» Respiratory Care

Would you like to help people? Help a child with asthma or an elderly person with chronic lung disease? Would you like to become a professional? Would you like to be employable after only two years of education?

Consider respiratory care. It’s a rewarding and fulfilling profession that’s in tremendous demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that by the year 2008 the need for respiratory therapists will grow by 46 percent. You can e-mail the program director at galvin.w@gmc.edu. You may also contact the admissions office at admissions@gmc.edu or call 1-800-DIAL GMC. Additional professional information is available through the American Association for Respiratory Care at www.AARC.org.

For a detailed description on the Respiratory Care program, click here

Key Features include:

• Become a professional (vital member of health care team)
• An experienced and nationally-recognized program (faculty and clinical affiliates)
• Career ladder approach (associate degree + certificate of registry-eligibility + bachelor's degree offerings)
• An integrated classroom, laboratory and clinical teaching/learning approach)
• Listed by Money Magazine as number 13 on the list of the “50 Hottest Jobs in the Country” and cited by the
• Bureau of Labor Statistics as having a 46 percent demand in growth by 2008
• Salary ranges are currently $40,000 - $60,000 to start

Unique two-plus-one-plus-one program design

Gwynedd-Mercy College offers a career ladder approach to respiratory care education with its unique two-plus-one-plus-one program design (associate degree + certificate of registry-eligibility + baccalaureate degree). The first two years represent the associate degree program, allowing the student to sit for his or her entry-level exam and secure employment after only two years of preparation. The third year is the certificate program and allows for registry-eligibility and continued employment at the advanced level. The last year is the bachelor of health science degree program designed for professional leadership and service in the areas of management/supervision and/or opportunities in classroom, clinical, patient or community education. This program design is geared to the student’s needs and is the only one of its kind in the region. It is student- and career-directed and allows the student upward mobility and career advancement.

For detailed information on this unique program design, click here.

A Pioneer in Respiratory Care Education
Gwynedd-Mercy College has a long and celebrated history of preparing health care professionals. The College's health care roots begin back in the early 1960s from its original sponsor, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the very first respiratory care education programs in the country. In the late 1970s it was the educational arm of a consortium of five hospital-based schools and assumed total classroom, laboratory and clinical responsibility for educational development in the early 1980s. It houses a distinguished and world-renowned list of affiliate hospitals - the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and many others.

Curriculum Information

MAJOR 

Respiratory Care  63 (BS) credits

General Education and Core Curriculum**                                                 

1. Skills for Exploring – 6 credits for AS & BS
2. Exploring Society and Global Diversity – 3 credits for AS, 12 credits for BS
3. Exploring the Natural World, Mathematics and Technology – 24 credits for AS & BS
4. Exploring the Spiritual World – 6 credits for AS, 9 credits for BS
5. Exploring the Arts and Imagination – 3 credits for AS, 9 credits for BS

General Education Elective – 3 credits

        Choose one class in either History, Sociology, Psychology, Art or Music for BS degree only

*Required for AS degree

**Please contact Jakita Price, in the Office of Admissions at price.j@gmc.edu for specific general education course requirements.

Credit Requirement
A minimum of 67 credits is required for the AS degree.

A minimum of 126 credits is required for the BS degree.

Grade Requirement
The minimum passing grade within the major is C (a grade of C- is not acceptable)

For detailed course descriptions click here.