Respiratory Therapist   The Respiratory Therapist (RT) course is an entry-level, associate degree granting respiratory care education course for Army and Navy personnel. The RT course prepares and equips Service Members to deliver superior respiratory care in any operational environment, from fixed medical centers to austere and forwarddeployed facilities. Graduates will be fully competent in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective skills required for practice as a registered respiratory therapist, ensuring they can think critically, act decisively, and perform professionally.

US Air Force AFSC: N/A  US Army MOS: Respiratory Specialist (Phase 1) Course Length:  904 Hours / 22.6 weeks Iterations per year: 3  US Navy NEC: Respiratory Therapy Technician Course Length:  1280 hours / 32 weeks Iterations per year: 3 School Code 083 Want more information? Search Instructions

Respiratory Specialists (Army) and Respiratory Technicians (Navy) are allied healthcare professionals who have acquired the knowledge and skills to provide a wide range of therapeutic interventions to patients in acute and chronic care settings who suffer from respiratory diseases and disorders. The Respiratory Therapy course is an entry-level, associate degree granting course that prepares service members to function as entry-level respiratory technicians and specialists in fixed and deployable medical facilities.

This consolidated course at the Military Education and Training Campus (METC) offers comprehensive respiratory care training for both Army and Navy service members. The program begins with a six-week Army General Medical Orientation, where Soldiers build a foundation in general medical knowledge, covering topics such as medical terminology, anatomy, physiology, and patient assessment, culminating in a Basic Life Support certification from the American Red Cross. Following this initial training, Navy students join their Army counterparts for joint, specialized instruction. Together, they delve into the history and ethics of the profession, infection control, pharmacology, medical gas and aerosol therapy, the management of mechanical ventilation, pulmonary function testing, arterial blood gas analysis, and specialized pediatric and neonatal respiratory care.

After mastering the foundational knowledge of respiratory care, students will advance to the clinical phase of their education. This portion of the program is centered on hands-on experiential training through a clinical practicum in multiple hospital settings. The practicum is designed to provide students with in-depth experience delivering all modes of respiratory therapy across a wide variety of clinical environments, including general wards, intensive care units, pulmonary function and sleep laboratories, home-care settings, pulmonary rehabilitation centers, and neonatal/pediatric intensive care units.

 

Prerequisites

Applicants must have a minimum of 12 college semester hours with a grade of "C" or higher from a regionally accredited college or university in the following: (a) Written Communication (3 semester hours), (b) Oral Communication (3 semester hours); (c) College Algebra (3 semester hours), and (d) Humanities: Ethics, Fine Arts, History, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Religion, or other acceptable humanities (3 semester hours). Alternatively, a passing Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP), Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES) score or Joint Service Transcript (JST) for evaluation may be accepted. Official transcripts or scores must be sent for prospective screening/course evaluation to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) for program acceptance. All official foreign transcripts and documents must be translated into English. These records must include grades and/or scores received with a course-by-course/detailed course credential evaluation and course descriptions are required for all foreign transcripts to determine transfer credit eligibility.

Prospective students will submit their official transcripts electronically to:
transcriptsubmit@usuhs.edu or mail at:
USU College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS)
Attn: Office of the Registrar
2787 Winfield Scott Rd.
Bldg 2398, Ste 220
JBSA Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234.

Individual service requirements can be found at:
https://www.atrrs.army.mil/
https://app.prod.cetars.training.navy.mil/cantrac/vol2.html

 

BASIC MEDICAL SCIENCES (6 Weeks ARMY ONLY)
RESP 1421 Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology
RESP 1160 Medical Terminology
RESP 1140 Health Communication
RESP 2230 Introduction to Microbiology
RESP 1021 Growth and Development
RESP 1120 Basic Patient Assessment
RESP 1110 Basic Life Support
RESP 1060 Equipment and Facilities Familiarization

RESPIRATORY CARE DIDACTIC PHASE (16 Weeks ARMY & NAVY)
RESP 1150 Introduction to Research
RESP 1230 Respiratory Therapy Fundamentals I
RESP 1330 Cardiopulmonary Anatomy and Physiology I
RESP 1340 Cardiopulmonary Anatomy and Physiology II
RESP 1430 Respiratory Therapy Fundamentals II
RESP 2250 Respiratory Pharmacology
RESP 3230 Advanced Pharmacology
RESP 2240 Physical Assessment
RESP 2220 Airway Management
RESP 2310 Diagnostic Monitoring
RESP 3220 Advanced Diagnostic Monitoring
RESP 1220 Mechanical Ventilation I
RESP 1350 Mechanical Ventilation II
RESP 3210 Advanced Concepts of Mechanical Ventilation
RESP 3290 Pulmonary Pathologies
RESP 3320 Neonatal and Pediatric Respiratory Care
RESP 1130 Community Health

RESPIRATORY CARE CLINICAL PHASE(16 Weeks ARMY & NAVY)
RESP 1250 Clinical I
RESP 1260 Clinical II
RESP 3250 Clinical III
RESP 3260 Clinical IV
RESP 3270 Clinical V
RESP 3280 Clinical VI 

Accreditation Information:

The Medical Education and Training Campus Army/Navy Respiratory Therapist, CoARC program number 200585, Associate of Science in Health Sciences (ASHS), JBSA Fort Sam Houston, Texas, holds Continuing Accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com).

Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care
264 Precision Boulevard
Telford, Tennessee 37690-2453
Telephone: 817-283-2835
 

Credentialing Information:

Graduates of the course will take the Therapist Multiple Choice (TMC) exam through the National Board for Respiratory Care (www.nbrc.org) to obtain the Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) national credential. Graduates are eligible to challenge the Clinical Simulations Examination (CSE) to obtain the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) national credential.

Special Information:

The RT course requires 12 credit hours of general education. Applicants must be evaluated by the Uniformed Services University’s College of Allied Health Sciences prior to scheduling. See the perquisites for specific details.

• USA graduates from this course receive 66 semester hours of credit and conferred an Associate of Science in Respiratory Care degree from the College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS).
• USN graduates from this course receive 60 semester hours of credit and conferred an Associate of Science in Respiratory Care degree from the College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS).

Outcomes Information:

The CoARC Outcomes Data website provides outcomes data for all accredited programs.
 
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.
 

Program Director​	(210) 808-4458
Director, Clinical Education	(210) 808-3781
Army Service Lead	(210) 808-3742
Navy Service Lead	(210) 808-3791
Fax	(210) 808-3771
DSN Prefix	420

 

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