The Respiratory Care Program of Texas State University-San Marcos (formerly Southwest Texas State University) began in September of 1972 and has maintained full accreditation since the first site visit in 1974. The program is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) and is offered through the Department of Respiratory Care in the College of Health Professions.
The program is a joint effort of the university with seven major hospitals in Austin and San Antonio and multiple specialty hospitals throughout the state and country. Didactic and laboratory courses are taught on campus in San Marcos, while clinical rotations are conducted in the Austin and San Antonio affiliates.
In 1972, the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree for Respiratory Therapy was established and a certificate program from entry level technicians was added in 1980. In June of 1992, both program names were changed from Respiratory Therapy to Respiratory Care in accordance with national trends and nomenclature.
In April of 1993, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the university’s request to add the Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care (BSRC) degree and to delete the AAS degree. The BSRC was implemented in September 1993 with an initial enrollment of 41 students. The last AAS graduates completed the program in 1994.
The BSRC program has continued to evolve in response to changing dynamics in the profession to include internships which allow students to specialize in an area of interest pertinent to career goal development. Clinical affiliates found within the state, the nation and internationally, offer students the opportunity to develop special skills that may lead to additional subspecialty credentials. Internship specialization include neonatal and pediatric critical care specialties, adult critical care specialties, emergent care, pulmonary rehabilitation, biomedical research, homecare, pulmonary function testing, asthma education, polysomnography, case management, hospital administration/management and higher education.
The most recent addition to the Department of Respiratory Care is the Polysomnographic Technology Course of Studies offered at both the undergraduate- and post-bac levels. The polysomnography course of studies is fully accredited by CAAHEP and CoARC and offers qualified student an unusual opportunity to complete the 9-month program and sit for the BRPT national board exams to become a Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (RPSGT) immediately upon program completion.
