Dr. Bill Cornelius, director of the Respiratory Care program, holds the certificate Temple Colleg... Dr. Bill Cornelius, director of the Respiratory Care program, holds the certificate Temple College received for earning the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award. Also shown in the photo are (l-r) CoARC President Dr. Allen Gustin, Director of Clinical Education David Fry and Professor Pamela Riegel.The Temple College Respiratory Care program has received national recognition for the percentage of its students who pass an advanced credentialing exam.

The program received the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award for 2017, which is presented by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) and is based on three consecutive years of achieving a pass rate of 90 percent or better on the two-part Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) examination sequence, which includes both written questions and simulated patient scenarios.

From 2015-2017, Temple College students had an average pass rate of 92.1 percent on the RRT examinations, compared to a national average of 75.1 percent.

“This award is a great honor for the Respiratory Care program and Temple College,” said Dr. Shelley Pearson, associate vice president for health professions. “It reflects a commitment to preparing students for success at the highest level and the outstanding effort given by the program leadership, faculty, clinical affiliates and clinical instructors. We are fortunate to have such high quality and dedicated individuals as part of this program and congratulate them on this prestigious achievement.“

Only 112 of the 460 respiratory care programs in the country received the CoARC RRT award for 2017. Temple College was one of eight colleges in Texas that received it.

Award winners were recognized in July at the annual summer meeting of the American Association of Respiratory Care.

For more information on the Temple College Respiratory Care program, visit the program webpage or call 254-298-8697.