I am currently attending Western Career’s Respiratory Therapy program at the Pleasant Hill campus. This program is an intensive year-round program that fits about 3 years worth of prerequisites and coursework into two years. Tuition includes books, lab costs, equipment—in short everything but gas, food, and rent. \r
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This is a fairly new program and as a result has room for improvement. However, because of that, the staff and faculty are continually working to improve the program and open to student input as opposed to the more typical Faculty versus Student relationship one gets at a traditional university. Additionally, the faculty is very willing to help students having difficulty with the coursework. \r
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I find the course work is made as relevant as possible to the knowledge and skills required to practice as a Respiratory Care Practitioner in the field. Didactic classroom coursework is reinforced with hands-on training in a laboratory environment and applied during clinical hours. Concepts taught in Chemistry, Mathematics, and other core science classes such as Anatomy and Physiology are reinforced in coursework that focuses on treatment modalities and patient assessment. Patient assessment and treatment modalities are then practiced first in a lab and then in the field in a hospital. A large effort is made by the faculty to instill critical thinking and analysis skills in students to better enable us to solve problems in the field. \r
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During clinical rotations I have heard from staff members at hospitals that, in general, students from WCC are well prepared and ahead of the curve in comparison to students from other programs. On all of my clinical rotations I have felt well prepared and able to handle those tasks assigned by my mentors on site. I am looking forward to graduating, passing the board exams, and practicing respiratory care.\r
Pros: Good program
Cons: New Program
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