Students in the fast-track program will be learning in TRU Chappell Family Building for Nursing and Population Health. (Image Credit: TRU / Flickr)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

RESPIRATORY THERAPY

TRU to add 20 fast-track seats to respiratory therapy program with provincial funding

Oct 29, 2021 | 10:52 AM

KAMLOOPS — With a provincial funding boost, Thompson Rivers University will be adding 20 new fast-track seats to the school’s respiratory therapist diploma program.

B.C.’s Ministry of Health says in a release it has provided $320,000 to TRU to expand the diploma program. The university can now add 20 one-time seats for the diploma fast-track stream to June, 2023. Students began the program in September of 2021.

“We are committed to training, recruiting, and hiring a new generation of health-care professionals at all levels, including respiratory therapists, who are vital members of the health-care team,” states Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “This program is an excellent example of home-grown talent adding to our health-care system. On Respiratory Therapy Week, I would like to recognize respiratory therapists working with patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and I thank the students who embark on this career path.”

Additionally, the Ministry of Advanced Education will also be giving TRU one-time funding of $65,900 for training equipment for this program. This will include a new ventilator to support student learning.

Students with either a Bachelor of Science or Associate of Science degree can apply for the fast-track option, which can be completed in two years. Students are able to directly enter the second year of the diploma after successfully completing other requisite coursework.

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“The expansion of the respiratory therapy program will fulfil a high-demand need for trained professionals, who will learn in TRU’s new Chappell Family Building for Nursing and Population Health,” TRU president and vice-chancellor Brett Fairbairn states in the release, “The growth of this program will allow students to transform themselves and the health of the communities they will support in the future.”