory Care is a completer program designed to prepare qualified respiratory therapists with the necessary knowledge and skills to develop professionalism and advance their careers in the areas of leadership, management, education, research, disease and sleep medicine utilizing best practices in order to advance the practice of respiratory care.

Admissions

Admission Requirements

Admission to the Respiratory Care major is selective. Applicants must hold an active credential for certified respiratory therapist (CRT) or registered respiratory therapist (RRT) and an entry-level degree from an accredited respiratory therapy/care program with a minimum 2.000 overall GPA.

Applicants who are actively enrolled and in good standing in the second year of an accredited entry-level associate degree in respiratory therapy/care or are actively enrolled and in good standing in the third year of an accredited entry-level bachelor's degree in respiratory therapy/care may be conditionally enrolled in the program.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency unless they meet specific exceptions. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Learning Outcomes

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate effective written, oral and visual communication skills by presenting arguments, recommendations and research with relevant sources used for support with proper citation.
  2. Use research methodology and critical inquiry to formulate research questions, search for relevant literature, critically evaluate literature to determine quality, synthesize available literature and write a research project proposal.
  3. Utilize research and theories of teaching and learning to produce educational materials for patients, families and healthcare professionals.
  4. Analyze contemporary issues and evidence-based practices in respiratory care, and demonstrate the ability to identify the impact on professional practice and the ability to advocate for patients through ethical and current best practices.
  5. Explore the principles of inter-professional collaboration and leadership to identify how teams come together to improve the knowledge of the team and create innovations for advancement of the field and improvements in patient outcomes.
Coursework

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Major Requirements (courses count in major GPA)
NURS 46000HEALTH CARE POLICY 3
RSPC 30000PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN RESPIRATORY CARE 3
RSPC 30002LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN RESPIRATORY CARE 3
RSPC 30004EDUCATIONAL INSTRUCTION IN RESPIRATORY CARE 3
RSPC 30006SLEEP MEDICINE AND POLYSOMNOGRAPHY 3
RSPC 40002RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT IN RESPIRATORY CARE (WIC) 13
RSPC 40004ADVANCED PRACTICE IN RESPIRATORY CARE 3
RSPC 40006CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND TRENDS IN RESPIRATORY CARE 3
RSPC 40008CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES 3
RSPC 40075INFORMATION AND PATIENT CARE TECHNOLOGY FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS 3
RSPC 41092PRACTICUM FOR RESPIRATORY CARE (ELR) 3
Additional Requirements (courses do not count in major GPA)
PSYC 11762GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS) 3
LIS 30010INFORMATION FLUENCY IN THE WORKPLACE AND BEYOND 3
UC 10001FLASHES 101 1
Statistics Electives, choose from the following:3-4
BA 24056
BUSINESS ANALYTICS I
MATH 10040
INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS PLUS (KMCR)
MATH 10041
INTRODUCTORY STATISTICS (KMCR)
MATH 12022
PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS FOR LIFE SCIENCES 3
MATH 30011
BASIC PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS 3
PH 30002
INTRODUCTORY BIOSTATISTICS
PSYC 21621
QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY I
SOC 32220
SOC 32221
DATA ANALYSIS
and DATA ANALYSIS LABORATORY
Kent Core Composition6
Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning3
Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (minimum one course from each)9
Kent Core Social Sciences (must be from two disciplines)3
Kent Core Basic Sciences (must include one laboratory)6-7
Kent Core Additional6
General Electives (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credits hour, including 39 upper-division credit hours) 444
Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
1

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement.

2

Not required of transfer students with 25 or more credit hours

3

MATH 12022 and MATH 30011 are not offered online presently.

4

The majority of general elective credit hours may be transfer courses from an associate degree in respiratory care/therapy.

Progression Requirements

To be able to register for Respiratory Care (RSPC) courses, students must be admitted to professional study. Admission is a selective process. Criteria for admission into professional study are the following:

  • Evidence of an earned accredited entry-level associate degree in respiratory therapy/care or accredited entry- level bachelor's degree in respiratory therapy/care
  • Evidence of earned RRT credential
  • Evidence of current active license to practice respiratory therapy

Graduation Requirements

Minimum Major GPA Minimum Overall GPA
2.000 2.000
Roadmap

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

Plan of Study Grid
Semester PrerequisiteCredits
PSYC 11762 GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY (DIVD) (KSS) 3
Transfer courses from associate degree in respiratory care/therapy 41
Kent Core Requirements 15
 Credit Hours59
Semester One
UC 10001 FLASHES 101 1
Statistics Elective 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
Kent Core Requirement 3
 Credit Hours16
Semester Two
LIS 30010 INFORMATION FLUENCY IN THE WORKPLACE AND BEYOND 3
!RSPC 30002 LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN RESPIRATORY CARE 3
!RSPC 30004 EDUCATIONAL INSTRUCTION IN RESPIRATORY CARE 3
!RSPC 40002 RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT IN RESPIRATORY CARE (WIC) 3
!RSPC 40004 ADVANCED PRACTICE IN RESPIRATORY CARE 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Three
!RSPC 30000 PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE IN RESPIRATORY CARE 3
!RSPC 30006 SLEEP MEDICINE AND POLYSOMNOGRAPHY 3
Kent Core Requirement 6
General Elective 3
 Credit Hours15
Semester Four
!NURS 46000 HEALTH CARE POLICY 3
!RSPC 40006 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES AND TRENDS IN RESPIRATORY CARE 3
!RSPC 40008 CHRONIC DISEASE MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES 3
!RSPC 40075 INFORMATION AND PATIENT CARE TECHNOLOGY FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS 3
!RSPC 41092 PRACTICUM FOR RESPIRATORY CARE (ELR) 3
 Credit Hours15
 Minimum Total Credit Hours:120
Program Delivery
  • Delivery:
    • Fully online
Accreditation

Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC)

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries

Respiratory therapists

19.4%

much faster than the average

135,800

number of jobs

$62,810

potential earnings

Notice: Career Information Source
* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.

VITA program

Kent State’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is proving beneficial for accounting students and those in need of tax assistance this tax season....

Faculty Profile: Felesia McDonald '14 - M.S. User Experience

Felesia McDonald, '14 is an adjunct instructor in the iSchool, teaching courses in User Experience (UX). McDonald is also the Sr Manager UX Design at Optum, a branch of UnitedHealth Group. 

McDonald worked as a page designer at the Plain Dealer but went back to school to get a diploma in web design from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. This introduced her to the field of UX.

“I enjoyed the strategy behind building a website more than designing, which led me to UX” McDonald said.

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