Overview
The overall goal of the Respiratory Care program is to prepare graduates with demonstrated
competence in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior)
learning domains of respiratory care practice as performed by registered respiratory
therapists (RRTs).
Respiratory therapists evaluate, treat and care for patients of all ages with cardiopulmonary
disorders. A day in the life of a respiratory therapist might include:
- Interviewing patients and performing physical examinations to obtain assessment data.
- Performing and evaluating diagnostic tests to identify cardiopulmonary disorders.
- Determining the type of therapy needed for the patient’s condition and consulting
with physicians to recommend changes in therapy.
- Managing ventilators and artificial airways for patients who cannot breathe normally
on their own.
- Performing Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric
Advanced Life Support (PALS), and Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP).
- Educating patients and families about lung disease.
Job Outlook and Salary
A career in respiratory care is one of the most in demand job fields. According to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of respiratory therapists is projected to grow 23 percent from 2016 to
2026, much faster than the average for all occupations and the median annual wage
of a respiratory therapist was $60,280 ($28.98/hour) in 2018.
Applying to the Respiratory Care program
STLCC’s Respiratory Care program is a selective admission, college level program.
- Each year 25 students who meet the application requirements are accepted on a first
come/first serve basis.
- The curriculum requires two full academic years and the intervening summer.
- Upon completion of the program, students will graduate with an Associate’s in Applied
Science in Respiratory Care.
- Students are encouraged to take as many general education courses as possible prior to starting the first respiratory care courses that start in the fall semester.
Academic Advising
Prior to application, students must meet with an academic advisor to help plan courses,
clarify program requirements and review your academic history as it relates to this
program.
Admission requirements
Please see the advising checklist.
Admission Process
Applications for the program are accepted on a continuing basis. Students will be
notified via email on the status of their application. If a student is accepted into
the program for the next fall, he/she must secure the seat by replying to this email
stating the intentions to start the program in the fall. Failure to respond to this
email by the deadline given will result in removal from the list.
Applicants entering in the fall semester must attend a mandatory orientation session
that will be held in June.
- Information about the orientation will be sent via the student’s my.stlcc.edu email.
- Once students complete the mandatory orientation, their curriculum will be changed
in the admissions office and they will be allowed to register for fall respiratory
care classes.
- Eligible applicants not admitted due to space availability will remain on the alternate
list and will receive notification via their my.stlcc.edu email with a request to
reply with their intentions to continue to be considered for admission to the program
in the future. Failure to respond to this email by the deadline given will result
in removal from the list.
The Respiratory Care Program (Program #200050) offering an Associate’s in Applied
Science (AAS) degree at the Forest Park campus located at 5600 Oakland Avenue, St.
Louis, MO is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com).
Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC)
P.O. Box 54876
Hurst, TX 76054-4876
817-283-2835
The Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care offers an annual report on the
comparative success of all accredited programs nationwide. Called Outcomes data, you
can view the Annual Report of Current Status posted on the CoARC website.
Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which
the goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented.
Programmatic outcomes data reported on the CoARC website include:
- 3-year time period being reported
- CRT credentialing success
- RRT credentialing success
- Achievement of the high cut score on the TMC Exam (beginning 2018)
- Retention (Attrition)
- Job placement
- Overall Graduate Satisfaction
- Overall Employer Satisfaction
- On-time Graduation Rate
- Total number of program enrollees
- Total number of program graduates
- Maximum Annual Enrollment
Additional Resources
American Association for Respiratory Care – professional organization
National Board for Respiratory Care Accreditation – credentialing
The Respiratory Care program includes:
Up to 800 hours of clinical experience under the supervision of a licensed respiratory
care practitioner.
- STLCC has clinical contracts with many facilities in the St. Louis area, including
Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Saint Louis University, Mercy Hospital, St. Louis Children’s
Hospital, SSM Cardinal Glennon, and many more.
- Clinical rotations include adult general floor care, adult intensive care, neonatal
and pediatrics, long-term care, and specialty rotations such as pulmonary function
testing, bronchoscopies, and emergency departments.
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Cost of Attendance
For more information on cost of attendance visit MoSCORES.
Program Career and Salary Information
Pursuant to Missouri HB 1606 (2018), information regarding the number of credit hours,
program length, employment rate, wage data, and graduates employed in careers related
to their program of study at St. Louis Community College can be found at https://scorecard.mo.gov/scorecard/. Search using School / Program “St. Louis Community College” and choose the degree
or credential type of interest.
The following limitations to the data apply - Information provided is based on the
most recent cohorts available. Typically, most recent cohorts for wage and completion
data are six years prior to the current academic year. Time to complete a program
of study varies depending on the number of credit hours students earn per semester.
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