Newswise — PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University’s (NSU) Bachelor of Science degree program in Respiratory Therapy (BSRT) – the first such program offering in the state – has been granted provisional accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Therapy (CoARC).

“Nova Southeastern University is committed to not only providing health care practitioners with the skills they need to practice today, but to giving them a competitive advantage in the future,” said Stanley Wilson, P.T., Ed.D., CEAS, dean of NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences. “As the only university in Florida to offer a bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy, we are preparing our students to succeed in this growing field.”

“This is a critical step in the overall development of our new bachelor’s-level Respiratory Therapy Program,” said Marianne Jankowski, DHSc., RRT, chair of NSU’s Department of Cardiopulmonary Sciences and director of the Respiratory Therapy Program.

Students who graduate under CoARC accreditation are recognized by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) and eligible to sit for the appropriate credentialing examinations.

The Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) accredits first professional respiratory therapy degree programs at the associates, baccalaureate, and master’s degree levels in the United States and internationally. The CoARC also accredits professional respiratory therapy degree programs offering certificates in polysomnography, a diagnostic tool in sleep medicine. CoARC’s mission is to serve the public by promoting high quality respiratory care education through accreditation services.

“Our unique respiratory program will provide our students with the opportunity to succeed as lifelong learners, critical thinkers, evidence-based practitioners, and excellent providers of care in a multitude of environments,” she said.

The American Association of Respiratory Care has declared the bachelor’s degree one of the priorities for a 2015 initiative to broaden expertise in the profession.Jankowski said graduates from NSU’s Respiratory Therapy Program will have opportunities in the areas of advanced respiratory clinical practice, education, medical and health services management, and medical equipment sales and service.

Respiratory therapy students will receive classroom and simulated clinical training on the third floor of the NSU Palm Beach 75,000-sq.-ft. campus building at 11501 N. Military Trail, which has been transformed into a simulated 10-bed intensive care unit, a four-room patient simulation suite and computer labs, all to facilitate the new program.

For more information about NSU’s Respiratory Therapy Program please contact Terri Taylor at (561) 805-2244.

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About NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences: NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences strives to provide professionals with the skills necessary for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease and disability in order to assure optimum health conditions in the community and beyond. With an unwavering commitment to ethical practice and in support of NSU’s Core Values, the college endeavors to advance research, scholarship, and the development of leadership skills utilizing traditional educational methods, distance learning, and innovative combinations of both to achieve its educational goals. For more information, please visit http://www.nova.edu/chcs.

About Nova Southeastern University Palm Beach Gardens: The campus moved from RCA Boulevard to its current location in 2011. There are more than 1,000 students attending the campus, which offers a range of degrees including business, education, leadership, interdisciplinary arts, management counseling, nursing, pharmacy, psychology, respiratory therapy and speech pathology.

About Nova Southeastern University: Situated on 314 beautiful acres in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic fully accredited research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at all levels. NSU is a not-for-profit independent institution with 27,000 students. NSU awards associates, bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, doctoral and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields. NSU is classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and it is one of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification. For more information, please visit www.nova.edu. Celebrating 50 years of academic excellence!