Respiratory therapists are allied health care professionals who specialize in caring for patients with lung and heart issues. Respiratory therapists aid in the prevention, testing, and treatment of cardiopulmonary disease, such as asthma, emphysema, and sleep disorders. Their patients range from premature infants with undeveloped lungs to elderly patients who have diseased lungs. They also provide emergency care to patients suffering from heart attacks, drowning, trauma, or shock. Respiratory Therapists are employed in a variety of settings, including hospitals, home care agencies, long-term care facilities, aeromedical transport, sleep labs, and medical equipment suppliers.

CoARC accredits respiratory therapy education programs in the United States. To achieve this end, it utilizes an ‘outcomes based’ process. Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which the educational goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented.