The Respiratory Care Program (CoARC #200199) on the West Campus of Amarillo College is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care.
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.
Twenty new students are accepted each year. They receive an Associate of Applied Science Degree and the necessary training to become eligible for both the Certified Respiratory Therapist and Registered Respiratory Therapist exams offered by the National Board for Respiratory Care. The program is 21 months long and requires the successful completion of 66 semester hours.
The required courses can be divided into three categories: 1) general education, 2) respiratory care science and 3) clinical application. The general education category includes such courses as Anatomy & Physiology, English, Psychology and Speech. The respiratory care science courses concentrate on the theory, techniques and equipment of respiratory care, as well as the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of respiratory diseases. The clinical application courses are conducted in area hospitals and provide students with hands-on experience in the practice of Respiratory Care. The curriculum is designed to be completed in two years, however, most students prefer to take lighter loads each semester. To accomplish this requires the completion of as many general education requirements as possible prior to entering into the Respiratory Care program. Students who have already completed some college courses can have their transcript evaluated by the Registrar and Program Director for transfer of credit.
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).
Inquiries regarding accreditation and degree advancement should be directed to:
Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC)