You have patience and empathy. Respiratory therapists must have strong communication skills — both with patients and their extended healthcare teams. They are great at analyzing data, problem-solving, and focusing on details. Enroll in the Respiratory Therapy program at Central Piedmont and earn an Associate of Applied Science in respiratory therapy.

Respiratory therapists treat people with disorders affecting the cardiopulmonary system, such as asthma, emphysema, pneumonia, cardiovascular disorders, and trauma. They perform diagnostic testing, treatments, and management of patients with heart and lung diseases. While on the job, the respiratory therapist will assist with preparing care plans for patients with diagnose lung and breathing disorders . They will interview patients, perform patient assessments and analyze tissue specimens. Managing ventilators and artificial airway devices for patients who cannot breathe normally on their own is also a primary responsibility of these professionals. The respiratory therapist plays a prominent role in responding to urgent calls for care throughout hospital.

In the respiratory therapy program at Central Piedmont, you will master skills in patient assessment and treatment of cardiopulmonary diseases. These skills include life support, monitoring, drug administration, and treatment of patients of all ages in a variety of settings. You will become well-versed in cardiopulmonary anatomy and physiology to provide care for patients of all ages within a variety of medical settings. You will practice routine assessments, create patience care plans, detect symptoms, and diagnose infections and diseases in the heart and lungs. You will also study pharmacology to learn treatment options. Through labs, you will use medical technology and equipment to monitor, manage, and assist patients.

The goal of the Central Piedmont respiratory therapy program is to prepare graduates with demonstrated competence in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains of respiratory care practice as performed by registered respiratory therapists (RRTs). We want to provide Mecklenburg County and the nation with respiratory professionals who are:

• caring and compassionate
• excellent communicators
• problem solvers
• team-oriented