Los Angeles Valley College Respiratory Therapist Program

THE LACCD EXCELLENCE IN WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT 2007

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• A respiratory therapist is a high tech health care professional working with patients with heart and lung diseases. Respiratory therapist work takes place in the emergency room, adult and newborn intensive care units, pulmonary rehabilitation and home care, pulmonary function testing laboratories, and in sleep disorder laboratories.
  
• Respiratory therapists command an excellent salary, starting at approximately $25 per hour. They usually work 3 twelve hour shifts per week. This means 4 days off each week.
  
• There is a critical shortage of qualified respiratory therapists in California and the USA. This means that there are many unfilled positions open right now.
  
• All science and preclinical courses can be taken at any of the Los Angeles Community Colleges. These are Psychology 1, Anatomy 1 (Physiology8), Physiology 1 (Physiology 9), Chemistry 51, Microbiology 20, and Physics 5.