Cardiopulmonary Science, B.S. (CIP 51.0908)

Minimum Requirements for Admission

Admission to the CPS program is competitive. Satisfactory completion of the minimum requirements identified below is required.

1. Earned credit for prerequisite courses from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university by the first day of class in the program.
2. Cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale). 
3. Grade point average of 2.5 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) for all required pre-requisite courses.
4. All applicants must attend a Mandatory Applicant Orientation.
5. Accepted students must certify that they meet the technical standards established by the program with or without reasonable accommodations.

Please note: Accepted students are assigned a provisional admission status until meeting the conditions outlined in the acceptance letter and completing pre-matriculation requirements set forth by the Office of the Registrar. As part of the pre-matriculation requirements, accepted students are required to pass a drug screen and criminal background check prior to matriculation. Offers of acceptance are contingent on passing both.

Prerequisite Courses

(Subject to revision)

• English Composition, 6 Hours
• Mathematics:
  • College Algebra, 3 Hours
  • Trigonometry or Statistics, 3 Hours
• Medical Terminology, 3 Hours
• General Chemistry / Lab, 4 Hours
• General Physics / Lab (≥ 200 level recommended), 4 Hours
• Microbiology / Lab, 4 Hours
• Human Anatomy and Physiology I, 4 Hours
• Human Anatomy and Physiology II, 4 Hours
• Science Elective, 3 Hours *
• Fine Arts, 3 Hours **
• Humanities, 9 Hours ***
• Social/Behavioral Science (≥ 100 level), 6 Hours ****

Technical Standards for Cardiopulmonary Science

Technical standards are essential abilities and characteristics required for admission, progression, and graduation from the LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport (LSUHSC-S) School of Allied Health Professions (SAHP). The following standards consist of certain minimum sensory, physical, behavioral and cognitive abilities, as well as sufficient mental and emotional stability to assure that students are able to complete the entire course of study and participate fully in all aspects of the academic and clinical curriculum, with or without reasonable accommodations:

Sensory: A student in the CPS program must possess sufficient visual and auditory skills as well as skills of observation to evaluate, interpret and treat individuals with cardiopulmonary dysfunction. These skills include the ability to:

• Perform visual inspection of the patient for abnormalities in skin color, breathing pattern, chest wall configuration and peripheral circulation.
• Distinguish abnormal lung, cardiac, and bowel sounds with a stethoscope.
• Visualize metrics on various healthcare administration devices, such as monitor waveforms, cc/ml syringe markings, and engravings and/or print upon medication vials and ampules.
• Characterize the color, consistency, and clarity of sputum specimens with additional ability to characterize generalities of other body fluids (i.e urine, blood).
• Visualize, comprehend text, numbers, and graphics displayed in print, electronic media, or on real time monitors, such as electronic medical records, vital signs monitors and mechanical ventilators.
• Recognize visual and auditory alarms on various healthcare equipment.
• Identify tactile stimulation such as present or absence of airflow, hot/cold temperature, and presence of arterial pulses.
• Distinguish pertinent odors.

Motor and Mobility Skills: A student must possess adequate motor and mobility skills to:

• Ambulate unrestricted within the work areas of the clinical setting, (i.e. patient room, intensive care unit, emergency department).
• Push or pull equipment up to 50 lbs. such as mechanical ventilators or patient bed during transport.
• Perform moderately taxing continuous physical work. This requires the individual to perform 8 or 12 hours per day clinical rotations on both day shift and evening shift timeslots, delivering respiratory care to patients on multiple floors with varying acuity levels of care.
• Reach above shoulder level and below knees while maintaining good balance.
• Perform fine motor tasks such as opening small vials of medicine, drawing of medications into syringes, performing arterial punctures.
• Use a computer keyboard, touchscreen, or electronic smart device (i.e. phone) to operate, calculate, record, evaluate, and transmit patient care information.

Communication Skills: A student must possess adequate communication skills to:

• Communicate with individuals and groups (i.e. faculty members/preceptors, fellow students, staff, patients, and other health care professionals) verbally and in recorded format (writing, electronic media (i.e. voice-to-text, typing), or telecommunication).
• Demonstrate proficiency in English for oral written and/or electronic communications.

Behavioral Skills: A student must possess adequate behavioral skills to:

• Be able to manage the use of time and to systematize actions in order to complete professional and technical tasks within realistic constraints.
• Possess the emotional health necessary to effectively apply knowledge and exercise appropriate judgment under occasional time constraints.
• Be able to provide professional and technical services while experiencing the stresses of task-related uncertainty (i.e., ambiguous treatment order, ambivalent test interpretation), emergent demands (i.e. “stat” test orders), and distracting environment (i.e., high noise levels, crowding, complex visual stimuli).
• Be flexible and creative and adaptive to professional and technical change requirements.
• Recognize potentially hazardous materials, equipment, and situations and proceed safely in order to minimize risk of injury to patients, self, and nearby individuals.
• Support and promote the activities of fellow students and other health care professionals in an effort to facilitate a team approach to learning, task completion, and problem solving for patient care.
• Demonstrate honesty, compassion, professional ethics and responsibility, upholding the AARC Code of Ethics and the LSUHSC School of Allied Health Professions Policy and Procedures relating to Student Conduct, Dismissals and Appeals.
• Show respect for individuals of different age, ethnic background, religion, and/or sexual orientation.
• Exhibit professional behavior by conforming to appropriate standards of dress, appearance, language and public behavior.

LSUHSC-S seeks to comply with the American with Disabilities Act by providing reasonable accommodations, including resources and services, for students with disabilities, chronic medical conditions, a temporary disability, or pregnancy complications resulting in difficulties with accessing learning opportunities.

It is the responsibility of a student with a disability (or a student who develops a disability) and who needs accommodations to contact the SAHP Admissions and Records Office to initiate the procedure for requesting accommodations and provide adequate documentation of the general nature and extent of the disability and the functional limitations to be accommodated. All requests are reviewed by school’s ADA Officer to determine what reasonable accommodations, if any, are appropriate for the student.

For further information, please view the LSUHSCS Student Policy for Requesting Accommodations.

Method of Application

Procedures for applying for admission to the Cardiopulmonary Science program are as follows:

1. The LSUHSC-S Cardiopulmonary Science program accepts applications for admission via the Allied Health Centralized Application Service (AHCAS) for annual intake during the summer admission term. The Cardiopulmonary Science website provides further instructions.
2. All applicants will be required to attend the Mandatory Applicant Orientation set forth in the Spring of the application intake year.
3. Selected applicants will participate in an admissions interview and the action taken by the Admissions Committee will be forwarded in writing to the applicant.
4. Accepted applicants are expected to complete an acceptance form and submit a non-refundable deposit of $150.00 by the deadline indicated on their acceptance email. The acceptance deposit secures the student’s position in the program and credits their first semester’s tuition.
5. Accepted applicants are assigned a provisional admission status until meeting conditions outlined in the acceptance letter and completing pre-matriculation requirements (e.g. drug screen, criminal background check) set forth by the Office of the Registrar. Failure to meet these requirements may result in revocation of acceptance offer.

Transfer of Credit

Non-professional undergraduate credit will be accepted from another recognized accredited institution provided the course description meets the pre-requisite requirements for the program.

Professional undergraduate credit (i.e. from another clinical program) will be accepted at the discretion of the program director. Transfer hours must be from a CoARC accredited institution and must meet or exceed current program requirements. Students who have completed a Respiratory Care program must have passed the TMC and CSE NBRC exam and possess a current RRT credential for those professional courses to transfer and for credit to be issued.

Non-Resident Fee Waiver

Students enrolled in the LSUHSC-S CPS program that are residents of Arkansas and Texas are eligible for in-state tuition rates via the Non-Resident Fee Waiver.

Academic Progression Requirements

The following requirements pertaining to the status of academic progress apply to all students enrolled in the CPS program:

In order to achieve academic progress the student must satisfy the following minimum standards:

1. Satisfy the academic progression requirements listed in the SAHP Student Admissions and Regulations section of this catalog/bulletin.
2. Satisfactorily complete all professional coursework for each semester in the intended sequence.
3. Satisfactorily complete all coursework required for graduation in not more than four calendar years after the student’s start date. 

Grade appeals may be made in accordance with the procedures set forth in the section of this catalog/bulletin entitled, “Student Grade Appeals .”

CPS Program Goals (CoARC 3.01):

To prepare graduates with demonstrated competence in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains of respiratory care practice as performed by registered respiratory therapists (RRTs).

To prepare leaders for the field of respiratory care by including curricular content with objectives related to the acquisition of skills in one or more of the following: management, education, research, and advanced clinical practice (which may include an area of clinical specialization).

Curriculum

• Cardiopulmonary Science Curriculum