OSHA's Respiratory Protection Program includes a Respiratory Protection course and accompanying resources for occupational health professionals who want to learn more about OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Standard and the role of the Respiratory Protection Program Administrator. You do NOT need to be an AAOHN member to participate in this free training or access the training resources. However, you will need to create an AAOHN Guest Account to access the course.
Each module is self-paced and you can do it anywhere, anytime. If you need to log out while using the course, you may login and resume the course to complete.
Access the Course
Are you a Program Administrator who is:
- Working in an organization required to follow OSHA’s respiratory protection standard?
- Responsible for leading your organization’s respiratory protection program?
Click on each title below for additional resources that pertain to the module's topic. The links below are not the online course modules. To access the modules, please go to the AAOHN Academy Online Education Center.
Overview of standard, general industry, state plans, overview of the 9 required respiratory protection required program elements; the written program, the role of the respiratory protection program administrator and team.
Additional Resources:
Defines respiratory hazards, work-related respiratory illnesses, hierarch of respiratory protection controls, respiratory protection (PPE) as last line of defense.
Additional Resources:
Definition of a respirator; respirator classes/types; disposable vs. reusable; filtering facepiece respirator; PAPRs; air supply respirators; SCBAs; N95 vs. Surgical Mask; respirator filtering ratings; respirator cartridges/canisters; NIOSH testing/approving respirators; how to identify a certified respirator, counterfeit respirators.
Additional Resources:
Overview of chemical, physical, biological, and radiation hazards, and recommended respiratory protection. Respirator use in IDLH conditions, types of respiratory hazards; hazard monitoring and assessment; Occupational Exposure Levels (OELs); manufacturer’s safety data sheets (SDS).
Additional Resources:
Respirator selection based on respiratory hazard (e.g., chemical, biological); IDLH conditions, assigned protection factor (APF); OSHA’s maximum use concentration (MUC); manufacturer’s Safety Data Sheet (SDS).
Additional Resources:
Respirator inspection; respirator maintenance and cleaning; use of Appendix B-2; respirator packaging, storage, expiration data; canister, cartridge and filter replacement; respirator repair and replacement; disposal of single use respirators; the manufacturer’s insert as a guide for use and maintenance.
Additional Resources:
An overview of employer requirements; use of Appendix C: Medical Evaluation Form; follow-up medical exam; medical re-evaluation; workers’ health considerations; medical evaluation clearance; medical evaluation frequency; medical re-evaluation.
Additional Resources:
Respirators requiring fit testing; use of Appendix A; respirator fit testing procedures; qualitative fit testing; quantitative fit testing; fit testing frequency; conditions for retesting.
Additional Resources:
An overview of OSHA training requirements; use of Appendix B-1; training frequency; respiratory hazards specific to the work setting/job tasks; respirator use; user seal check etc, conditions for retraining.
Additional Resources:
The written program requirements; how to use a team approach to writing the respiratory protection program. How to use the written program to develop an evaluation program, how to conduct an evaluation, and how to develop an evaluation checklist for the this process.
Additional Resources:
In the AAOHN Academy Online Education Center, the course runs approximately 4 to 5 hours and includes numerous online links to external respiratory protection program resources. It is self-paced and you can stop at any time and pick back up at a later date. You can also access the course resources at any time.
You will be awarded a certificate of completion upon completion of the training and the accompanying evaluation tool. Nurses will receive 5 CNEs upon completion.
Here are some instructions to access the course once a guest account has been created:
- Once a guest account has been created, ensure you are logged in to the AAOHN website (www.aaohn.org) with your guest credentials.
- Navigate to the Education tab along the top menu bar.
- Click the Online Education option that appears in the dropdown menu.
- Click the button to “Access the AAOHN Online Education Center.”
- On the homepage of the AAOHN Online Education Center, select Course Catalog.
- Via the Products menu on the left-hand side of the Course Catalog, select Respiratory Program.
- OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Program course will appear with a button labeled Launch.
- Click the Launch button to begin working on the course.
- The next time you log in to the AAOHN Online Education Center, the course and your progress will be saved in the My Courses section of your AAOHN Online Education Center homepage.
The development of OSHA’s Respiratory Protection Program Training was initially funded by NIOSH’s National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) and the expanded training program was funded by OSHA’s Susan Harwood Program under grant number SH-99024-SH0. This work was led by Lisa Pompeii, PhD, FAAOHN, and her team from Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Epidemiology & Population Health, with support from an advisory board of respiratory protection experts from academic, government and private organizations.