Respiratory Therapy Career Through GI Bill Benefits

By allied health world contributing writer
Published: January 12th, 2010

Is the role of a respiratory therapist an important component to the health of military personnel? Only if you think that it’s important to breathe.

Respiratory therapists in the U.S. Armed Forces treat and evaluate officers who complain of breathing disorders. This includes cystic fibrosis, emphysema, and asthma. Under a doctor’s direction, respiratory therapists use a number of methods and equipment to make these problems more manageable for patients.

Respiratory Therapist Careers Through the VA GI Bill

Taking courses through respiratory therapy schools during your military service is a great idea. Why? Because it can save you a lot of money – in fact, the military will pay for all of your tuition costs and fees if you take classes toward a career that reflects your military specialty. What’s more, the military will still cover three-fourths of your fees if the career is not related to your specialty

. You may use the GI Bill either once your military service is complete, or once you have served for two years in the Armed Forces. You can use the GI Bill for as many as ten years once your service is complete. Up to 36 academic months will be covered.

It’s also a great idea to try to test out of certain respiratory therapy classes if you are able to do so. Enlisted military personnel can do this through a program called DANTES (Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support). Learn more about how DANTES works by going to http://www.military.com/timesaving-programs/defense-activity-for-non-traditional-education-support-dantes.