Respiratory therapists help care for patients of all ages who have trouble breathing due to lung or cardiac problems. Learn how to be become a respiratory therapist and what types of respiratory therapy training programs are located in Los Angeles, CA.
Find Accredited Respiratory Therapist Schools in Los Angeles
To become a respiratory therapist, you must complete a respiratory therapy training program that’s accredited by either the Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) or the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). Although some respiratory therapists have bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees are the most common. This 2-year program include lectures, lab classes and clinical education.
How to get Certified in Los Angeles
Before you can work as a respiratory therapist in the state of California, you must be registered and licensed. To get a license, you must first pass the certification exam administered by the National Board for Respiratory Care. The certification exam consists of both a written and a practical exam. Although the Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) exam was previously acceptable for licensure, the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) exam is the only acceptable exam effective in 2015.
Salaries for Respiratory Therapists in Los Angeles
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), certified respiratory therapists working in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan area earned a mean annual wage of $73.060 as of May 2013 – the highest wage for any metropolitan area in the nation.
The BLS also reported that the highest wages for this profession were earned in California. Salary.com reports that certified respiratory therapists working in Los Angeles earned an average annual salary of $67.250 as of September 2014.
[qs_listing areaofinterest=”RESPIRATORY-CARE-THERAPY-ASSISTING” state=”CA” multidealer=”yes”]
[table id=60 /]
Comments are closed.