Respiratory Care

Respiratory Care Practitioners are healthcare professionals who specialize in providing optimal cardiopulmonary care to patients with disorders such as asthma, pneumonia, and COPD, and infants with immature lungs, etc. Santa Monica College’s Respiratory Care Program is a two-year, Associate in Science Degree program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). Through transforming competency-based medical education curriculum, the program prepares the respiratory care practitioner of the future to possess great medical knowledge, apply it, and be clinically competent to provide high-quality care in challenging settings likely to be encountered upon entry into practice.

The SMC Respiratory Care Associate Degree program incorporates the latest respiratory equipment, high-fidelity simulators, skills laboratory, and clinical experience at top-rated clinical sites in the Greater Los Angeles area. The program prepares students for National Board for Respiratory Care’s (NBRC) board exams and to earn the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential. The RRT credential is required for licensure in the state of California. To earn the RRT credential, graduates must pass the Therapist Multiple Choice Exam (TMC) at the high threshold and the Clinical Simulation Exam (CSE).

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Degree

Associate Degree Requirements

An Associate degree is granted upon successful completion of a program of study with a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 (C) in degree applicable coursework and a minimum of 60 degree applicable semester units, including:

Completion of the area of emphasis with a grade of C or higher in each course, or with a P if the course was taken on a Pass/No Pass basis, and the P is equal to a C or higher;
Completion of one of the following general education patterns: SMC GE, CSU GE, or IGETC;
Completion of the SMC Global Citizenship graduation requirement.

Respiratory Care, Associate Degree

Program Learning Outcomes: The primary goal of the program, according to the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care, 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). Upon completion of the program graduates will:

Demonstrate applied knowledge about biomedical and clinical sciences associated with the role of a newgraduate respiratory care practitioner;
Function as members of interdisciplinary teams, exhibit interpersonal and communication skills required to interact with diverse sets of healthcare professionals, patients, and their families;
Demonstrate critical thinking, reflection, and problemsolving skills consistent with the roles of a newgraduate respiratory care practitioner; and
Exhibit ethical behavior consistent with the role of a professional respiratory care practitioner.

Area of Emphasis (82.5 units)

Program Prerequisites: (21 units)

ANATMY 1,General Human Anatomy(4)

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CHEM 10,Introductory General Chemistry(5)

CHEM 19,Fundamentals of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry(5)

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HEALTH 61,Medical Terminology(3)

MCRBIO 1,Fundamentals of Microbiology(5)

PHYS 3,Human Physiology(4)

Students may apply to program while prerequisites are in progress; must complete with grade “C” or better before start of the program.

First Year:

NOTE: Once students are admitted to the program, an Education Plan is developed that must be followed.

1ST YEAR, FALL SEMESTER: (15 units)

RC 1,Fundamentals of Respiratory Care(2)

RC 1L,Applied Fundamentals of Respiratory Care(2)

RC 2,Integrated Respiratory Physiology and Pathophysiology I(2)

RC 2L,Applied Integrated Respiratory Physiology and Pathophysiology I(2)

RC 3,Respiratory Care Therapeutics(3)

RC 3L,Applied Respiratory Care Therapeutics(3)

RC 4,Physician Interaction I(1)

FIRST YEAR, WINTER SESSION: (4 units)

RC 5,Integrated Respiratory Physiology and Pathophysiology II(2)

RC 5L,Applied Integrated Respiratory Physiology and Pathophysiology II(2)

FIRST YEAR, SPRING SEMESTER: (12 units)

RC 6,Airway Management(2)

RC 6L,Applied Airway Management(3)

RC 7,Introduction to Mechanical Ventilation(2)

RC 7L, Applied Introduction to Mechanical Ventilation(4)

RC 8,Physician Interaction II(1)

Second Year:

2ND YEAR, SUMMER SESSION: (5 units)

RC 9,Intermediate Mechanical Ventilation(2)

RC 9L,Applied Intermediate Mechanical Ventilation(3)

2ND YEAR, FALL SEMESTER: (14.5 units)

RC 10,Advanced Life Support and ICU Monitoring(2)

RC 10L,Applied Advanced Life Support and ICU Monitoring(3)

RC 11,Advanced Mechanical Ventilation(2)

RC 11L,Applied Advanced Mechanical Ventilation(2)

RC 12,Physician Interaction III(1)

RC 13,Neonatal and Pediatric Respiratory Care(2)

RC 13L,Applied Neonatal and Pediatric Respiratory Care(2)

2ND YEAR, SPRING SEMESTER: (11 units)

RC 14,Outpatient Respiratory Care(1)

RC 14L,Applied Outpatient Respiratory Care(2)

RC 15,Respiratory Disease Management(2)

RC 15L,Applied Respiratory Disease Management(2)

RC 16,Transition to Independent Practice(2)

RC 17,Physician Interaction IV(1)

RC 18,Computer Assisted Clinical Simulations(1)

All program courses must be completed with a “C” grade or better to meet the CA Respiratory Care Board Licensure requirements. Students must obtain an Associate degree from Santa Monica College upon completion of the program requirements in order to meet minimum CA licensure requirements.

Respiratory Therapy, Associate Degree (Historical)

The Respiratory Therapy Associate degree is available to students who enrolled at SMC in summer 2021 or earlier and who have maintained catalog rights. For Respiratory Therapy Associate degree requirements, please see the 2021-22 SMC catalog.