College for Women | Henrietta Schmoll School of Health
Driven to save lives? Interested in becoming a lung and breathing expert? A St. Kate’s respiratory care major will teach you how to administer oxygen, medication, and breathing and life support for patients of all ages and conditions. You’ll also learn to assume a leadership position, promote disease prevention, and participate in life-support decision-making.
Program Details
A History of Excellence in Respiratory Care
St. Kate’s is a longtime leader in educating respiratory therapists — we’ve been training students for more than 45 years. Our respiratory care program was one of the first in the United States.
Clinical experiences form an essential component of St. Kate’s respiratory care major, and you’ll gain advanced-level knowledge and holistic patient-care skills by completing approximately 900 hours of clinical work. These experiences — in settings such as neonatal, pediatric, and rehabilitation — will give you an edge in a job interview, and increase your competitiveness for future job openings and graduate school.
Upon graduation, you’ll be eligible to take the Entry-Level Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) Examination through the National Board for Respiratory Care. When you pass this exam, you earn the Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) certificate, which enables you to apply for a license from the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice to work as a respiratory therapist.
Program Goals: 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). To prepare leaders for the field of respiratory care by including curricular content with objectives related to the acquisition of skills in one or more of the following: management, education, research and advanced clinical practice (which may include an area of clinical specialization).
With St. Kate’s respiratory care degree, you will be well-prepared to
- provide ethical, advanced-level respiratory therapy to patients of all ages
- assume a leadership position in the profession
- promote cardiopulmonary wellness, disease prevention, and disease management
- offer patient, family, and community education
- participate in life-support activities and clinical decision making
Program Accreditation
The St. Catherine University Respiratory Care baccalaureate degree major (St. Paul, Minnesota) is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care.