Respiratory Care: Accepted Student Requirements

Students accepted into the Respiratory Care program will be required to have a background check and drug screening. Applicants must be drug free and free of offenses that would disqualify them from the student clinical experience in a healthcare setting.

The background check will include Residence History, Nationwide Sexual Offenders Registry search and Florida Statewide Criminal Records search. The cost of the background check and drug screening is the responsibility of the student. The current fee is $112.

The program coordinator will provide the necessary paperwork to begin the process, once the student has been accepted into the program.

A.S. Respiratory Care General Education Competencies:

Students should prepare for Twenty-First Century challenges by gaining:

1. Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural worlds through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts.
   
   
2. Intellectual and practical skills, including:
   • Inquiry and analysis
   • Critical and creative thinking
   • Written and oral communication
   • Quantitative literacy
   • Information literacy
   • Teamwork and problem solving
     
     
3. Personal and social responsibility, including:
   • Civic knowledge and engagement (local and global)
   • Intercultural knowledge and competence
   • Ethical reasoning and action
   • Foundations and skills for lifelong learning
     
     
4. Integrative and applied learning, including synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized skills.

Technical Competencies:

• Perform cardiopulmonary diagnostic procedures, patient assessment and respiratory care planning.
• Administer therapeutic and life support procedures in the management of patients with cardiopulmonary impairment.
• Evaluate appropriateness of prescribed respiratory care and recommend modifications where indicated.
• Select, assemble, check, correct malfunctions and assure cleanliness and calibration of respiratory care equipment.
• Maintain an ethical and effective relationship with the healthcare team.
• Perform essential elements of patient education.
• Demonstrate an awareness of organizational and management principles as related to respiratory care.
• Perform and act on the results of advanced patient assessment techniques.
• Assist the physician in special procedures of cardiopulmonary care.
• Demonstrate skills and attitudes needed to maintain professional and technical competence.
• Demonstrate the ability to think abstractly, reason logically and apply problem solving skills in the practice of respiratory care. 
• Respond to and perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and laryngoscopic maneuvers.

All accepted Respiratory Care program students are covered by Allied Health Liability Insurance and also the Education/Training Student Accident Insurance through EFSC. The cost of this insurance coverage is included in course lab fees and it is charged once every twelve months.