• Helps students think effectively and independently, balancing the scientific method with human compassion and respect for persons of all cultures.
• Situates learning in a clinical context to help students adopt modes of thinking used by expert clinicians.
• Provides a Benedictine liberal arts education that supports the development of the health care professional as an ethical, informed servant-leader in society.
• Helps students learn how to learn and develop lifelong learning habits.
• Gives students opportunities to serve the community through public education programs such as asthma control, tobacco prevention, and other activities that raise public awareness and promote respiratory health.

Mission

Our mission is to help students become competent, caring health care professionals, able to function effectively in diverse environments, and committed to professional growth and lifelong learning. We work to accomplish this mission by sharing with our students our collective experience, expertise, values and enthusiasm. We support the mission of the university: to serve the academic needs of people in this region through programs that prepare individuals to function as servant-leaders in their chosen careers.

Philosophy

Our philosophy is drawn from the university's foundations, which are Christian, Catholic, and Benedictine. Our role is to model the community of learners for students as we participate with them in the construction of new knowledge. Our goal as teachers is to kindle in our students questions that demand answers, and to awaken in them a passion for understanding. We believe that learning is an active phenomenon; the teaching-learning process should emphasize creating rather than having knowledge. Our philosophy is to teach for the development of professional competence, not mere technical competence. Professional competence assumes technical proficiency, but in addition implies the ability to evaluate the relevance of information and the ability to communicate effectively; professional competence implies an attitude conducive to good human relationships, patient satisfaction, and professional growth.

Outcomes

Graduates of the University of Mary Respiratory Therapy Program will:

• Comprehend, evaluate, and apply information relevant to the practice of respiratory therapy in all health care settings.
• Demonstrate proficiency in clinical assessment and treatment skills relevant to caring for patients with heart and lung disorders.
• Demonstrate personal behaviors and qualities consistent with the Benedictine values of kindness, respect for persons, service to others, and building community.
• Communicate effectively with patients, families, physicians, and other health care personnel in clarifying expectations and developing an overall plan of care.
• Continually seek out opportunities to learn more and improve effectiveness as a health care provider and as a citizen in the community.

Accreditation

The Respiratory Therapy Program is fully accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP: www.caahep.org) upon the recommendation of the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC: www.coarc.com).  The CAAHEP can be reached at: 1361 Park Street, Clearwater, FL 33756  (727) 210-2350   

Program Faculty

Elizabeth Hughes, M.Ed., R.R.T., AE-C.; Dr. Will Beachey, Ph.D., R.R.T.; Christine Sperle, B.S., R.R.T., AE-C

University Campus Advisor: Krystyna Gorzelska, Ph.D.

Click on the logo below to view the St. Alexius web-site.