Why Choose Respiratory Care?
The Respiratory Care field offers challenge and mobility. Working as a member of the health care team, you will participate in the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients with diseases of the heart and lungs. You will be prepared to give patients both emergency and long-term life support in a continually changing environment.
The curriculum is designed to be offered to students on the Big Rapids campus as well as at a number of off campus locations in the State and includes a combination of theory, laboratory and clinical coursework. Students in off campus locations will take lecture courses in a fully online format. Among the areas of study are human anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, chemistry, pharmacology and mathematics. Other courses deal with therapeutic and diagnostic procedures and tests, equipment, patient assessment, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the application of clinical practice guidelines, patient care outside of hospitals, cardiac pulmonary rehabilitation, respiratory health promotion and disease prevention.
The program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs in conjunction with the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care.
Students will have the opportunity to practice skills in a laboratory setting prior to clinical practicum experiences that will occur in a variety of health care settings. NOTE: The Ferris Respiratory Care Program has clinical internships in various semesters of the program and because of limited space, specific clinical site locations cannot be guaranteed. Travel and housing may be necessary to attend some clinical internship experiences.
The program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs in conjunction with the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care.
Upon completion of the program, graduates are eligible to sit for the entry level Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) exam and then for the Registered Respiratory Therapy (RRT) licensure exam.
Get a Great Job
Employment opportunities include critical ventilatory management, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, pulmonary function testing, neonatal and pediatric respiratory care as well as home care. Prospects for the future are excellent. Growing attention to heart diseases and their cause, new developments in treating and preventing disease as well as an aging population promise to broaden the field and provide more job opportunities. The average annual salary for a fully licensed and credentialed Respiratory Therapist is $50,070.
Admission Requirements
Students must be admitted to the University and must meet qualification requirement to apply for admission to the clinical sequence of respiratory courses. To become qualified, the student must earn and maintain a minimum college GPA of 2.7 and must complete designated pre-requisite coursework, earning a minimum grade of B- in all math and science courses.
To assure students of a quality education in classroom/lab and clinical practice, enrollment is limited. Students who meet or will have met the program’s qualification criteria by the end of Spring semester are required to apply to the program’s professional sequence between January 15 and January 30 of the year prior to the August professional sequence entry. Admission will be based on the semester of qualification.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate from the Respiratory Care Program, the student must earn a “C” grade or better in each of the respiratory care courses and the CAHS core courses, and must meet all the general education requirements for the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree.
Students may not progress in the program when a grade of less than "C" is earned in any respiratory course. Students may repeat one respiratory course. If the student interrupts progression in the professional sequence of the program, re-entry cannot be guaranteed due to space limitations in laboratory and clinical placement sites.
More Information
College of Allied Health Sciences
Ferris State University
200 Ferris Drive
Big Rapids, MI 49307
Phone: 231-591-2270 or
1-800-462-8553, ext. 2266
