Overview:
Respiratory Care is a relatively modern applied medical specialization. Significant advances in medicine over the past decades have highlighted the role of respiratory care professionals in respiratory tasks, including assessment and diagnosis as well as treatment and follow-up, under direct or indirect supervision by physicians.
The profession of respiratory care requires the practitioner to take a leading role in carrying out the required tasks, in order to provide better service to patients by examining and evaluating patients with respiratory diseases. This is carried out by performing specialized diagnostic examinations, which include pulmonary function testing, polysomnography, cardiopulmonary stress tests, blood gas tests, and other tests. Therefore, this program was established under the umbrella of the College of Applied Medical Sciences at the Department of Clinical Technology.
The Respiratory Care Program at Umm Al-Qura University is one of the first programs in Saudi Arabia for male and female students, especially in public universities.
The duration of study in this program is five academic years, including one preparatory year (medical stream), four years studying the program specialization, and one internship year. This is in order for the graduate to be at an appropriate level of competence, enabling them to practice this profession and to be classified by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties as a respiratory care specialist.