Quinsigamond Community College’s Respiratory Care program was recently honored with the President's Award for Excellence in Credentialing Success from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). QCC was one of only 10 colleges in the country to earn this recognition.
“This award speaks to the caliber of QCC’s faculty, as well as to the commitment and dedication of our students,” said QCC President Luis G. Pedraja, Ph.D., adding that this is the second year in a row QCC has received the award.
The award is given by CoARC to accredited programs that have three consecutive years of a 100% credentialing rate for their respiratory care students. When students graduate from QCC’s Respiratory Care program, they are required to take two credentialing exams to earn their Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential.
“I am proud of our students, faculty, and the Respiratory Care Program. This award is the result of a collective effort,” said Assistant Dean of the School of Healthcare Shanan Stratis. “Our students receive instruction by highly skilled and experienced respiratory therapists in the classroom, lab and in various clinical settings. As a result, they are well-prepared for their credentialing exams, which is evident in our high exam pass rates.”
The Respiratory Care program at QCC is a 20-month associate degree program that prepares students to enter the workforce as a licensed RRT. Currently, QCC has a 100% job placement rate for students upon graduation. Graduates from the program are often employed at QCC’s clinical affiliates such as UMass Memorial Medical Center and Mass General Hospital.
“It is a wonderful feeling that we earned this award for the second year in a row. It is no easy feat for students to earn their RRT credential and this is just a reflection of the passion and dedication of our respiratory care faculty. This is an amazing program that can open so many doors to jobs that do so much good for our community while also earning a really good wage,” said Respiratory Care Program Coordinator and QCC alum Daniel Marsala.
QCC’s Respiratory Care program began in 1967 and is the oldest respiratory program in the state.