Graduate Cardiopulmonary Sciences

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Graduate Programs and Requirements

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

Respiratory Care (M.S.)  

The Department of Cardiopulmonary Sciences offers the master of science degree in respiratory care.

Accreditation

The Samford University Respiratory Care program, B.S. and M.S. degrees, CoARC program numbers 210620 and 200620 respectively, in Birmingham, AL, hold Provisional Accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (www.coarc.com). This status signifies that a program that has been granted an Approval of Intent has demonstrated sufficient compliance to initiate a program in accordance with the Standards through the completion and submission of an acceptable Provisional Accreditation Self Study Report (PSSR), completion of an initial onsite visit, and other documentation required by the CoARC. The conferral of Provisional Accreditation denotes a new program that has made significant progress towards meeting the Standards of Accreditation. The program will remain on Provisional Accreditation until achieving Continuing Accreditation. It is recognized by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) toward eligibility to the Respiratory Care Credentialing Examination(s). Enrolled students completing the program under Provisional Accreditation are considered graduates of a CoARC accredited program.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must:

1. Possess a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university (degree in any field) or be in the senior year of undergraduate study. Conditional Admission: A completed bachelor’s degree is required prior to enrollment, as evidenced by a final official college/university transcript. Applicants may receive conditional acceptance with a letter from the university registrar stating they have completed the requirements for the degree. The conditional status is removed once an official transcript is received.

2. Cumulative GPA minimum of 3.00 (4-point scale).

3. Minimum of B letter grade in all prerequisite courses. These include:

• Microbiology with lab (BIOL 225  or BIOL 325 , 4 credits)

• Physics with lab (PHYS 100  or PHYS 101 , 4 credits)

• Human or Mammalian Anatomy (BIOL 217  or BIOL 301 , 4 credits)

• Human or Mammalian Physiology (BIOL 218  or BIOL 302 , 4 credits)

• Chemistry with lab (CHEM 108 /CHEM 109  or CHEM 205 /CHEM 206 , 3+1 credits)

• Statistics (MATH 210 , 4 credits)

• Recommended: Immunology (BIOL 344 , 4 credits)

4. GRE score within the past five years (minimum scores: Verbal 153, Quantitative 144; Writing 4.0).

5. Eight (8) hours of documented shadowing observation with a respiratory therapist in a hospital setting.

6. Three letters of reference submitted through the application system. The three required letters of recommendation should be from 1) a current or previous professor, 2) a work supervisor, 3) a respiratory therapist.

7. International applicants or American citizens who learned English as a second language must score at least 550 (paper), 213 (computer) or 80 (Internet) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

Exceptions to any admission requirements will be handled on an individual basis.

If accepted, a non-refundable fee of $500 is required to secure admission into the program. The fee is applied to the first semester’s tuition.

For more on the admission/application process, see the following Web site: https://www.samford.edu/healthprofessions/cardiopulmonary-sciences-ms-respiratory-care.

Time-to-Degree Completion Plan

The program is designed to be completed in two years (five Semesters) of fulltime study.

Programs

• Respiratory Care (M.S.)

Courses

• RCMS 510 - Cardiopulmonary Pharmacology (3)
• RCMS 512 - Cardiopulmonary Physiology and Pathophysiology (4)
• RCMS 520 - Respiratory Care Principles (3)
• RCMS 524 - Patient Assessment and Disease Management (3)
• RCMS 526 - Assessment, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics Lab (3)
• RCMS 528 - Clinical Observation I (1)
• RCMS 529 - PFT and Cardiopulmonary Diagnostics (3)
• RCMS 530 - Neonatal and Pediatric Respiratory Care (3)
• RCMS 532 - Critical Care and Mechanical Ventilation I (3)
• RCMS 534 - Introduction to Research (2)
• RCMS 536 - Critical Care Lab (3)
• RCMS 538 - Clinical Practice I (5)
• RCMS 548 - Clinical Practice II (5)
• RCMS 640 - Critical Care and Mechanical Ventilation II (3)
• RCMS 642 - Clinical Seminar I (3)
• RCMS 644 - Research Project I (1)
• RCMS 646 - Advanced Critical Care Lab (1)
• RCMS 648 - Clinical Practice III (6)
• RCMS 650 - Clinical Seminar II (3)
• RCMS 654 - Research Project II (1)
• RCMS 654 - Research Project II (1)
• RCMS 656 - Management and Education (3)
• RCMS 658 - Clinical Practice IV (6)
• RCMS 660 - Critical Thinking and Professionalism (1)