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Respiratory Care

Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Community College

Program Description
Respiratory Care Practitioners care for patients with respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Under the supervision of a physician, they are involved with the assessment, treatment, diagnostic testing, rehabilitation, and prevention of conditions that affect the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

A Respiratory Care program is available to our students through a cooperative partnership between Eastern Iowa Community College District (EICCD) and Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC). After completing the program, students earn an A.A.S. degree and are eligible for credentialing exams offered by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC).

Students begin their education with us and complete 24 credits of science, math, English, psychology and computer science coursework. They apply to the NICC Respiratory Therapy Program and once accepted, transfer their credits to NICC and become an NICC student. Students take their respiratory care courses at the NICC campus located in Peosta, IA*. Clinical experiences are completed off campus in Dubuque, Iowa City, and Manchester, Iowa; and in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to tuition and books, the educational costs of the respiratory therapy program include:

Please refer to the printable (pdf) Fact Sheet for additional information about the occupation of Respiratory Care and the Respiratory Care Program.

*Two courses, Pulmonary Pathology and Respiratory Therapy Science III, are offered only online. All other respiratory care courses are conducted in the classroom setting at Peosta or in the clinical setting.