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Aligning Respiratory Care Education with Accreditation, Credentialing, and Workforce Expectations

Introduction

Respiratory care education relies on a blend of classroom learning and hands-on clinical training to prepare students to become competent registered respiratory therapists (RRTs). Respiratory therapy is a profession that is continually growing and the expectations that are placed on new graduates are higher than ever. As the healthcare system becomes complex, expanding, and patient needs are evolving, respiratory care education programs are under pressure to keep pace with these new changes and updates. Accreditation standards and credentialing requirements are formulated to support growth and to challenge programs to continually strengthen and improve the way they prepare students for clinical practice. The hypothesis of this research suggests that if accreditation standards and credentialing requirements continue to implement workforce needs, respiratory care programs will set a higher competency to achieve and incorporate foundational knowledge to allow graduates to succeed in the transition of their career as a respiratory therapist. Considering this idea, the thesis states that as accreditation standards and credentialing requirements evolve to meet workforce demands respiratory care education, patient care, and professionalism so that graduates are better prepared to transition successfully into their roles as respiratory therapists. However, meeting standards and expectations is not always simple. The problem statement highlights that respiratory care programs are expected to prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed to meet growing workforce demands, but many programs struggle to keep up with changing accreditation standards and credentialing expectations. As the role of respiratory therapist becomes more complex, gaps can develop in areas such as education, patient care, and professionalism. These gaps can make it harder for graduates to transition smoothly into clinical practice as evident by surveys conducted and articles by evidence-based research. Therefore, it is important to understand how updated accreditation and credentialing requirements influence program quality and help students develop the competencies needed for success in the profession.

American Association for Respiratory Care

The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC)is an organization of counselors, educators, and other professionals that advances the counseling profession by promoting best practices in assessment, research, and evaluation. is the leading national and international professional association for Respiratory Care (kacmarek, 2021). They work with RTs to encourage, promote, and facilitate RTs professional excellence. According to the Respiratory care education annual the American Association for Respiratory Care report, it emphasizes that programs are expected to meet certain outcomes measures like exam passing rate and employer satisfaction, and many programs face pressure to improve areas that are needed as expectations rise (Wissing & Sorenson, 2012). AARC states that it is a difference when it comes to education such as a baccalaureate degree program and an associate degree program ability to provide competencies. However, in the reality, associate degree is the new norm for preparing “expert consultants” to enter practice, but it is argued that a higher minimum entry level preparation is important and based on demands of the profession (Wissing & Sorenson, 2012). As the profession becomes complex and expanding, it becomes questionable if associate degrees are competence, does the associate degree help or hinder recruitment of the high achieving, professionally minded students that we hope to attract into the profession (Wissing & Sorenson, 2012). Meanwhile Baccalaureate degree programs have advantages including greater competitiveness for available entry-level positions, the ability to participate in a career advancement program, and the ability to promote advanced positions within an RT department (Gresham-Anderson, 2021). According to the AARC survey, managers preferred to hire graduates with a baccalaureate degree in respiratory therapy. It is indicated that baccalaureate-prepared graduates communicate effectively and work effectively as part of a health care team and provide evidence-based quality patient care department (Gresham-Anderson, 2021). Graduates who carry a baccalaureate degree provide value to the respiratory therapy department, teamwork, professional advancement, and effective skills (Gresham-Anderson, 2021). Profession is moving toward higher levels of competency because the role of respiratory care has expanded, requiring stronger clinical judgement and communication skills.

References

Kacmarek, R.M., Stroller, J.K., & Heuer, A.J (2021). Egan’s Fundamentals of Respiratory Care (12th ed.). Elsevier

Wissing, D., & Sorenson, H. (2012). Respiratory care education annual the American Association for Respiratory Care. aarc. https://www.aarc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/rcea12.pdf