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About

Accreditation

Doña Ana Respiratory Therapy Program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC)

The program (CoARC #200402)

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.

What is a Respiratory Therapist?

About the Profession Respiratory Therapists play critical roles as members of the health care team in caring for patients with deficiencies and abnormalities of the cardiopulmonary system. Respiratory therapists provide care for a diverse patient population, from newborns and children to adults and the elderly. Disease states and conditions often requiring respiratory care include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, emphysema, heart attack, infant respiratory distress, pneumonia, postoperative surgical complications, shock, stroke and trauma.

Working with physicians and other health care practitioners, respiratory therapists help their patients breathe better by providing the following:

Patient assessment, care plan development and respiratory care protocol administration
Critical care, including airway care, ventilator support, physiologic monitoring and advanced life support
Perinatal and pediatric respiratory care
Cardiopulmonary diagnostics and pulmonary function testing
Patient education, pulmonary rehabilitation and disease management

Program Information

The twenty-two month full-time program offers an associate of applied science degree. It is a concentrated professional program designed to provide the student with all of the skills needed to practice as a respiratory therapist. The education in respiratory therapy is classroom oriented with skills lab activities that follow the didactic presentation, where small group learning activities emphasize skill-based, hands-on experience.

The program progresses from simple to complex, with emphasis on critical thinking and decision-making. After achieving a pass rating on any procedure in a simulated patient environment, the student begins to practice the procedures on patients under the supervision of a clinical instructor.

The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). This status allows enrollment of students and ensures that all students who complete the program are eligible for the examinations given by the National Board for Respiratory Care and state licensure in New Mexico.

Respiratory Therapy Application Checklist

Employment

The demand for healthcare employees has never been greater, and according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the demand is only expected to increase.

With their training as a respiratory therapist, students can gain employment in settings such as hospital intensive care units, emergency rooms, pediatric units and operating rooms, as well as in doctor’s offices, sleep labs, patients’ homes and nursing homes.