RT FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Start by contacting our counseling Department for any
    questions or to verify the requirements or apply for an A/S in RT: contact the Career Technical Counselor Ashley Du DUAT@lavc.edu (818) 947-2600 ext. 4200, Andres Cruzalegui cruzala@lavc.edu or Joyce Romero, at (818) 947-2644 or at romeroji@lavc.edu. Or any other counselor can assist you.
  • Apply directly to LAVC at www.lavc.edu for an Associates Degree in Respiratory Therapy.
  • Take your English and Math Placement test in the Assessment Center in the Student Services Building, Room 242 (no appointment is necessary).Hours are posted at www.lavc.edu/admissions/assessment-center.
  • Attend a first semester educational planning session in person or do an online orientation at www.lavc.edu. The Counseling Department provides first semester advisement during the orientation. Appointments for orientation are made in the Assessment Center.
  • Review the requirements for application to the RT Program on the LAVC RT website at www.lavc.edu/restherapy/.
  • If you have transcripts from outside of the Los Angeles Community College District you must have them mailed from your previous school to the LA Valley College Records Office. Once you have confirmed that the transcripts have been received, call the Counseling Office at (818) 947-2600 Ext. 4200 to set-up a one hour transcript evaluation appointment.

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  • ASAP – the earlier your application date the better your chances of getting into phase 2 without having to wait a year.
  • You apply to phase I prerequisites by just applying to and registering for classes at LAVC.
  • You must meet with a counselor to have your prerequisites verified before you can enroll in RT 2.
  • The counseling department has a RT perquisite form that you and your counselor must complete.
  • Applications to the RT program for Phase II are issued and accepted each fall when students are enrolled in RT 2.
  • Applications are distributed to RT 2 students by the RT Program Director.

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  • Depending on your schedule – approximately 3 years including 3 semesters of prerequisites for phase I, and 3 semesters plus summer for phase II clinical training.

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  • Yes we can take 56 students into RT 2 each fall
  • we accept 30 students into phase II RT 15 and have had 10 – 20 applicants each year that needed to reapply a year later to get into phase II
  • Class size is limited by the number of students we can train in the hospitals – we put 3-5 students into 9 hospitals
  • Each student will train at 5 hospitals for 5- 12 weeks at a time
  • See Hospital affiliates

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  • No – you must contact the RT program director to submit a new application each year in fall before November 1st.

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  • See RT application requirements on the RT web page

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  • See the RT schedule of classes section on the RT web page

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  • Some phase 1 prerequisites are offered at night.
  • RT 1 is offered in fall and spring in evening.
  • RT 2 is only offered in the fall evening and afternoon.
  • All classes are Monday – Friday no weekends.

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  • Complete an A/S in RT
  • Obtain an RRT credential from the NBRC by passing the Associative Science Degree NBRC RRT ( TMC) exam and NBRC Clinical Simulations exam (Effective Jan 2015 Entry Lever CRT exam Credential is no longer sufficient to obtain a RCP License in California)
  • Apply for the license with California Respiratory Care Board http://www.rcb.ca.gov/

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  • All RT grads must take and pass the RRT pass rate for Therapist Multiple Choice (TMC) Exam.
  • Following the TMC exam you will be eligible to take the NBRC Clinical Simulation exam. Completion of both exams will earn the graduate the NBRC RRT credential.
  • LAVC RT program is an Associative Science Degree RRT eligible program.
  • Exams and requirements are issued through the National Board of Respiratory Care (NBRC) http://www.nbrc.org/.
  • See Accreditation section on LAVC RT Web site.

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  • The NBRC and California Respiratory Care Board require that your transcripts from LAVC list that you have “met the requirements for an A/S degree in RT”
  • If you have a B/S or higher in science, then typically you do not need to apply for an A/S at LAVC as long as your transcripts have the above statement.
  • Foreign medical or respiratory therapy degrees are not recognized by the NBRC.

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  • After you have completed 12 units within the Los Angeles Community College District you can submit an evaluation of your foreign coursework done by an approved transcript evaluation agency along with a petition for credit to be awarded towards meeting program requirements. To challenge prerequisite requirements, please see the RT Program Director.
  • These forms are available at the LAVC Counseling Department.

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  • Yes except RT 2 or higher RT courses.
  • If you take RT 2 or higher RT courses you will be considered a transfer student, and we can only accept you if we have an opening after ALL other LAVC RT applicants have been reviewed.

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  • RT 1 yes.
  • RT 2 or higher see above statement.

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  • Long term is excellent.
  • Short term employment is tight however most graduates are employed within 12 months of graduation.
  • The medical centers usualy receive a large number of applications for any posted positions.
  • LAVC employment rates are posted with the program NBRC passing rates at CoARC website http://www.coarc.com/

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  • E-mail Gregory Morrison morrisgs@lavc.edu any time
  • Office hours are usually Mondays 3 – 5 or Thursdays after 2:00 p.m. with an appointment when classes are in session.

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  • Currently we do not penalize for this, but our application process is revised every year so this could change.

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  • We do accept Physics 12.
  • We also typically accept any college level general survey physics classes as long as they cover gas laws and fluidics in the course curriculum.
  • Do not take an engineering based physics class. These require a much higher math requirement and do not cover gas laws.

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  • No, however this class fills quickly. You will need to apply as soon as possible. Students who have enrolled at LAVC and maintained continuous enrollment (not missing a consecutive fall and spring semester) will have priority over new and returning students.
  • If the class is full you may show up on the first day of class to try to obtain an Add Card from the instructor.

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  • No, however the last 4 years we have more the 30 students apply to the RT 15 Clinical Phase 2. We can only take 30 students into RT 15.
  • Students who complete RT 2 but are not accepted into Rt 15 need to reapply the following year by contacting the RT Program director in the fall before November 1st – (see RT program application requirements).

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  • Contact the RT Program Director to obtain an application to review all RT classes and prerequisites
  • Make an appointment to meet with the Career Technical Education (CTE) counselor to review and verify all prerequisites for RT and general education for the A/S Degree
  • The other RT program’s classes and prerequisites must be from a regionally accredited school. Community Colleges or University based programs such as East Los Angeles/Santa Monica Community college are courses that can be used for our program.
  • Most private (proprietary) schools such as Concord or American Career College courses are not transferable. The Counseling Department can provide further information to assist you.
  • Advanced Placement or Transfer students can only be considered if they have met prerequisite requirements, and if there is clinical space available in our LAVC RT Phase 2 classes.
  • If you are an entry level CRT we do not have a specific advance placement fast track program to become an RRT. Contact the RT Program

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  • No. It is violation of CoARC accreditation standards 5.02 to use employed hours for patient care duties as credit for clinical internship / training.
  • Director to obtain an application to have your RT courses and transcripts evaluated. You will also need to make an appointment with our CTE
  • Any CRT would have to have come from a transferable program and have their prerequisites evaluated, or start from Phase I.

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  • Yes but transcripts need to be mailed from the school where the prerequisites were completed and students need to set up a transcript evaluation appointment to have the courses evaluated by an LAVC Counselor.
  • The RT program Director can also approve perquisites but you must contact the Counseling Department first.

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