Respiratory Care Program

State College of Florida and Saint Petersburg College has formed an ongoing partnership in regard to a Respiratory Care program.  Respiratory therapists are licensed healthcare providers who have specific training in caring for patients with respiratory disease, including managing life support equipment.  RRTs work in a variety of settings, including acute and long term care facilities, outpatient clinics, sleep labs, diagnostic centers, and home care. The training program to become a licensed RRT is two years, and the salary range is comparable to registered nurses and radiology techs.

Because of the current shortage of respiratory therapists, State College of Florida has partnered with St. Petersburg College (SPC) to offer this collaborative training program for RRTs.  St. Petersburg College offers a well established RRT training program in Florida.  SPC has state of the art training labs and equipment, and has success rates of 20-30% higher than the national average on the certification examination.

In this collaborative program students may take their general education courses at any SCF campus.  If enrollment in this program is sufficient, students will complete their clinical training at hospitals in the Manatee and Sarasota areas.  Respiratory Care classes will be one or two days a week at St Petersburg College’s Health Education Center in St. Petersburg.  Some of the respiratory classes are offered online.  This program is designed to meet the needs of working adults of all ages.  

Additional information is available online at the SPC website.  For more information or to apply please call Steve Hardt, M.A., RRT, at 727-341-3627.

We hope that you will consider this exciting opportunity!

Regards,

Steve Hardt, MA, RRT
Respiratory Care Program Coordinator
St. Petersburg College

Program Goal:

The Respiratory Care Program is dedicated to the philosophy and goals of the college. The Respiratory Care Program is designed to offer the student planned learning experiences and to provide knowledge, skills, and promote attitudes that will culminate in successful employment of the graduate as a respiratory therapist.

In addition, the program is designed 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).

The St. Petersburg College Respiratory Care program, CoARC program ID number 200145, AS degree, Health Education Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com), 1248 Harwood Road, Bedford Texas 76021-4244 (817)283-2835.

Program Entrance Requirements:

Under the collaborative program, students complete their academic courses at any SCF location.

1. Earned Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 or better on all General Academic Requirements
2. All general education courses must be completed with a letter grade of ‘C’ or better.
3. Complete a minimum of 12 credits hours, including:  BSC 2085C w/lab (Anatomy and Physiology I with Lab) 4 semester hours and BSC 2086C w/lab (Anatomy and Physiology II with Lab) 4 semester hours and successful completion of the Computer Literacy requirement.
4. Completion of a SPC Health Programs Application.

Upon acceptance, the following are required:

1. A statement of satisfactory physical and mental health from a licensed physician or nurse practitioner (form to be provided).
2. A criminal background check (form to be provided) and drug screening.
3. Successful completion of the Basic Life Support for Health Professionals course or CPR for the Health Care Provider course offered through the American Heart Association.  

For more information about the program contact: Program Chair Steve Hardt, RRT St. Petersburg College 727-341-3627 Hardt.Steven@SPcollege.edu

Occupation Outlook

Learn more about the nature of the work, employment outlook, and estimated earnings information