
Respiratory Therapy Bachelor's Degree (Degree Complete)
Already have your Associate’s Degree in Respiratory Therapy?
Earn your Bachelor’s Degree in as little as 15-months!
Program Details
Respiratory Therapy or Respiratory Care is the treatment, management, control, diagnostic evaluation, and care of patients with deficiencies or abnormalities of the cardiopulmonary system, such as bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, and other forms of obstructive and restrictive diseases. The Respiratory Care Practitioner is a vital part of the medical team. They are among the first persons called to give treatment and care in emergency situations. Practicing under the direction of a physician, respiratory therapists assume primary responsibility for all respiratory therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. They evaluate and treat all types of patients, ranging from premature infants whose lungs are not fully developed to elderly people whose lungs are diseased. In clinical practice, many of their daily duties include:
Assessing lung and breathing disorders and recommending treatment methods; interviewing patients and doing chest physical exams; obtaining sputum specimens for analysis; drawing and analyzing arterial blood specimens; performing pulmonary function tests; providing complex therapy requiring considerable independent judgment such as managing ventilators and artificial airway devices; giving emergency care to patients who are victims of a heart attack, stroke, drowning, or shock; and educating patients and families about lung disease.
Respiratory Therapists are experts in aiding the breathing process through the use of oxygen and medical gases, humidifiers, aerosols, ventilators/life support systems, chest physiotherapy, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and artificial airways. They maintain, assemble, sterilize, and test all medical and auxiliary equipment in these functions. Respiratory Care Practitioners work with patients in the hospital surgical and medical wards, emergency rooms, outpatient department, intensive care units, neonatal nursery, and skilled nursing facilities and in-home care.
Bachelor’s degree completion program is designed to help students with an Associate’s Degree in Respiratory Therapy:
• Advance as Respiratory Care practitioners
• Prepare to move into administrative or managerial responsibilities in their departments
For those focused on improving their knowledge as Respiratory Care practitioners, our curriculum includes coursework in advanced topics in Respiratory Therapy critical care including:
• Pharmacological and ventilator management of the critically ill patient
• Patient stabilization
• Patient transport
• Disaster preparedness
• Introduction to research techniques
The Respiratory Therapy Bachelor’s degree completion program is designed to prepare the practicing Respiratory Therapist for advancement into a supervisory or management position in the health-care field.

Vocational Objective
Upon successful completion of the program, graduates may be employed as Respiratory Care Practitioners in acute care hospitals in areas such as: intensive care units, emergency rooms, newborn & pediatric units, and operating rooms. Nursing care facilities, doctor’s offices, pulmonary rehabilitation facilities, home health care services, smoking cessation programs, asthma education programs, sales, and air transport are some of the areas of employment available to our graduates.

For students seeking to advance into an administrative or management position in the health care setting, our curriculum includes coursework to help:
• Gain familiarity with the U.S. healthcare system
• Improve communication, analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills
• Develop a solid foundation in business fundamentals
Students also complete a capstone project designed to synthesize the knowledge gained in the program. Each student will propose and conduct an evidence-based project focusing on management in the health care setting. Examples from past graduates include:
• Development of clinical protocols
• Concurrent audits of patient care
• Development of capital budgets
• Development and presentation of in-service programs
Except as expressly provided in California Education Code Section 94898, Platt College reserves the right to modify policies, course schedules, curricula or courses within reason due to exigent circumstances, program upgrades and/or content changes, and to cancel programs of study, modes of delivery, upcoming start dates or individual courses as it deems necessary. If a course or program is canceled, the school may schedule course completion at a later date or refund all monies paid for the canceled course or program if the student does not wish to continue with the program at the later date. All Platt College programs are not available at all locations, please see an Admissions Representative for more information on specific enrollment information.
Student Testimonials

Robert moved to California and enrolled in college, but was forced to drop out and work in order to send money home to support his family. A packing job at Amazon offered Amazon’s Career Choice program that provided paid college tuition in select programs. Among those programs was Platt College Riverside’s IT program. While working toward his IT degree, Robert was transferred into Amazon’s IT department and landed the job of Support Technician. Robert graduated from Platt College in November 2019, shortly before the pandemic hit. “What I love about my job is the ability to facilitate positive interaction between our IT professionals and our customers. Being able to provide solutions to issues and remove barriers in the workplace is very satisfying – despite the 6-feet of social distance that we must maintain for now.”


Criminal Justice
Anne Balver always knew she wanted to be of service within her community. “I’m a very positive person who truly likes to help others. At first, I thought I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, but quickly realized that my dream was to follow my real passion and ultimately work in the field of criminal justice.” Anne graduated from Platt College Alhambra with a degree in Criminal Justice. Her goal is to become a police officer and serve her community. Anne’s advice to others pursuing their goals?…“Always follow your dreams and never give up. Anything is possible.”


Kenny enrolled in Platt College Anaheim’s IT program in 2016 and worked at uBreakiFix. “Between my IT classes, my hands-on repair experience, and the fact that I worked closely with customers, I developed a confidence in my hard skills as well as my soft skills, and built a strong foundation for a future in IT!” said Kenny. Kenny was hired by J. Morita USA, a manufacturer of medical-technical products and a leading supplier in the fields of X-ray diagnostics and endodontics. “It‘s my job to work with the doctor or dentist’s office personnel to get the equipment back up and running ASAP...I spend much of my day on the phone helping medical personnel with IT issues and I find it very rewarding! And the good news is that I can do my job from anywhere!”


Medical Administrative Specialist
Samantha Monsouir thought she had it all together, then came a pandemic. “When COVID-19 hit, like other students, I abruptly made the transition to remote learning. But not only did I have to transition, as a single mom, my 15-year-old daughter, a high school freshman, also had to transition to online classes. It really felt like a whole new, uncertain world for us.” But Samantha persevered and is on track to graduate as a Medical Administrative Specialist (MAS) in August 2020. Samantha is looking forward to starting her externship next month in a private doctor’s office.


Diagnostic Medical Sonography (Ultrasound)
I attended Platt College Anaheim as a part of the very first graduating Diagnostic Medical Sonography class from 2016-18. I've worked at United Medical Imaging for the past two years and have grown so much...I obtained my Abdomen RDMS license in Feb. 2020 and currently working towards obtaining my RVT. If you find a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life and I have definitely found mine!






Accreditation
Platt College Los Angeles is accredited by Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), recognized by the US Department of Education to accredit institutions of higher education across the United States. The primary purpose of ACCSC and other accrediting agencies is to establish and maintain high educational standards and ethical business practices among its accredited institutions.
For more than 40 years, ACCSC has been at the forefront of establishing and advancing quality education at private, postsecondary career schools and colleges. ACCSC, recognized by the United States Department of Education as a private, non-profit, independent accrediting agency, is dedicated to ensuring a quality education for more than 250,000 students who annually pursue career education at 800 accredited institutions. ACCSC’s mission is to serve as a reliable authority on educational quality and to promote enhanced opportunities for students by establishing, sustaining, and enforcing valid standards and practices which contribute to the development of a highly trained and competitive workforce through quality career oriented education.
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