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 program is an entry-level, associate degree granting program that prepares service members to function as entry-level respiratory technicians and specialists in fixed and deployable medical facilities.
This is a consolidated program with two military services that has a two-phase field of study schedule. Resident training is first conducted at the METC followed by clinical training that is conducted at military and/or civilian medical treatment facilities (MTF).
This program provides students with lessons in the history of respiratory care, legal and ethical implications of the profession, application of physical laws and principles to respiratory therapy modalities, infection control practices in a health care environment, instruction on the use of medical gases, humidity, and aerosol therapy, pharmacology, initiation and management of mechanical ventilation, performing pulmonary function tests, obtaining and assessing arterial blood gas samples, and providing respiratory care to pediatric and neonatal patients.
Clinical training provides students with clinical knowledge and hands-on experiential training which consists of clinical practicum in a hospital setting. The clinical practicum is designed to provide clinical knowledge and in-depth experience in delivering all modes of respiratory therapy in various clinical settings, to include wards, intensive care units, pulmonary function laboratory, home-care settings, pulmonary rehabilitation, and sleep laboratory.
Prerequisites
Active Army and Reserve Component: SPC non-promotable, SPC promotable, and SGT non-promotable. The Service Remaining Requirement (SRR) upon completion of this course is 28 months IAW AR 614-200, Chapter 4, Table 4-1.
Qualifying ASVAB scores: A minimum score of 105 in aptitude area ST in Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) tests administered prior to 2 January 2002: A minimum score of 102 in aptitude area ST in ASVAB tests administered on or after 2 January 2002.
Must have a minimum of 12 college semester hours that includes the following:
(a) Written Communication (3 semester hours)
(b) Oral Communication (3 semester hours)
(c) College Math (3 semester hours) (NOTE: Navy requires College Algebra) and
(d) Humanities: Ethics, Fine Arts, History, Literature, Music, Philosophy, Religion, or other acceptable humanities (3 semester hours)
Courses must have grade of "C" or higher from a regionally accredited college or university.
SMs who do not have the academic requirements may submit 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.
There are “NO WAIVERS” for these college course requirements.
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.
International Transcripts- All official university transcripts must be translated into English. These records must include grades and/or scores received. A course-by-course/detailed course foreign credential evaluation and course descriptions in English are required for all foreign transcripts to determine transfer credit eligibility.
Prospective students will submit their official transcripts electronically to:
CAHS-transcript-submissions@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.
Upon submission of transcripts, prospective students will email the CAHS transcript submission mailbox with a notification stating: 1. The service component of the student, 2. The program name (i.e., Respiratory Therapy Program), 3. Notification that transcripts were submitted. There will be an official notification of acceptance/denial from the Dean USU, CAHS sent to the student, Program Director, and Commandant of METC.
Soldiers must have good eye-hand coordination.
Prior to departure from home station, Soldiers are required to reenlist or extend their term of enlistment to meet the SRR upon completion of the course. When reporting for training and it is determined that Soldiers do not meet the SRR, they will not be accepted into the course unless they reenlist or extend to meet the SRR.
Enlisted women who are pregnant must be counseled and/or processed IAW AR 635-200.
The physical profile (PULHES) applies to initial entry Soldiers only and is not to be used as a prerequisite for Soldiers reclassifying into this MOS; the physical demand rating applies to Soldiers for reclassification.
Both Initial Entry Accessions and In-service Soldiers must meet the following minimum Occupational Physical Assessment Test (OPAT) Scores for physical demands category Gold/Moderate to qualify for MOS 68V: Standing Long Jump (LJ) - 0120 cm Seated Power Throw (PT) - 0350 cm Strength Deadlift (SD) - 0120 lbs.Interval Aerobic Run (IR) - 0036 shuttles
Accreditation Information:
This is a College of Allied Health Sciences of the Uniformed Services University degree applicable course.
The Respiratory Therapy program (program #200585) is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) (
WWW.COARC.COM).
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. To view the outcomes data for this and other programs visit
https://coarc.com/students/programmatic-outcomes-data.
Credentialing Information:
Graduates of the program will take the Therapist Multiple Choice (TMC) exam and the Clinical Simulation exam (CSE) through the National Board for Respiratory Care (
www.nbrc.org) in order to obtain the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) national credential.