Northern Virginia Community College
Northern Virginia Community College

Revised 8/26

RTH 296 - On-Site Training in Respiratory Therapy II (3 CR.)

Course Description

Career orientation and training program without pay in selected businesses and industry, supervised, and coordinated by the College. Credit/work ratio not to exceed 1:5 hours. Clinical work 10 hours per week.

General Course Purpose

This course is offered in the fifth and final semester of the respiratory therapy program. The student is expected to function as a critical care therapist with limited supervision or instruction. The student should be able to correlate all classroom material received to this point with situations in the critical care setting.

Course Prerequisites/Corequisites

Prerequisites: RTH 121, RTH 131, RTH 196, and RTH 245.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • Perform and document various aspects of adult, neonatal, and pediatric patient assessment skills and techniques to accurately determine patients’ clinical status. 
  • Demonstrate proper techniques for various critical care skills including but not limited to airway management, mechanical ventilation, and pertinent therapeutic as well as diagnostic procedures.
  • Identify critical care monitoring techniques and assess physiologic parameters.
  • Determine and recommend a patient care plan by using clinical resources that include medical records, other health care providers, patient care protocols, etc. 
  • Modify patient care plan and perform troubleshooting according to patient clinical status. 
  • Locate and interpret physicians’ orders for respiratory care.
  • Develop good communication skills with patients and health care team.
  • Apply professional behavior and maintain patient confidentiality consistently.
  • Demonstrate appropriate standards of appearance and attendance as defined by the RTH student and clinical handbook.
  • Develop excellent time management skills and complete all required course work in a timely manner.
  • Organize and manage a full patient workload under direct supervision of a preceptor.

Major Topics to Be Included

  • Patient Assessment and Documentation
  • Critical Care Respiratory Procedures
  • Critical Care Monitoring
  • Patient Care Planning and Clinical Decision-Making
  • Clinical Troubleshooting
  • Professional Communication
  • Professionalism and Ethics
  • Clinical Performance and Time Management