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The Respiratory Care Program is offered jointly by the University of Minnesota and Mayo School of Health Sciences. The curriculum for this program prepares you to give professional respiratory care in health-care settings ranging from the emergency room to a patient's home. The program provides you with the necessary knowledge and skills to begin clinical practice and promotes your continued career growth.
Students must first complete the lower-division prerequisite courses at Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) or other accredited colleges/universities.
The upper division (i.e., junior/senior years) Respiratory Care Program curriculum is two years in length and in cooperation with the University of Minnesota’s College of Continuing Education.
In your junior and senior year, Mayo Clinic provides both classroom and clinical instruction specific to respiratory care. This includes technical and medical course work, and clinical rotations in all respiratory service areas at the outpatient clinic and Mayo Clinic's two hospitals. You will be exposed to the therapeutic, diagnostic and support services that graduates are expected to perform.
Clinical rotations at Mayo Clinic in Rochester include:
- Adult critical care: Intensive care unit and emergency room
- Airway management: Bag mask ventilation and intubation in the operating room
- Diagnostic procedures: Bronchoscopy, hemodynamic monitoring, polysomnography
- Hospital Clinical Lab: Arterial blood gas collection/analysis
- General floor areas: Patient assessment, oxygen administration, nebulizer therapy and chest physical therapy
- Pulmonary function testing and rehabilitation
- Pulmonary research
- Respiratory care equipment dispatch and repair
Based on individual interests, senior students will equip themselves with skills in the following subspecialty areas within cardiopulmonary care:
- Adult critical care and patient transport
- Newborn and pediatric critical care
- Cardiopulmonary diagnostics-pulmonary function testing
- Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, case management in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), and smoking cessation and lung health counseling
Also see:
Grading or Evaluation
As you move through the respiratory care rotations, you will be evaluated in each clinical area by the supervising therapists, the program director and the clinical supervisor. Clinical performance is evaluated using a competency-based evaluation system and performance appraisals.
Mayo School of Health Sciences uses evaluative tools that include:
- Written examination
- Demonstration of skills
- Self-assessment exercises
- Faculty reviews
Our system of evaluation provides students and faculty with a comprehensive look at individual performance, allowing students who are experiencing academic difficulty to be directed to appropriate support resources, including tutoring programs and counseling opportunities.
Curriculum Enhancements
Mayo School of Health Sciences is committed to developing and maintaining the very best education programs. Changes may be made to the curriculum and other aspects of this program as necessary to assure the highest-quality training.
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