SDSU respiratory care program honored

For the fourth consecutive year, the respiratory care program at South Dakota State University has been honored for achieving 100% Registered Respiratory Therapist Credentialing Success.

The President’s Award for Excellence in Credentialing Success is awarded by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care. SDSU is one of a select few programs nationwide to earn the award.

Lacy Patnoe, director of the SDSU program, said the award confirms that the program has students soundly prepared for entry into the health profession. The commission views credentialing “as a measure of a program’s success in inspiring graduates to achieve the highest educational and professional aspirations.”

The SDSU respiratory care program is in the Allied and Population Health Department within the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions.

The associate program begins each May and consists of a year of both didactic and labs in the classroom with clinical rotations in the second year. The bachelor’s degree can be obtained completely online and done while working as a registered respiratory therapy practitioner.

Up to eight students are accepted each year at the Rapid City campus at Monument Health and up to 16 are accepted at the Sioux Falls campus located at both Avera and Sanford hospitals.

The program has 100% job placement rate for both sites along with a board exam pass rate much above the national average.