Bachelor of Science
Respiratory Care
with an Advanced Clinical Practice concentration
Quick Info
Next Start
TBD
Program Length
20 MONTHS
Next Start
TBD
Program Length
20 MONTHS
Gain management practice with a Bachelor's in Respiratory Care - online
Want to take your respiratory therapy career further? An online Bachelor's Completion degree with an Advanced Clinical Practice concentration could be just what you need. With your degree and proper certification,1 you could be qualified to work in hospitals, clinics, and other facilities.
This online program is designed for ART's who are looking to improve on their current experience. You will gain the knowledge and skills needed to advance into supervisory or advanced clinical practitioner positions in a broad range of respiratory care settings. The Advanced Clinical Practice concentration provides specialized respiratory therapy knowledge and skills to help you improve your practice and better care for your patients.
POTENTIAL CAREERS
With your online Respiratory Care Completion degree, you could advance your career in positions such as:
- Respiratory care supervisor and/or manager
- Clinical practitioner
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
Some of the advanced skills2 and topics taught in this Respiratory Care program include:
- Healthcare research
- Respiratory health patient education
- Disease management
- Case management
- Advanced emergency response and preparedness
- Advances in critical care medicine
- Advanced cardiopulmonary pathology
- Advanced cardiopulmonary diagnostics
- Advanced neonatal/pediatric therapeutics
Respiratory Care with an Advanced Clinical Practice concentration
If you have an Associate’s degree in Respiratory Therapy and are looking to improve your skillset, a Bachelor’s Completion with an Advance Clinical Practice concentration could be what your career is looking for! Get the knowledge to improve your skills and advance your career.
Advanced Clinical Practice Concentration
| Course Name | Credits |
|---|
RCP 350
Advanced Cardiopulmonary Diagnostics
This course presents Advanced Cardiopulmonary Diagnostics, including Respiratory Monitoring, Hemodynamic Monitoring, Cardiac Assessment, Blood Chemistry, Hematology, Imaging of the Thorax, Specialized Pulmonary Function Testing, Interventional Pulmonary Procedures, Polysomnography, Nutritional Assessment and Cardiopulmonary Exercise Assessment. Special emphasis is placed on advanced aspects of these diagnostics, which are not typically presented, in ASRT level Respiratory Care training programs.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 360
Advanced Cardiopulmonary Pathology I
This course presents a detailed discussion of the etiology, pathogenesis, pathology, diagnosis, history, prognosis, manifestations, detection and treatment of cardiopulmonary diseases. The Advanced Respiratory Care Practitioner presents diseases and disorders in a ?Grand Rounds? Case Study approach with strong emphasis on assessment and treatment recommendations.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 365
Advanced Cardiopulmonary Pathology II
This course continues from Advanced Cardiopulmonary Pathology I the detailed discussion of the etiology, pathogenesis, pathology, diagnosis, history, prognosis, manifestations, detection and treatment of cardiopulmonary diseases. The Advanced Respiratory Care Practitioner presents a new group of diseases and disorders in a Grand Rounds? Case Study approach with strong emphasis on assessment and treatment recommendations.
Prerequisites: RCP 360 or with the consent of the Dean.
RCP 415
Advanced Neonatal-Ped Diagnostics/Therapeutics
This course covers the diversity of respiratory therapeutics and procedures now available for the treatment of infants and children. Special problems in the treatment of premature neonates are also presented. Emphasis is placed on advances in oxygenation, continuous positive airway pressure, mechanical ventilation, noninvasive positive pressure ventilation, high frequency ventilation, high frequency oscillatory ventilation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and surfactant therapy. Congenital cardiac and pulmonary anomalies and their treatment are also addressed herein. For each therapeutic modality, the indications, benefits, contradictions, monitoring considerations and adverse effects are thoroughly presented. Clinical Practice Guidelines for each modality are included in this discussion.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 410
Advanced Neonatal-Pediatric Pathology
This course covers the diversity of respiratory problems encountered by neonates and children. Each disorder is discussed in terms of presentation, pathophysiology and diagnosis. Aspects of treatment are also introduced to prepare the student for the Advanced Neonatal/Pediatric Therapeutics course, which follows. Emphasis in Advanced Neonatal/Pediatric Pathology is placed on recent innovations in neonatal/pediatric respiratory diagnosis and treatment. Congenital cardiac and pulmonary anomalies, which occur in roughly 4% of all live births, are also addressed herein.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 340
Advanced Patient Assessment
This course is to provide knowledge to build and develop a strong foundation of assessment skills necessary in daily clinical practice. Course content will present a knowledge base of major respiratory diseases and competency in the patient assessment process through a case study approach.
Prerequisites: None.
program
| Course Name | Credits |
|---|
RCP 460
Advances in Critical Care Medicine
This course presents advances in Critical Care Medicine, and the role of the Advanced Respiratory Care Practitioner in this setting. It includes advanced respiratory/hemodynamic monitoring, state-of-the-art mechanical ventilation practices, noninvasive ventilation, as well as treatment of acute lung injury, ARDS, cardiac failure, trauma, burn/inhalation injury and other disorders commonly seen in the critical care environment. A new credential being offered by the National Board for Respiratory Care, Adult Critical Care specialization, is also presented for those interested in pursuing this professional designation.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 450
Advances in Emergency Response and Preparedness
This course is designed to help healthcare workers understand their role in providing continuous care for patients in the event of an emergency and recognizing types of emergencies and disasters. The course will also demonstrate the importance and knowledge to implement a Rapid Response Team within a hospital.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 440
Case Management across the Continuum of Care
This course continues the discussion of Case Management and Disease Management. In this course the continuum of care is emphasized to include home care settings, long-term care settings, LTACH hospitals and other sites of care. Specific examples of Case Management and Disease Management in respiratory disorders are presented. Readings from the AARC Respiratory Care Journal are utilized in the discussion forum for this course.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 430
Case Management in Acute and Critical Care
This course presents principles and practices of case management and disease management, with emphasis on the acute care setting. It includes clinical, legal, and ethical responsibilities of those involved in managing patient care. Specific examples of Case Management and Disease Management in respiratory disorders are presented. Readings from the AARC Respiratory Care Journal are utilized in the discussion forum for this course.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 330
Health Professional as Educator I
Part I of this course on the Health Professional as Educator is a comprehensive examination the practical issues health professionals confront as they strive to provide effective patient and family education. The course focuses on issues such as perspectives on teaching and learning, and the characteristics of the learner.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 335
Health Professional as Educator II
The second part of this course continues the focus on practical issues health professionals face in providing effective patient and family education. The course continues with a focus on the characteristics of the learner, as well as techniques and strategies for teaching and learning.
Prerequisites: RCP 330 or with the consent of the Dean.
RCP 320
Healthcare Research in Practice
This course is a continuation of evidence-based medicine in the context of respiratory care research. Focusing on quantitative analysis, topics covered in this course are writing the protocol, data collection, basic statistical concepts, and basic methodology including correlation, t-Tests, ANOVA and regression.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 300
Introduction to Healthcare Research
This course is an introduction to evidence-based medicine in the context of respiratory care research. Topics covered in this course include basic research principles such as the scientific method, the ethical considerations involving research, conducting literature searches, and critically evaluating published reports.
Prerequisites: None.
RCP 420
Principles and Practices of Disease Management
This course presents principles and practices of disease management, and explores the role for Advanced Respiratory Care Practitioners in this growing field of medicine. Also considered are expanding roles for RTs in establishing and implementing protocols, clinical practice guidelines and pathways for care.
Prerequisites: None.
RCM 470
Respiratory Care Management Boot Camp
Respiratory Care Management Boot Camp applies specific management/leadership theories and practices to the direction and management of a respiratory care or cardiopulmonary department, including the managerial functions of department organization/structure, budgeting, controlling, staffing, coordinating, measuring performance, and developing staff members. Leadership and skills pertinent to these functions, as well as effective communication and professionalism, are included in the course. The practical topic of how to prepare oneself for a position in respiratory care management is also addressed.
Prerequisites: None.
general education
| Course Name | Credits |
|---|
CMN 310
Advanced Interpersonal Communication
This course is designed to provide students with the skills they need to be effective communicators. Students will apply interpersonal communication skills theory to various situations in order to understand the clear connections between theory, skills, and life situations they will encounter.
Prerequisites: None.
PHI 310
Critical Thinking
This course is designed to provide an interdisciplinary approach to critical thinking and challenges the student to question his or her own assumptions through analysis of the most common problems associated with everyday reasoning. The course explains the fundamental concepts, describes the most common barriers to critical thinking and offers strategies for overcoming those barriers.
Prerequisites: None.
PHI 400
Modern Issues in Ethics
This course provides students with a comprehensive introduction to a broad array of the most pressing contemporary debates in medical ethics. The student examines the social contexts within which these debates arise. Topics include: the foundation of bioethics, research ethics and informed consent, truth telling and confidentiality (medical record confidentiality), genetic control, application of scarce medical resources, impaired infants and medical futility, and euthanasia.
Prerequisites: None.
SOC 400
Sociology of Aging
This course contains an interdisciplinary approach that provides the concepts, information, and examples students need to achieve a basic understanding of aging as a social process. This course addresses a broad range of societal issues and covers concepts associated with an aging population. It examines the concept of aging on both an individual and societal level. Major topics include: the history of aging in America; physical aging; psychological aspects of aging; personal adaptation to aging; death and dying; community social services; how aging affects personal needs and resources; and government responses to the needs of aging.
Prerequisites: None.
STA 322
Statistics
This course focuses on the practical skills needed in statistics analysis. Topics include distributions, relationships, randomness, inference, proportions, regression, and variance. Emphasis is placed on understanding the use of statistical methods and the demands of statistical practice.
Prerequisites: MAT 220 or with the consent of the Dean.
HIS 300
U.S. History Since the Civil War
This course offers students an overview of how America transformed itself, in a relatively short time, from a land inhabited by hunter-gatherer and agricultural Native American societies into the most powerful industrial nation on earth. The student will learn how dominant and subordinate groups have affected the shifting balance of power in America since 1863. Major topics include: Reconstruction, the frontier, the 1890s, America's transition to an industrial society, Progressivism, World War I, the 1920s, the Great Depression and the New Deal, World War II, the Cold War, Vietnam, economic and social change in the late 20th century, and power and politics since 1974.
Prerequisites: None.
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Why Choose Independence University?
IU's online and on-campus degree programs can help you prepare for employment in some of today's most rewarding job fields. Our programs are career-focused, without elective courses that you don't want or need, so you can finish your degree fast.
- Convenient
- Employment focused
- Flexible
- Path to a better career
Respiratory Care with an Advanced Clinical Practice Concentration (BS) Here’s what you want to know:
If you are an ART who wants to take your respiratory therapy career to the next level, this Bachelor’s degree may be the perfect fit. Our Bachelor’s Completion degree with an Advanced Clinical Practice concentration is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills needed to advance into supervisory or advanced clinical practitioner positions in a broad range of respiratory care settings.
If you think you’re too busy to complete your Bachelor’s degree, think again. At Independence University (IU), you can complete your degree in just 20 months! That’s because we delete the needless electives and provide you with solid skills you will use on the job. Plus, our online degree program provides the 24/7 flexibility you need for your busy life. Our 100% online courses let you keep your work and family commitments while completing your Bachelor’s degree. Because we focus on student success, you’ll receive the perfect mix of personal support and checkpoints that keep you on track toward your degree.
Step by step, here’s how your online education works:
As a student in the respiratory care program, you’ll receive a new tablet (and keyboard) that comes complete with your learning materials built right in. Your courses are set up in four-week modules. During your fourth module, you’ll receive a new laptop to use. You can use the new tablet and laptop during school and keep them when you graduate!
During one module, you may take one to two courses as directed by your degree program schedule. Because it is so important that you keep on track with your coursework, you will have daily checkpoints. A checkpoint could be reading an article on neonatal-pediatric pathology, then answering a question.
Some courses (taught in 4-week modules) in this degree program include:
- Case Management in Acute and Critical Care
- Advances in Emergency Response and Preparedness
- Advanced Patient Assessmen
- Advanced Cardiopulmonary Diagnostics
And much more! We want your experience with IU to be positive and successful. That’s why we offer no-cost tutoring and personal, one-on-one time with instructors should you need it.
To ensure you’re in good hands, you’ll be assigned your own “Success Team.” Each member of your team will work with you at different points in your schooling to make sure you stay on target in completing your degree and finding a rewarding job after. It starts before you are even a student, with your own admissions consultant assisting you every step of the way throughout the enrollment process. Next, you will be introduced to your student services adviser who will be your primary contact throughout your schooling. Your adviser will check in with you every module to discuss things like your GPA and upcoming activities. If you have issues or concerns whether in or outside of school, your adviser can suggest resources and solutions to challenges that may come your way. During your second module, you will be introduced to your faculty program adviser. You can go to this adviser with any questions or concerns specific to your degree program. If you have financial aid, your active student planner will make sure you update all your paperwork so there is no lapse in your funding. Finally, you’ll be introduced to your career services adviser during your fourth module. This adviser will have you complete a needs assessment in order to guide you through the career development process. We start your career development early in your schooling so you can be savvy in your job search after graduation!
At IU, we can prepare you to advance into a variety of respiratory therapy jobs, including supervisory, managerial, patient education, clinical specialist, and advanced clinical practitioner positions.
Now on to respiratory therapy job options; here’s what to expect when you graduate:
As a graduate and respiratory care practitioner, you can use your advanced skills to work in supervisory positions at respiratory care centers, clinics, hospitals, sleep disorder treatment centers, and long-term care facilities.
Possible careers include:
- Clinical Specialist
- Case Management
- Respiratory Care Supervisor and/or Manager
- Patient Education
- Advanced Clinical Practitioner
We get it ... The whole reason you are completing your Bachelor’s degree in respiratory care is to get a better job. That’s why our extraordinary support doesn’t stop at graduation. You can use Career Services to help fine-tune your job search skills both before and after you graduate. Although we don’t guarantee a job (that is the graduate’s responsibility), we will provide valuable tools, tips, and insights to assist you in the job search. And down the road, should your skills need some refreshing, you are welcome to audit a class in your degree area at no cost!
As a nonprofit school that invests in you, we believe your success is our success!