Graduates of NVCC’s Respiratory Care program are prepared to take the National Board for Respiratory Care Entry Level (CRT) and the Advanced Practitioner (RRT) credentialing examinations. The pass rate for obtaining the CRT credential at NVCC is 100%. Graduates from the program have further distinguished themselves with a substantial number receiving what are known as “high cut scores” on the credentialing exam. Receiving a “high cut score” means that these students qualify to take the clinical simulation exam (CSE). The CSE is an additional exam that awards successful test takers the higher RRT credential.  According to program coordinator, Margaret Guerrera, the CSE is a “very challenging exam” which gauges how students perform clinically. Employers seek the RRT credential as they look to employ the best of the best, enabling NVCC’s students to be competitive in the job market.  This year, and for the second year in a row, CoARC awarded NVCC’s program the Distinguished RRT Success Award.  The CoARC “views the RRT credential as a measure of a program’s success in inspiring its graduates to achieve their highest educational and professional aspirations.”

Job placement rates are another area where NVCC’s program beat national averages. In the three-year period from 2015 through 2017, the program reported job placement rates of 100%, 100%, and 91%, respectively.  To put this into perspective, the national average for job placement is 86% according to a 2017 CoARC program outcomes report.

“I am ever so grateful for the high caliber of teaching and learning at NVCC. Our Respiratory Care program is outstanding. Our students and the community we serve are the beneficiaries of the professionalism of our colleagues,” said NVCC President Daisy Cocco De Filippis, Ph.D.

Students in NVCC's Respiratory Care associate degree program prepare to enter the field with the skills necessary to practice as proficient and competent respiratory therapists. To learn more about the Respiratory Care program, visit nv.edu/respiratory.