Cardiopulmonary Sciences

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Faculty

Jonathan B. Waugh, Chair, Professor
Michael Canfield, Director of Clinical Education Instructor
Tadashia Jabril Cooper, Instructor

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.

Undergraduate Programs and Requirements

Major

Respiratory Care Major (B.S.)  

The Department of Cardiopulmonary Sciences offers a major in respiratory care leading to a bachelor of science degree. Students are required to earn at least 50 percent of the credit for a first undergraduate degree in each degree program from Samford.

Admission Requirements

Freshman applicants: High school graduates must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above, have completed four units of English, two units of math, and two units of lab sciences with a grade of C (2.0) or better.

Transfer students with less than 24 semester credits or 36 quarter credits in total at other institutions must also meet the requirements of entering freshmen.

Transfer students with 24 credits or more must meet one of the following admission requirements:

1. Cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above in all college coursework and a composite score of 21 on the ACT or 1000 on the SAT within the last five years.

OR

2. Cumulative GPA of 3.0 on all college coursework attempted.

Program Specific Requirements

Progression Policy: In order to progress into the clinical phase of the respiratory care program, the student must:

1. Have a completed Health Data Record (with all required immunizations) updated annually and on file in the cardiopulmonary sciences (CAPS) department.

2. Submit negative results on drug screen and background check.

3. Have a signed HIPAA confidentiality statement on file in the CAPS department.

4. Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or above on all college coursework.

5. Complete the following courses with a minimum grade of “B” prior to starting respiratory care coursework:

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

6. Complete the following courses with a minimum grade of “B” before the second semester of respiratory care coursework:

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

• Statistics (MATH 210 , 4 credits)

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

University Core Curriculum and General Education Requirements

General Education Requirements are detailed in the degree table, with some exceptions. In those cases where a requirement is not specified, consult the University Core Curriculum and General Education Requirements and the Physical Activity Program for a list of applicable courses.

Programs

• Respiratory Care Major (B.S.)

Courses

• RCBS 310 - Cardiopulmonary Pharmacology (3)
• RCBS 312 - Cardiopulmonary Physiology (4)
• RCBS 320 - Respiratory Care Principles (3)
• RCBS 322 - Cardiopulmonary Pathophysiology (3)
• RCBS 324 - Patient Assessment and Disease Management (3)
• RCBS 326 - Assessment, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics Lab (3)
• RCBS 328 - Clinical Practice Observation I (1)
• RCBS 329 - Cardiopulmonary Diagnostics (3)
• RCBS 330 - Neonatal and Pediatric Respiratory Care (3)
• RCBS 332 - Critical Care and Mechanical Ventilation I (3)
• RCBS 334 - Introduction to Research
• RCBS 336 - Critical Care Lab (2)
• RCBS 338 - Clinical Practice I (5)
• RCBS 440 - Critical Care and Mechanical Ventilation II (3)
• RCBS 442 - Clinical Seminar I (3)
• RCBS 444 - Research Project I (1)
• RCBS 446 - Advanced Critical Care Lab (2)
• RCBS 448 - Clinical Practice II (8)
• RCBS 450 - Clinical Seminar II (3)
• RCBS 452 - Senior Seminar and Simulation Capstone (2)
• RCBS 454 - Research Project II (1)
• RCBS 456 - Management and Education (3)
• RCBS 458 - Clinical Practice III (6)