Respiratory Therapist (3920)

After graduating with your Associate in Science (AS) in respiratory therapy, you will be ready to find a job as a registered respiratory therapist. You could work in:

• Education
• Home healthcare companies
• Hospitals
• Nursing homes
• Physician’s offices
• Rehabilitation centers
• Sales

You may enjoy this program if you:

• Have strong math and science skills
• Are a compassionate person who is patient and has good communication skills
• Can solve problems quickly in high-pressure situations
• Enjoy working with people

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Our program prepares you to enter the workforce as a respiratory therapist. As such, you will be assisting physicians in the diagnosis, management and treatment of patients suffering from cardiopulmonary disorders. We offer this program in cooperation with:

• Penn State Health System
• UPMC Central PA Health System
• Wellspan Health System
• Lehigh Valley Health Network

By the time you graduate, you will be able to: 

• Demonstrate proficiency as a respiratory therapist as described by the National Board for Respiratory Care
• Assist physicians in the diagnosis, management and treatment of patients afflicted with cardiopulmonary disorders
• Initiate and modify interventions on patients as a respiratory therapist. (Cognitive Domain)
• Demonstrate technical proficiency in troubleshooting and quality control in all registered respiratory therapist skills. (Psychomotor Domain)
• Demonstrate personal behaviors consistent with professional and employer expectations for the registered respiratory therapist (Affective Domain)
• Develop skills, knowledge and awareness related to diversity in culture, global awareness and healthcare access issues related to global interdependence and the impact as global citizens

Our program is selective, which means there are entrance requirements that go beyond the standard application for admission into HACC. We encourage you to visit the health careers section of our website or email us for more information about these entrance requirements.

Additionally, you must:

1. Complete the following items at your own expense before you can begin the clinical portion of this program:
   • Physical examination and immunizations
   • Background checks
   • Drug and alcohol screens
   • Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification
2. Purchase uniforms, supplies, liability insurance and clinical parking fees
3. Have the following:

• Current American Heart Association Healthcare Provider BLS (CPR) certification
• Current American Heart Association Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification
• American Heart Association Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) certification
• Professional development credits

To successfully maintain your eligibility and advance through this program, you need to earn a grade of C or higher for each HACC course you take. Before you start your second term, you must be a member of the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC).

Our program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care. (Program #200296). 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.

• View summaries of every course at HACC by browsing our class schedules database.

• Review our program guide (pdf) to view a list of required courses, recommended course sequencing and program competencies.

Yes! Although our Respiratory Therapist Program is designed to lead you directly to employment, opportunities are available for you to transfer your credits to a four-year school. Our programs are designed to be flexible enough to transfer to a wide variety of colleges and universities with no loss of credit. However, each individual college has its own unique program. We encourage you to select a four-year school as soon as possible. This will allow you to learn the transfer college’s program requirements so that you can take the proper courses at HACC.

Your transfer options include:

You may complete 75% of this program at our Harrisburg Campus through various modalities (e.g., on-campus/in-person instruction, hybrid, synchronous remote instruction and/or asynchronous instruction).

Yes! Thanks to the HACC Foundation, scholarships are available. Please visit hacc.edu/scholarships to learn how you can apply.

We offer courses in the spring, summer and fall. You can apply anytime by visiting our website. When enrolling into the Respiratory Therapist Program, you must first enroll into the Pre-Health Professions AS degree. Please use the program code 3150 on your application and then select the Respiratory Therapist concentration.       

Future students, we are excited to connect with you and answer your questions. Please choose the option that works best for you to meet with us.

Current HACC students, please contact our Advising Department with any questions.