Respiratory Therapy Announcements

1. THE RESPIRATORY THERAPY PROGRAM APPLICATION PERIOD FOR 2025

The next application period will open on September 9, 2024, and end on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 11:59 pm. The Respiratory Therapy Application link can be found by clicking on the link below:

https://forms.gle/pby1mRL2uyy2Vh7U9

2. NEW: MATHEMATICS 245 PRE-REQUISITE

As of June 2023, the Respiratory Therapy Program has changed the Mathematics Pre-Requisite needed to apply to the 2024 Respiratory Therapy Cohort. Anyone applying to the RT Program would need to have taken either:

• Math 227 or 227S (Statistics or Statistics with Support), or
• Math 245 (College Algebra) or Higher Mathematics Class.

 3. ZOOM INFORMATIONAL MEETINGS

The ELAC RT Department is happy to announce that we will be offering FALL 2024 RT Zoom Information Day Sessions for all potential students. During each of our Zoom sessions, we will provide you with information regarding the RT Pre-Requisites, the Application Process, and the Multi-Grading Evaluation Process. All sessions will end with a question and answer for you to ask our RT Directors and Faculty any concerns you might have regarding the Respiratory Therapy Program and Career.

RT APPLICATION PROCESS AND FORMS

You must have completed the following prerequisites before applying:

• RESP TH-101: Survey of Respiratory Therapy (2 Units)
• HTH-TEK 133: Medical Terminology. (3 Units)
• ANATOMY 001 or Bio 020: Human Anatomy w/ Lab (4 Units)
• PHYSIOLOGY 001 or Bio 020: Human Physiology w/ Lab (4 Units)
• CHEM 051 or 065: Introduction to General Chemistry (4-5 Units)
• MATH 245 College Algebra or higher (3-5 units); MATH 227 Statistics or MATH 227S Statistics with Support (4 units) will be accepted as well.
• COMM 101 Public Speaking or COMM 121 Interpersonal Communication; or ENGLISH 103 Composition and Critical Thinking (3 units) (if interested in pursuing the BSRT)

Once completed, you can apply to the RT Program between Monday, September 9, 2024, and ending on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 11:59 pm, by clicking on the link below:

https://forms.gle/pby1mRL2uyy2Vh7U9

Note: You will want to have the following items ready to upload to the application site.

1. You will need to provide us PDF copies of all your unofficial transcripts.

2. A one-page personal statement on why you want to be a Respiratory Therapist (PDF Format),

3. A resume (PDF Format.)

4. Veterans or active service members get automatic entry into the Respiratory Therapy Program as long as they have completed and passed all of the Respiratory Therapy prerequisites. If you're a veteran or current armed services member we will need a copy of either your DD-214 form or active armed service member letter.

Note: Pre-clinical requirements may change under the guidelines of the Clinical Affiliates, the RT Department, and ELAC Administrators. All changes will be posted on this website.

The clinical affiliates require a student be examined by a licensed physician and to have specific laboratory tests performed as needed, to determine physical fitness for clinical placement. The Director of Clinical Education (DCE) or Program Director (PD) are authorized to require that records of any such examination be released to the clinic. Such records may be used only to determine fitness for the program, and except for such use, the confidentiality of such records shall be maintained. 

The student must be free from any communicable disease, infection, physical and/or psychological disorder, or any other condition that would prevent the successful performance of the responsibilities and tasks required in the classroom and clinical training of the Respiratory Therapy Program. Students with pre-existing conditions MUST be cleared by their attending physician as able to work in the acute care environment BEFORE they will be permitted to attend a clinical rotation. 

Any condition, as described above, that is developed by the student after admission to the program will require clearance from their physician that it is safe for them to return to the classroom and/ or clinical area. 

NOTE: Students must turn in proof of the following items in an original ELAC RT Health Record with all other health records and documents, prior to the start of RT 201.

The RT Program requires documentation of immunization for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (T-DAP), Hepatitis B, varicella titer, COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccines.

COVID vaccination

Students will be required to obtain and complete the COVID vaccination series plus two COVID booster shots prior to the start of the Summer Semester. This is a requirement of our clinical sites. A declination of the vaccine or booster may be requested. As such, placement into clinical will be based on site acceptance of the vaccine declination. You will be required to wear a surgical mask during your rotations if you decline the vaccine or booster.

For those who did not start their COVID vaccine series must immediately start getting the vaccine as soon as possible or at the beginning of their 1st year Fall Semester. Since this process requires a series of 3 (or 4) injections over a period of months, students must return on their own time as scheduled, for the remainder of the injections.

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) vaccination

Since respiratory therapists are at-risk employees, student RCPs have the same designation, so the following criteria will be required:

• All students must sign a statement, either consenting to the HBV vaccination series or declining it.
• At present, the ELAC Student Health Center offers the HBV vaccine to registered RT students. Since the process requires a series of 3 injections over a period of months, students must return on their own time, as scheduled, for the remainder of the injections.

Tuberculosis (TB) Screening

This must be done prior to the start of RT 201 (skin test or Interferon Gamma Release Assay or IGRA or chest x-ray, if necessary). Individuals with a positive skin test (PPD) must provide proof of a negative chest x-ray obtained within the past year, and a documented Positive TB test (PPD) result. The PPD may have to be repeated during the clinical year. Low-cost TB tests are available to registered RT students at the ELAC Student Health Center. 

Mantoux Tuberculin Skin Test

• If you develop a positive TB test, you must clear your required reports through ELAC Student Health Services prior to submitting TB documents to the RT Program Office. If you have had adverse reactions to TB testing and are being asked to have the 2-step PPD process, you may have the QuantiFERON® TB test.
• If you have never had a TB test OR if it has been over 12 months since receiving a negative TB test:
  • A baseline “Two-Step” Mantoux Test (PPD) is required for all students regardless of prior BCG inoculation.
  • After baseline testing, all healthcare students must have an annual Mantoux Test. If the interval between testing is greater than 12 months, the Two-Step will be repeated.
• If you have a documented negative TB test within 12 months of entering the program:
  • A “One-Step” is required ONLY if a negative Mantoux test result is documented within the previous 12 months. Date done and proof of this past testing is required.
  • “Two-Step” baseline testing will be accepted only if done no more than 3 months prior to enrollment.
• After baseline testing, all healthcare students must have an annual Mantoux Test. If the interval between testing is greater than 12 months, the Two-Step will be repeated.
• If you do NOT have documentation for a negative TB test done within 12 months of entering the program.
  • A repeat baseline Two-Step” Mantoux Test (PPD) is required. There is no danger in having these tests repeated. This is if documentation is not available to you.
  • After baseline testing, all healthcare students must have an annual Mantoux Test. If the interval between testing is greater than 12 months, the Two-Step will be repeated.
• If you have previously had a positive Mantoux (PPD) test:
  • All new students with a previously positive Mantoux must provide the following documentation:
    • the reported induration measured in mm AND
    • one chest radiograph to exclude a diagnosis of TB disease. After this baseline chest radiograph is performed and the result is documented, repeat radiographs are not needed unless symptoms or signs of TB disease develop or a clinician recommends a repeat chest radiograph, OR
    • have a BAMT (blood assay for M. tuberculosis). If the latter, proof of testing with a complete report which provides an interpretation of the test result and indicates the concentration of interferon-gamma. If the BAMT results are “inconclusive” or “positive”, a report of a negative chest x-ray is to be provided.

Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Varicella Screening 

The following criteria will be observed: 

1. Written documentation of MMR vaccinations in persons born after 1950, the 1st given on or after the first birthday, and the 2nd after 1980; or one MMR vaccination as an adult; or serologic (antibody titers) evidence of immunity to measles and rubella (German measles).
2. Serologic evidence of immunity to varicella (Chicken pox)

Seasonal Influenza Immunization 

Students will be required to obtain the seasonal influenza vaccine prior to the start of the fall semester. A declination of the vaccine is possible, however, this is site dependent and any student who does not receive the vaccine will be required to wear a mask during their rotations. 

Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis)

Tdap or Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough) are dangerous and life-threatening. A Tdap vaccine is required by our clinical affiliates. For those who were already inoculated with the Tdap vaccine, it must be within 10 years prior to the start of your clinical rotation, or as required by our clinical site. 

Clinical Compliance with Health Records 

At any time should a student’s annual health clearances, malpractice insurance and/or CPR certification expire (in other words, if a renewal is not completed before the expiration date), the student is considered non-compliant. Any student out of compliance cannot attend clinical rotations, and this may result in dismissal from the program. It is the student’s responsibility to remain current in all requirements and to supply proof to the RT Program before the expiration dates. 

Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care

The Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Therapy or CoARC is the Accrediting Body for the East Los Angeles Respiratory Therapy Program. Below is more information about CoARC:

• CoARC accredits respiratory therapy education programs in the United States. To achieve this end, it utilizes an ‘outcomes based’ process. Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which the educational goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented.CoARC's Outcome Webpage is https://coarc.com/students/programmatic-outcomes-data/
• East Los Angeles College's Respiratory Therapy Program Number is: 200102

Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC)
264 Precision Blvd., Telford, TN 37690
www.coarc.com

Respiratory Therapy Links

AARC (American Association of Respiratory Care)
CSRC (California Society for Respiratory Care)
CoARC (Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care)
NBRC (National Board for Respiratory Care)
RCB (Respiratory Care Board of California)
BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

For more information, questions, or comments, please feel free to contact us:

RTProgram@elac.edu |  (323) 265-8813  |  Department Locations: G5-211 & C2-126B