Effects of Differing Education Levels on Respiratory Therapy Hiring Decisions in Pennsylvania

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Effects of Differing Education Levels on Respiratory Therapy Effects of Differing Education Levels on Respiratory Therapy

Hiring Decisions in Pennsylvania Hiring Decisions in Pennsylvania

Ronald Curtis Aumiller

Walden University

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Walden University

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by

Ronald Curtis Aumiller

has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects,

and that any and all revisions required by

the review committee have been made.

Review Committee

Dr. Michael Knight, Committee Chairperson,

Public Policy and Administration Faculty

Dr. Kristin Dailey, Committee Member,

Public Policy and Administration Faculty

Dr. Steven Matarelli, University Reviewer,

Public Policy and Administration Faculty

Chief Academic Officer and Provost

Sue Subocz, Ph.D.

Walden University

2021

Abstract

Effects of Differing Education Levels on Respiratory Therapy

Hiring Decisions in Pennsylvania

Ronald Curtis Aumiller

MBA, University of St. Francis, 2009

MSHA, University of St. Francis, 2006

BS, University of St. Francis, 2002

AA, Harrisburg Area Community College, 1996

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Public Policy and Administration

Walden University

August 2021

Abstract

Many healthcare professions struggle with knowing what the entry-level educational

requirement should be for their profession. This study looked at the educational level of

hiring managers for respiratory therapy and whether that affected their decisions on

hiring associate or baccalaureate degree graduates in the state of Pennsylvania. The

quantitative internet-based questionnaire surveyed respiratory therapy hiring managers in

hospitals in Pennsylvania. The power theory, with the use of expert power, organizational

culture and change, and ethnographic principle, was used to examine how hiring

managers choose their employees. An invitation was sent to 70 respiratory hiring

managers in Pennsylvania to participate on the internet-based survey. The results showed

a statistically significant finding using a Chi-Square analysis that the hiring managers in

Pennsylvania prefer to hire associate degree graduates compared to baccalaureate degree

graduates [X

(2, N = 58) = 7.52, p = .023]. There were also statistically significant

findings using a Spearman’s correlation, that associate degree graduates and

baccalaureate degree graduates possess all 69 competencies as outlined by the AARC

2015 and Beyond initiative [r

(57) = 1, p = <.001]. The last piece of statistically

significant finding was that the Covid-19 pandemic did not change the minds of hiring

managers on the entry-level of the profession [X

(1, N = 58) = 7.66, p = .006]. The

implications for positive social change are that the current entry-level practice is meeting

the needs of employers in Pennsylvania and allows for less barriers to diverse individuals

that are seeking to gain a college education and a career in healthcare.

Effects of Differing Education Levels on Respiratory Therapy

Hiring Decisions in Pennsylvania

Ronald Curtis Aumiller

MBA, University of St. Francis, 2009

MSHA, University of St. Francis, 2006

BS, University of St. Francis, 2002

AA, Harrisburg Area Community College, 1996

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Public Policy and Administration

Walden University

August 2021

Dedication

This dissertation is dedicated to my loving family and friends who pushed me,

lifted me up, and drug me along during this process. Without their love and dedication, I

would not have been able to get through this process. I especially want to thank my

husband, Joseph Winterhalter II, for his encouragement and help along the way. My

dedication extends to my colleagues in the field of respiratory therapy. I have learned so

much from all of you over the years, and this research will hopefully help us all. Lastly, I

would like to give a special dedication to my committee chair, Dr. Michael Knight. His

strong encouragement, shoulder to lean on, and his enthusiasm is the only reason that I

was able to make it to the end. I will be forever grateful!

Acknowledgments

I am extremely grateful for the guidance and wisdom I received from my

committee chair, Dr. Michael Knight. His ability to help me through the rough times

when I was having a meltdown made this body of work possible. Additionally, I would

like to offer my gratitude to Dr. Steven Matarelli, University Research Reviewer, for his

painstaking reviews of my manuscript and pushing me to think in different ways and to

better myself as a scholar-practitioner. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the hiring

managers from Pennsylvania who took their time to complete my survey. They provided

insight and details needed to help us move our profession in the right direction.

 
i 
 
Table of Contents 
List of Tables .......................................................................................................................v 
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study ....................................................................................1 
Background ....................................................................................................................1 
Problem Statement .........................................................................................................4 
Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................................6 
Research Question and Hypotheses ...............................................................................7 
Theoretical Foundation ..................................................................................................8 
Nature of the Study ........................................................................................................9 
Definition of Terms......................................................................................................10 
Assumptions, Scope, and Delimitations ......................................................................11 
Limitations ...................................................................................................................11 
Significance of the Study .............................................................................................12 
Social Change Implication ...........................................................................................12 
Summary ......................................................................................................................13 
Chapter 2: Literature Review .............................................................................................14 
Introduction ..................................................................................................................14 
Literature Search Strategies .........................................................................................14 
Theoretical Foundation ................................................................................................15 
Research Review ..........................................................................................................16 
History of Respiratory Therapy Profession .................................................................17 
Advancing Educational Requirements .........................................................................19 

 
ii 
 
Entry into Practice in Healthcare .................................................................................26 
Respiratory Therapist Future Requirements ................................................................29 
Patient Outcomes .........................................................................................................31 
Academic Progression .................................................................................................32 
Isomorphism ................................................................................................................37 
Review of Methodology ..............................................................................................37 
Summary ......................................................................................................................38 
Transition and Connection to Chapter 3 ......................................................................39 
Chapter 3: Research Method ..............................................................................................40 
Introduction ..................................................................................................................40 
Research Design and Approach ...................................................................................41 
Methodology ................................................................................................................42 
Population ............................................................................................................. 42 
Recruitment and Participation............................................................................... 42 
Sampling Frame and Power Analysis. .................................................................. 43 
Instrumentation and Measures .....................................................................................43 
Informed Consent.........................................................................................................44 
Operationalization ........................................................................................................44 
Data Collection and Analysis.......................................................................................45 
Data Retrieval Processes ....................................................................................... 45 
External, Internal, and Statistical Validity ...................................................................46 
Ethical Procedures .......................................................................................................47 

 
iii 
 
Summary of Design .....................................................................................................48 
Chapter 4: Results ..............................................................................................................49 
Introduction ..................................................................................................................49 
Research Instrument.....................................................................................................49 
Unexpected Variants ....................................................................................................50 
Data Collection ............................................................................................................50 
Descriptive Statistics ....................................................................................................51 
Hypothesis Testing.......................................................................................................61 
Research Question 1 ............................................................................................. 61 
Summary ......................................................................................................................64 
Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations ............................................66 
Introduction ..................................................................................................................66 
Interpretation of Findings ............................................................................................66 
Limitations of the Study...............................................................................................70 
Recommendations for Action ......................................................................................70 
Recommendations for Further Study ...........................................................................71 
Implications for Positive Social Change ......................................................................71 
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................72 
References ..........................................................................................................................73 
Appendix A: Competencies on Which General Agreement was Reached by the 
Second Conference Attendees. ..............................................................................82 
Appendix B: 2015 Survey of Respiratory Therapy Department Directors ........................83 

Appendix C: AARC Permission Letter..............................................................................97

Appendix D: Questionnaire of Respiratory Hiring Managers ...........................................99

 
v 
 
List of Tables 
Table 1. Survey of Respiratory Therapy Hiring Managers Characteristics of Sample 
Population ................................................................................................................. 52 
Table 2. Written Responses from Survey. ........................................................................ 55 
Table 3. Frequencies and Chi-Square Results for Number of Open Positions and Covid-
19 Changing Managers Positions on Hiring ............................................................. 59 
Table 4. Frequencies and Chi-Square Results for Link Between Covid-19 Causing 
Temporary Hiring Practice Changes and Hiring Managers Changing Position on 
Associate Versus Baccalaureate Perception ............................................................. 60 
Table 5. Frequencies and Chi-Square Results for Having Enough Respiratory Therapists 
During Covid-19 and Managers Temporarily Changing Their Hiring Practices ..... 61 
Table 6. Frequencies and Chi-Square Results for Current Education Level of Hiring 
Managers and Their Educational Preferences When Hiring for Staff Positions ...... 64 
Table 7. Education Levels of Respiratory Hiring Managers When They Entered The Field 
Versus Their Current Education Level ..................................................................... 68 
 

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study

My study explored the issues around hiring practices of respiratory therapy

managers in relation to their education level versus the education level of the new

graduate. The profession of respiratory therapy does not currently have data to determine

if there are any advantages to having a higher degree or if employers are preferring the

higher degree for their new employees. Another issue outside the scope of my study is the

terminology of baccalaureate degree. As a respiratory therapist myself, I am aware that

the meaning behind the terminology in the profession is a Bachelor of Science in

respiratory therapy; however, by saying that a baccalaureate degree is required without

specification, it is unclear whether any baccalaureate degree would fulfill the

requirement.

The determination that a baccalaureate degree will result in the respiratory

therapist being viewed as a professional, be included in the Medicare law, and provide

better patient outcomes lacks research. This chapter introduces a background to my

research problem, purpose, research question and associated hypothesis. I also discuss the

overall methodology of my study, define important terms, research limitations, overall

study significance, and the impact on social change.

Background

Respiratory therapy is a relatively young healthcare profession. In the beginning,

the individuals were known as inhalation technicians or oxygen technicians, and it was

the start of individuals being charged with assisting physicians in the care of patients with

breathing problems The profession was officially established just over 60 years ago and

has continued to grow and evolve (Hess et al., 2016). In the early 1940s, most oxygen

technicians were trained on the job; however, some short training programs began to

appear in the late 1940s and 1950s (Kacmarek et al., 2009). In 1946, the Inhalational

Therapy Association was founded at the University of Chicago Hospital (Hess et al.,

2016). The introduction of this association brought along with it a need for direction of

the internal workings of the organization, an educational system, and a means for

awarding a credential. The organization began to hold lectures and workshops regarding

inhalation therapy, and the first sign of credentialing was the awarding of certificates to

individuals who attended 16 of the workshops.

In 1954 the membership had grown and covered 14 states. The organization once

again changed its name to the American Association of Inhalation Therapists (AAIT).

The AAIT was charged with not only being the national organization for inhalation

therapists, but to provide standards for formal education and a more formalized

credentialing system. In 1960, the credentialing portion was formalized into the

American Registry of Inhalation Therapists or the ARIT. The first credentialing

examination was taken by the candidates. The credentialing exam consisted of a written

exam and two oral exams. The standards of the exams were rigorous, for a reason, as the

inhalation therapist was responsible for a patient’s life.

As time has moved forward, the profession of respiratory therapy has grown and

expanded. The AAIT is now the American Association for Respiratory Care known as

the AARC and the ARIT is now the National Board for Respiratory Care known as the

NBRC (Hess et al., 2016). The task of setting educational standards for the profession is

now with the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). Prior to

2002, a respiratory therapist could be an on-the-job trainee with no formal education

(CoARC, n.d.). Many colleges that did offer formal education were only required to offer

a certificate of completion after 1 year of education. The educational requirement was

increased to a minimum associate degree in 2002, and the minimal educational level for

entry into the profession was increased from certified respiratory therapist (CRT) to

registered respiratory therapist (RRT) in 2010 (CoARC, n.d.).

Respiratory therapists are expected to be the experts when it comes to breathing.

Nothing can be more important yet so complicated. When a person cannot breathe for

themselves, they are placed on mechanical ventilators Kacmarek, 2013). The ventilators

of today can have multiple unique modes for ventilating a patient, and those modes

should be based upon the unique needs of each patient (Kacmarek, 2013). Every

respiratory therapist should be able to monitor and assess a patient that is on mechanical

ventilation and be consulted for changes to be made to improve that patient. Kacmarek

(2013) said, “not all programs provide education … to ensure competency. The time

available in the typical associate degree program is simply insufficient to ensure that all

graduates have obtained these competencies” (p. 1091). However, Kacmarek did not

support his statement with any data, nor did he define the competence level. Managing

mechanical ventilation is a key component to the CRT and RRT credential examination.

Simply passing a paper examination does not mean that a person is mechanically or

intuitively prepared for the dynamic situations of managing ventilators in a critical care

setting.

In the United States, as of December 31, 2020, there were 416 entry-level

respiratory therapist programs within the United States. Of these programs, 17% (n = 71)

offer a baccalaureate degree and 1% (n = 5) offer a master’s degree. The remaining 82%

(n = 345) of programs offer an associate degree (CoARC, 2021, p. 6.). Increasing the

entry-level degree requirements could have repercussions in many areas where these

advanced degree programs do not already exist. These impacts could be on patient care as

well as availability of education to at risk communities. It may be considered unrealistic

for employers to expect new graduates to possess all 69 competencies outlined by the

2015 and Beyond committee. There are also issues concerning the definition of

competence. New graduates that pass the credentialing exam are said to have minimal

competence as a respiratory therapist (CoARC, n.d.). Minimal competence and overall

competence may have different definitions to different individuals. My research focused

on the examination of what the employers are doing within their hiring practices and

allows information to be available so that a more informed decision can be made

regarding the advancement of entry-level education requirement for the profession.

Problem Statement

As the field of medicine advances, the education and training of healthcare

professionals to care for these patients must also advance. In 2003, the AARC issued a

white paper regarding the development of baccalaureate and graduate programs in

respiratory therapy (AARC, 2003). In 2007 as a follow up to this paper, the AARC

commissioned a taskforce to examine the future of the respiratory therapy profession,

what the future respiratory therapist might look like, and what skills would they need to

perform their jobs (Kacmarek et al., 2009). This task force was termed the 2015 and

Beyond Conferences (Hess et al., 2016.). The summary of these meetings by the task

force was that the respiratory therapist of the future would have a much more diverse role

in the care of patients with pulmonary disorders and that the skills necessary to perform

these roles could not be completed in an associate degree format due to the restrictions on

credits at those types of institutions. The recommendation was made in 2010 that the

profession should increase the entry-level education for respiratory therapists to a

baccalaureate degree by the year 2015 (Barnes, Kacmarek, Kageler et. al., 2011).

Respiratory therapy is not the only profession that is hoping to increase their

entry-level educational requirements. Nursing has been struggling with this situation for

many years starting with the diploma nursing versus the associate degree nurse (ADN)

versus baccalaureate degree nurse (BSN). Physician assistants (PA) are required to have a

master’s degree for entry into the profession, physical therapy and pharmacists are

moving towards clinical doctorate programs for entry into the profession (Frank et. al.,

2018). The concern is, after much debate, if there is added value or outcome to requiring

a more advanced degree for entry into a respiratory therapy career. Healthcare is a

competency based educational system. The degree advancement for healthcare

professions is advocating that since a baccalaureate degree takes 4 years to complete

there is more time to educate and competency individuals than in a 2-year associate

degree (Frank et. al., 2018). These reasons are why it is believed that the baccalaureate

should be the degree required for entry into the respiratory therapy profession (Frank et

al., 2018).

There are issues regarding the definition of competence, entry-level skills,

advanced level skills, and continuing education such as the clinical ladder system. There

was no data available to inform whether the advancement of degree for respiratory was

the best choice for the profession. There was also concern that increasing the educational

requirements could have an impact on educational access for at-risk populations such as

minorities and those individuals in lower socio-economic situations that may be unable to

afford education at a baccalaureate school.

Purpose of the Study

The primary purpose of my quantitative study was to explore the extent and

purpose to which hiring managers for respiratory therapists in Pennsylvania are looking

for baccalaureate degree or associate degree new graduates. This study was originally

slated to be conducted across the United States and the District of Columbia. The Covid-

19 pandemic made access to these hiring managers quite difficult, so the breadth of the

study was minimized to one state, Pennsylvania. It is the hope that this research can be

continued on a national basis once the pandemic has abated. I focused the study on

determining whether there was a difference between respiratory therapy applicant

education levels, respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels, and respiratory

therapy applicant hiring decisions. Many respiratory therapy departments work on the

principle of dividing the workload equitably so that all the tasks that are required to be

completed are distributed among the workforce for the shift (Chatburn et.al., 2011.). This

difference is significant if the belief of the baccalaureate respiratory therapist is to have

more time with patients to educate and care for the entire patient instead of just

performing a task.

With the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

(SARS-CoV-2) leading to the disease of coronavirus (Covid-19), the healthcare industry

was besieged by patients needing respiratory care. This care was being given by

respiratory therapists across the United States. Many hospitals were asking for more

respiratory therapists and requesting senior level respiratory students from local colleges

and universities to help with treating patients. Since there is no literature surrounding this

type of situation, my study also examined if Pennsylvania hiring manager attitudes

changed or if they were willing to adjust rules in times of emergency.

Research Question and Hypotheses

My quantitative study attempted to answer the research through analysis of the

associated hypotheses presented in null (0) and alternative (1) forms:

RQ1: Is there a difference between respiratory therapy applicant education levels,

respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels and respiratory therapy applicant

hiring decisions?

1: There is no significant difference between respiratory therapy applicant

education levels, respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels and

respiratory therapy applicant hiring decisions.

1: There is a significant difference between respiratory therapy applicant

education levels, respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels and

respiratory therapy applicant hiring decisions.

Theoretical Foundation

I used the power theory with the use of expert power as well as the theory of

organizational change and culture. The power theory with the use of expert power, as

discussed by French and Raven in 1959 (Raven, 1993), was applicable since the

individuals charged with the investigation for the 2015 and Beyond initiative were

baccalaureate individuals who are also viewed as experts in the field of respiratory

therapy. There appeared to be a power struggle within the profession that spilled over

into the research being conducted. Power is a “structural phenomenon, a consequence of

the division of labor and specialization” (Shafritz et al., 2014, p. 247). PAs and nurses do

many of the tasks that a respiratory therapist is trained to perform (Keene et al., 2015).

The hope is that the increase of entry-level education for the respiratory therapist will

bring legitimacy to the profession and allow for power to be balanced between

respiratory therapy and other professions in the game of healthcare. The second theory of

organizational culture and change are applicable within the profession of respiratory

therapy itself. Organizational culture and change were defined by the functional theorist

Schein (1988) as

A pattern of basic assumptions, invented, discovered, or developed by a given

group, as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal

integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore is

to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in

relation to those problems. (p. 7).

Hess et al., (2016) discusses that many years ago, the entry-level for the profession did

not require formal education. Individuals were trained on-the-job regarding giving

medication and running life support machines. In 2005, the entry-level for the profession

was increased so that an associate degree was required to be eligible to sit for

certification boards (CoARC, n.d.). This change was not seen as a threat to the profession

since it increased the availability of applicants to the educational arena of the profession.

There has been turmoil in the profession for over 30 years regarding which credential is

necessary to perform certain functions as a respiratory therapist, CRT, or the RRT

(CoARC, n.d.). This turmoil lends itself to this theoretical framework since the culture

“assumes that many organizational behaviors and decisions are not determined by

rational analysis” (Shafritz et al., 2014, p. 293).

Nature of the Study

In my study, I surveyed hiring managers of acute-care hospitals in the state of

Pennsylvania. I set a delimitation that the hospital had at least one adult intensive care

unit (ICU). The approach to my study focused on the hiring managers as a culture since

they all share remarkably similar situations and challenges. First, they are all respiratory

therapists. Second, they are all responsible for making hiring decisions regarding whom

is best qualified to meet the needs of the department within the hospital setting.

Examining cultures is best performed using an ethnographic concept method of research

(Creswell, 2013). Since cultures share many similarities, using observational studies as

well as descriptive studies techniques is in line with the similarity and contrast principles

found in thematic analysis.

Definition of Terms

Descriptive studies: Descriptive studies can follow an individual, a group of

individuals with similar issues, or a cross sectional review which looks at a specific point

in time with no follow-up (see Lane & Kohlenbert, 2010). Using a group of individuals

for a cross sectional review (Lane & Kohlenberg, 2010) can allow an extrapolation of

data to be used for the whole cohort. Small numbers within the cross-sectional review can

lead to doubt regarding bias or effect size being used during the extrapolation (Baur et al.,

2017).

Hiring manager: Hiring manager refers to those individuals that are the managers

within a respiratory therapist department in a hospital that are conducting interviews and

making recommendations to their administrators or human resources departments about

hiring individuals.

Observational studies: Observational studies are often used in healthcare research

(National Council for Osteopathic Research [NCOR], 2014). One type of observational

study that applied is the cohort study. Healthcare workers can be thought of as a

population and the individual professions, such as respiratory therapists or nurses, can be

thought of as cohorts of that population. These cohorts have something in common like

education or experiences. By getting a group of the cohort together for discussion

(Barnes, Gale, et al., 2010), a consensus of the group can be obtained when it comes to

various thoughts and wishes. Sometimes, the thoughts and wishes of the cohort do not

mean that change is accepted by the entire population (Smith, 2009). The unique aspect is

that many cohorts can share the same vision and wishes, but some cohorts have an easier

time getting the entire population to buy-in with these wishes (Macci Bires et al., 2012).

It is important to note that observational studies are only looking at a specific point in

time. Many times, there can be changes occurring and a reevaluation of the same process

could result in a different perspective at a different time.

Assumptions, Scope, and Delimitations

The scope of my study was to survey hiring managers in respiratory therapy

departments of acute-care hospitals in Pennsylvania regarding their hiring practices and

what was their actual need and desire for new graduates entering the field. I had set a

delimitation that the hospital had at least one adult ICU. There was the assumption that

hospitals with an adult ICU tend to have more positions and more turnover within their

department, so the need for therapists is higher in these institutions.

Another assumption in my study was that the individuals answered the questions

honestly. While the instructions emphasized the importance of answering questions

honestly, there is no way to measure if the answers provided were truthful. There was

also the assumption that the hiring manager did not have a bias based solely on the

education level of the hiring manager. It may be that some managers have a bias towards

individuals that are graduates from the same educational program from which the

manager may have graduated.

Limitations

A limitation to my study was that questions were developed for my study using

information from the 2015 and Beyond survey of department managers (see Kacmarek,

Barnes, et al., 2012; see Appendix A) with incorporation of information derived from the

foundations of my study including ethnographic concepts, theory of organizational

change and culture, and power and expert power theory. Another limitation of my study

was there could be bias in that I am a graduate of an associate degree respiratory therapist

program. I am also the program director of an associate degree respiratory therapist

program. I do hold advanced degrees in Business Administration and Healthcare

Administration as well as advanced credentials in the field of respiratory therapy.

Significance of the Study

The significance of my study was to show if associate degree education is

meeting the needs of the employers in respect to respiratory therapists. Increasing the

educational entry-level for the profession may be required to ensure that graduates have

the knowledge needed to perform the job adequately and safely upon entry into

employment. Since there is a lack of evidence to show the advantages of all respiratory

therapists having an advanced degree, this study was conducted to increase the

knowledge base to help individuals make decisions on the advancement of the profession.

Social Change Implication

The impact on social change was to examine if the current education level of

respiratory therapists is adequate or if it needs to increase. If the associate degree does not

prepare the individual for competence as a respiratory therapist, then the educational

level needs to be increased. This would impact the communities that have associate

degree respiratory therapist programs by impacting accessibility to professional education

by at risk populations.

Summary

The profession of respiratory therapy is looking to make a change in the entry-

level educational requirements to a baccalaureate degree. There is no research to

determine the positives or negatives to this degree movement. By surveying hiring

managers in the profession, some data was acquired to determine if the advancement of

the degree requirement will meet the needs of the profession.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Introduction

Presented within this chapter is a review of the current literature related to

baccalaureate programs in respiratory therapy, nursing, and other healthcare professions.

There is little literature regarding this issue in respiratory therapy while nursing has more

literature regarding this issue. Chapter 2 begins with an overview of the history of the

respiratory therapy profession, advancing educational requirements, entry into practice in

healthcare, respiratory therapist future requirements, patient outcomes, isomorphism, and

academic progression. The chapter concludes with a review of the methodology.

Literature Search Strategies

Various literature review strategies were used from August 2014 through July

2020. The published literature reviewed in this chapter primarily spans the past 5 years;

however, some older literature was included for history, foundation, and trending

purposes. Several online databases, such as EBSCO, OVID, and ProQuest, accessed from

University of St. Francis or Walden University, were searched for relevant literature on

degree creep, entry into practice, respiratory education, associate to baccalaureate

issues, academic momentum, history of first professional degree, time to degree, nursing

degree history, professional, professionalism, reprofessionalism, isomorphism, and

academic progression model. Occasionally, internet searches using Google Scholar were

used to locate related articles. In addition, the websites for the AARC and CoARC were

searched for current literature on respiratory degrees.

Theoretical Foundation

The literature review for my study revealed many of the theories that are the bases

for my study. The use of power theory with expert power, organizational culture and

change, and the use of ethnographic concepts. The power theory was developed by Raven

(1993) out of the theory of social power as potential influence. The theory is that

individuals and/or groups will try to influence others to operate in a manner that is

wished by the individuals or groups. Expert power is the assumption that individuals see

prominent people in their field and believe that these individuals must know what they

are talking about since they are prominent people. What is usually not considered is that

power theory and expert power can be positive or negative. While I have explained

positive power, the negative power is that the individuals may relate to the power being

put upon them and rebel against that power for various reasons (see Raven, 1993).

Organizational culture and change theory are based upon the work of Schein in

1988. Schein (1988) defined culture as “the property of a group” (p. 8). Schein postulated

that the concept of culture is easier to apply to groups and organization rather than to

entire societies. Schein’s belief was that it would be easier to reconstruct the history of an

organization or group rather than a society due to the homogeneity of the smaller groups.

The strength of a culture is a function of the stability of the group and can grow or wither

depending on the dynamics of the group culture.

The ethnographic concept is based upon the work of anthropologist Malinowski

(see Creswell, 2013) from the 1920s. While Malinowski is credited as the founder of this

concept, it has undergone much scrutiny and tweaks throughout the decades.

Ethnographic concept has its roots in qualitative research (see Creswell, 2013) but is

useful in my study as well as the literature review, to explain how like-minded cultures

think and process information. Respiratory therapists, nurses, pharmacists, and many

other healthcare professions are grounded in the patient care arena. This gives an overall

culture, while the individual profession is a subculture within the larger culture. Each

subculture is trying to survive within the culture and working out individual differences

within their own subculture. These thoughts of culture, ethnography, and power theory

help to lay the foundation for my research and literature review to see why individuals as

well as groups want to increase the entry-level into their respective professions.

Research Review

Currently, there were no studies found that show increasing the entry-level for

respiratory therapists is beneficial. Previous research by the 2015 and Beyond committee

postulated that there may be benefits. Research by other professions also does not

conclusively demonstrate benefits with a baccalaureate entry-level. Many studies on the

topic have been conducted in the nursing field, but different studies give mixed results on

improved outcomes. Nursing has concluded that baccalaureate degree nurses do provide

improved patient outcomes but does not require the BSN degree as the entry-level at this

time (Blegen, et al., 2013). The following review of literature provides a basis for the use

of the chosen theoretical framework as well as why my study will add to the body of

knowledge.

History of Respiratory Therapy Profession

The history of the respiratory therapy profession is not as extensive as many other

professions. Respiratory therapy is a relatively young profession when compared to the

nursing profession. A profession varies distinctly from an occupation usually by the

individual having some type of authority and autonomy over those they are serving

(Emener & Cottone, 1989). This autonomy gives certain rights and privileges that

societal groups would not otherwise grant to a simple occupation (Emener & Cottone,

1989).

The respiratory therapist educational journey has been a dynamic situation since

the inception of the profession. Therapists have gone from on-the-job trainees (OJT) to

certificate of completion to associate degree as the entry into the profession (Hess et al.,

2016). During this time, there have always been baccalaureate degree programs for

respiratory therapists, with most of these existing at academic medical centers (AARC

Steering Committee of the Coalition for Baccalaureate and Graduate Respiratory Therapy

Education, 2003). The AARC started addressing these concerns in 1995 by looking at the

other healthcare professions and how they were dealing with the issue of advancing

degrees and responsibilities (see AARC, 2003). Since healthcare is an interdisciplinary

teamwork approach, educational differences among the team can be important. Most

other professions have raised their entry-level to at least a baccalaureate degree, while

others such as physical therapists and pharmacists are moving toward a masters or

doctoral degree for entry into their profession (Keene et al., 2015). This can lead to the

perception that the associate degree respiratory therapist is not as well rounded or

knowledgeable as those with a higher degree. It is also worth noting that federal

government agencies, insurance providers, and military services (U.S. Public Health

Service, 2018), all use the baccalaureate degree as the determining factor when defining a

professional with the exception to this being the registered nurse since many are ADN

nurses (AARC 2003).

A 2010 study issued by the NBRC examined educational program types and their

effect on RRT candidate outcomes (Shaw & Traynor, 2010). Investigators examined the

outcomes of individuals in 2008 that attempted the CRT, Written Registered Respiratory

Therapist exam (WRRT), and the Clinical Simulation Exam (CSE) required to obtain the

RRT credential in contrast to their degree earned (associate versus baccalaureate).

Investigators then proceeded to examine those individuals who passed all three

examinations on their first attempt. The results show that there is a statistically

significant, but small improvement in the individual examination results based on the

level of education. The CRT outcomes examined 6,489 candidates with an r = 0.056 and

p = 1. The WRRT outcomes examined 5,927 candidates with an r = 0.033 and p = 1. The

CSE outcomes examined 5,463 candidates with an r = 0.045 and p = 1 (Shaw & Traynor,

2010). The final variable was passing all three examinations on the first attempt. This

outcome examined 2,813 candidates and showed no statistically significant difference

based upon educational level. The authors cautioned that effect size needs to be

considered in this study when looking at the independent events but summarize that there

is no difference attributed to education level when it comes to the overall achievement of

the RRT credential on first attempt (Shaw & Traynor, 2010).

Advancing Educational Requirements

The educational requirements for respiratory therapy have advanced since the

introduction of the profession. As with all other healthcare professions, the amount of

education required is in direct relation to the advancing knowledge and technology of the

field of medicine. A search of the internet revealed that there are many terms for this

advancement including academic momentum, degree creep, first professional degree, and

entry-level The requirements of the field must also be balanced with the education degree

beyond high school and what is perceived as the expected level of knowledge at a given

degree (Jankowski et al., 2013). The need for standardization of these core competencies

is addressed in the degree qualifications profile (DQP) enacted by the National Institute

for Learning Outcomes Assessment. The DQP laid the foundation for what students

should know at the level of degree they are seeking. This is independent of other

benchmark standards that are used such as employment rates and graduate testing scores

(Jankowski et al., 2013.)

The use of these general academic standards as well as standards that are imposed

by a profession led to many credits and work for students. This extra workload can lead

to students not completing their degree or key components not being covered thoroughly

in the curriculum, which can lead to lack of knowledge. Attewell et al. (2012) found that

if a student starts their academic career taking a normal credit load, they are more likely

to graduate and complete that program of study than those individuals who took a lighter

load in the beginning or delayed starting college by more than a year after high school.

The concern in this study is that the total number of credits for the degree were not a

variable. If an undergraduate degree is normally 120 credits that are completed in 4

academic years, that is 15 credits per semester. In some states, the number of credits for

an associate degree are more than 60 credits and can range in the 64-74 credit range

(HACC Respiratory Requirements, 2020).

In 2014, the Coalition for Baccalaureate and Graduate Respiratory Therapy

Education (CoBGRTE) recommended in their white paper on accreditation that the

educational requirements for a baccalaureate respiratory therapist program should consist

of 60 semester credits of general education work and 60 credits in respiratory therapy or

closely related field (i.e., research; CoBGRTE, 2014, p. 8). This is the first time that there

has been mention of the number of credits recommended for a baccalaureate degree in

respiratory therapy. Many individuals within the CoBGRTE debate stated that the

baccalaureate degree allows more teaching for respiratory therapy, however this cannot

be quantified. It is possible that the degree being offered is not in respiratory therapy but

in a related field, in which case the amount of respiratory therapy being taught is the

same in the baccalaureate and associate programs.

Advancing educational requirements has led to discussion on the possibility of a

decrease in the diversity of individuals graduating from respiratory therapy programs

(Kacmarek, Barnes et al., 2012). An AARC Human Resources Survey of 3,139

respiratory therapists showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the

diversity makeup of individuals graduating from an associate degree program versus a

baccalaureate program (Becker & Nguyen, 2014). It was noted that socioeconomic status

and not race are driving factors for completing a baccalaureate degree. Study results also

showed that more graduates from baccalaureate programs earned credentials through the

NBRC and had leadership and educator titles than their associate degree counterparts.

One item of note in this study was that there was no statistical difference in the wages of

respiratory therapists based on their educational degree earned at entry-level. A limitation

of Becker and Nguyen’s (2014) study was that the survey was sent to 112,700 respiratory

therapists in the United States at the time of the survey, with only 3,139 respondents. This

represents only 2.8% of the total population. There were greater response numbers from

individuals that identified as AARC members, educators, and hospital directors, so this

may have biased the results. The article does not specifically state how each survey was

disseminated to each participant (Becker & Nguyen, 2014).

While there is great debate in the respiratory profession about associate versus

baccalaureate, there is also discussion about graduate degrees. The current focus for

graduate education of respiratory therapists has been in the arena of education and

hospital administration. As the future respiratory therapist will be required to manage

patients and provide care in alternate settings such as subacute facilities and long-term

care facilities, it would stand to reason that the idea of respiratory therapy practitioners

(RTPs) would surface. These practitioners would have similar authority and privileges as

nurse practitioners or physician assistants (Douce et. al., 2014). This advanced level

could be either an entry-level or an advanced option for those seeking to work in

respiratory therapy. The profession loses individuals to doctor of nursing practice (DNP)

or PA schools as many therapists want to be more involved in the care of their patients

(Keene et al., 2015). At the time, this option of an RTP did not exist in the respiratory

world, but this option would allow these individuals to remain in the profession. This

does however bring up a debate within the field regarding raising the upper level without

raising the lower level from associate to baccalaureate degree.

Currently, the nursing profession has a variety of advanced practice degree track

programs. These nurses are commonly referred to as nurse practitioners or advance

practice nurses and can provide care like physicians including prescribing medications

and doing various procedures with greater degree of autonomy than non-advanced

practice RNs. Depending on the legislation within the state that the advanced practitioner

registered nurse (APRN) works, they may be required to work under the supervision and

license of a physician. The current educational requirement for the APRN is, at least, a

master of science in nursing (MSN). The American Association of Colleges of Nursing

recommended that the entry-level for an APRN be advanced to a DNP by 2015 (Martsolf

et al., 2015). The premise is to remove the MSN degree and have a BSN to DNP track for

advanced nursing practice. The main themes that were derived from the Martsolf et al.

(2015) research were perceived student demand, employer demand, and accreditation and

certification. Many schools were hesitant to fully commit to the BSN to DNP degree

track based upon one of these factors. While many schools could see that the DNP was

where the field was heading in the future, those schools prefer to follow the trend instead

of being the trend leader. As the debate between associate and baccalaureate degree entry

into the nursing profession continues, the MSN versus DNP multiple entries into the

APRN levels is just as complex. Some states are now requiring DNP’s while other states

still only require an MSN to be an APRN.

The American Nurses Association has been advocating for advancing the RN to

be a BSN entry-level since 1964 (Smith, 2009). The Institute of Medicine (2011) reported

on the future of nursing recommended that 80% of registered nurses should have a

baccalaureate degree before the year 2020. Spetz and Bates (2013) researched the return

on investment for the BSN versus the ADN or diploma nurse. Researchers found that a

study in 2002 showed a correlation between the duties of an ADN and a BSN with both

spending small amounts of time on complex or advanced skills. The researchers found a

split regarding if there are improved patient outcomes from ADN versus BSN, and the

authors chose to endorse the side of improved outcomes in their article. Now that

payment systems penalize hospitals for poor quality and rewards them for high quality,

the authors stated that there is a push on for employers to hire BSN nurses to improve

quality and outcomes. This does not mean that all employers pay more for the BSN than

the ADN, but that there is a notice of the increased value of the degree. The authors

stated that while there was a slightly higher starting wage for the BSN over the ADN, the

amount was not statistically significant (Spetz & Betz, 2013).

Research by Aikens et al., (2011) also identified that increased levels of education

such as the BSN showed improved outcomes in all hospitals regardless of work

environment. The amount of improvement was dependent upon the nurse-to-patient ratio,

the nurse work environment, and the nurse’s level of education. While the study showed

improvement, there were aspects that were dropped from the study due to insignificance.

“Interactions between nurse staffing and nurse education and between the nurse work

environment and nurse education were tested and found, at least in some models, to be

insignificant, and as such were dropped from the model” (Aikens et al., 2011, p. S12).

Studies such as this should also be conducted on respiratory therapists to determine if

increased education levels can affect patient outcomes.

The profession of dietetics has been stagnant in their educational degree

requirements since 1927, which requires a baccalaureate degree to be a registered

dietician (RD; Kicklighter et al., 2013). In 2013, the profession had an organizational

meeting like the AARC 2015 and Beyond that occurred in respiratory therapy. During

this meeting recommendations were made to advance the RD to a graduate degree

requirement as entry-level for practice and to add the designation of nutrition to their

credential. This means that a person could be an RD or an RDN and that the choice of the

acronym was solely up to the individual (Kicklighter et.al., 2013). There has been no

further movement on advancing the degree requirement for entry-level.

One aspect that the PA profession has explored is the input from physicians

regarding the advancement of degrees in a healthcare profession. This input appears to be

missing from the literature in many other professions that are considering advancing their

entry-level degree. Since many healthcare professions work closely with physicians,

input from the American Medical Association could be helpful to those other professions.

Physicians were surveyed regarding the possible advancement for master’s level PA

programs to require a Doctorate Physician Assistant (DPA) as the entry-level for the

profession (Muma et al., 2011) A few arguments being postulated by the PA profession

include better patient care, better prepared, and increasing complexities of healthcare

(Muma et al., 2011). The internal struggle of the PA profession is split on the

advancement of the degree for entry-level. By surveying actual physician input, another

significant player in the healthcare area can be heard regarding their thoughts of the

educational requirements of the individuals that are caring for the patient. Significantly it

appeared that many of the physicians had not really considered the potential impacts of a

DPA. Of the physicians surveyed, 56.2% felt that the master’s degree was enough for

entry-level of the PA, but it is unclear if the physicians considered the movement to a

DPA since there could be the perception of the DPAs moving into the physician’s

occupational territory as the DPA would be calling themselves doctors. This can be

confusing to the public since they equate the word doctor to mean medical doctor.

Respiratory therapy could take a lesson from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and

Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). This organization had a meeting like the 2015 and Beyond

initiative that occurred in respiratory therapy. In 2005, the SNMMI proposed that a

baccalaureate degree be required of all Nuclear Medicine Technologists by 2015 (Macci

Bires et al., 2012). An advantage to this proposal is that the profession worked to

determined what the core curriculum should look like for a baccalaureate program, then

recruited schools that were interested in advancing from a certificate or associate to a

baccalaureate degree (Macci Bires et al., 2012). These educators, along with the SNMMI

developed a baccalaureate resource manual to assist other programs that wanted to

advance their degree designation on the necessary requirements and core curriculum.

This manual also included a gap analysis section so that programs could begin to examine

and identify gaps within their own curriculums and resources to fill in those gaps (Macci

Bires et al., 2013).

Entry into Practice in Healthcare

Respiratory therapy is not the only healthcare profession that has been struggling

with advancing entry-level degree requirements. The nursing profession has been

working on this issue since 1965 when the American Nurses Association studied the

increased complexities of healthcare and determined in a position paper that the entry-

level for a registered nurse should be a baccalaureate degree (Smith, 2009). This position

paper has been challenged and overturned in many states since it was introduced. One of

the main challenges to the position paper at the time was the lack of empirical data to

show that baccalaureate degree nurses provided better patient outcomes than other

education levels of nursing. The premise behind the position paper was that nurses were

the least educated of the major healthcare professionals and that diploma and associate

degree nurses were rarely seated at the policy making tables because they were not

viewed as professionals due to their lack of formal education (Smith, 2009).

In 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) issued a report on the Future of Nursing

that highlighted the need for nurses to have better training in care management and

coordination as well as patient education and public health training which requires

advanced education (Institute of Medicine, 2011). The report section for transforming

education indicated that there was an “underrepresentation of racial and ethnic groups

and men in the nursing workforce” (Institute of Medicine, 2011. p. 163). The

recommendation was that more of these groups be represented in nursing schools.

Another recommendation was to have academic progression that would flow naturally

and allow nurses to enter the workforce as baccalaureate degree nurses or that associate

degree nurses be able to progress to baccalaureate degree earlier in their careers (Institute

of Medicine, 2011).

Many individuals in the healthcare arena discuss shortages that do exist, or could

exist, if the entry-level degree for a profession is increased. (Barter et al., 2001) This

thought alone should not deter a profession from advancing. Teachers are a perfect

example. There are teaching shortages across the United States, but the baccalaureate

degree is, and will remain, the minimum degree required for teaching. In fact, many

places not only require the degree, but also require a year of credentialing for teachers

(Barter et al., 2001, p. 3). Many healthcare programs in community colleges have an

open-door admission policy which means that anyone who applies for admission to the

college is automatically admitted to the college (HACC, 2021). This leads to individuals

with high academic achievement and those individuals with low academic achievement

entering healthcare programs. This can set a student up for failure when they cannot

handle the rigors of a healthcare program and leads to high attrition rates.

In 2011, the 2015 and Beyond conference conducted a survey of all respiratory

therapist educational programs in the United States (Barnes, Kacmarek, Durbin, 2011).

This survey was to help determine the level at which the competencies that were

established by the second conference could be or were being taught at the baccalaureate

and associate degree levels (Barnes, Kacmarek, Durbin, 2011). The researchers surveyed

435 respiratory program directors in 411 schools and 348 directors (80%) provided valid

responses. The AARC president sent an invitation via email to the program directors, and

CoARC provided the email addresses to the researchers. The survey was Internet-based

and self-administered. The Barnes, Kacmarek, and Durbin (2011) survey showed that

baccalaureate programs were teaching the competencies necessary as presented by the

second conference at a larger percentage than the associate degree programs that were

surveyed. A limitation of the Barnes, Kacmarek, and Durbin (2011) study was that the

authors proposed that six of the eight major competency areas were being taught more in

the baccalaureate program than the associate program, but there was no aggregate data of

these major competencies, only the sub-content areas within the competency. A

generalization of the statistically significant increase in the main categories was not

mentioned. Another limitation stated by Barnes, Kacmarek, and Durbin (2011) was that

some competencies were not selected by program directors as being taught within a

specific program. The authors did not include an answering option of “not currently

taught in this program” (p. 1915) which may have given a better understanding of why

certain competencies were not addressed by the individuals responding to the survey.

The third conference for the 2015 and Beyond conference focused on

transitioning the workforce and respiratory therapist programs to meet the

recommendations of the sixty-nine competencies recommended by the previous

conferences (Barnes, Kacmarek, Kagler, et al., 2011). The recommendations were not all

adopted, with three being not approved, and education being the largest dissent with 63%

in favor and 38% against recommending a baccalaureate degree as the entry-level for

respiratory therapy (Barnes, Kacmarek, Kagler, et.al, 2011). The authors state some of

the opposing views to the educational advancement, however the main crux of the

arguments surrounded the question of respiratory therapy as a workforce career, or a

professional career as discussed in Emener and Cattone (1989). Another discussion from

the opposition revolved around entry-level versus a seasoned respiratory therapist

(Barnes, Kacmarek, Kagler, et.al, 2011). The use of the advanced credentials offered by

the NBRC, Registered Pulmonary Function Technologist, Neonatal/Pediatric Specialist,

Adult Critical Care Specialist, and Sleep Disorder Specialist would lend to therapists

needing additional education, regardless of entry-level degree, and would meet the

competencies stated in the previous conference due to the competency-based education

model taught in respiratory therapy schools (Barnes, Kacmarek, Kagler, et.al, 2011).

Respiratory Therapist Future Requirements

In 2007 the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) convened a task

force to look at the growing roles and responsibilities for respiratory therapists in the

future (Kacmarek, Durbin et al., 2009). This task force was known as the 2015 and

Beyond initiative. The first meeting was to determine what the future would look like in

healthcare and what would drive the changes in healthcare during that period. There are

five drivers of change in healthcare that will have an impact on the American healthcare

system. These drivers are cost of care, demographics, shift in the disease burden,

technology, and consumers of healthcare (Kacmarek, Durbin et al., 2009). Cost of care in

the United States in 2018 counted for more than 17.7% of the Gross Domestic Product

with an estimated annual expenditure of over $3.6 trillion dollars; the most expensive in

the world (CMS, 2019). The demographics of the United States showed an aging

population which puts more clinical and financial stress on the healthcare system. The

shift in disease burden will go from acute disorders to chronic disease and disability.

The United States population currently lives 35 years longer than it did in the year

1900 (CMS, 2019). Technology has made its way into healthcare. The use of

telemedicine and telecare will be utilized more frequently. The healthcare consumer will

be looking at quality, convenience, price, and a host of other qualities that will shape their

decision to purchase healthcare from various competing providers (CMS, 2019). The

Kacmarek, Durbin et al (2009) study stated that for respiratory therapists to help meet

these drivers, a higher level of education was required than the current associate degree

level.

The second AARC conference of the 2015 and Beyond task force was titled

“Educating the Future Respiratory Therapist Workforce: Identifying the Options”

(Barnes et al., 2010, p.1), and focused on the perceived competencies that a graduate

respiratory therapist and the respiratory therapist workforce will need to possess in the

future to meet the changing healthcare climate and scope of practice defined during the

first meeting of the task force. The agreed upon verbiage for a respiratory therapist

workforce was any respiratory practitioner regardless of amount of experience or

credentials. It was determined an 80% or higher agreement level was to be used as the

threshold for determining consensus on the competencies. Appendix A displays the major

categories for the competencies that were approved as required for the respiratory

therapist by the committee (Barnes et al., 2010).

As medical knowledge advances, healthcare programs and graduates will need to

keep up with these advances by increasing the amount of competency-based education.

While the Barnes et al. (2010) study showed the 69 competencies for respiratory

therapists, these competencies are primarily hospital-based. As the profession continues

to move into other areas such as homecare, subacute care, disease management, etc., the

focus of education may need to change (Stoller et al., 2006). Nursing faces the same

challenges when it comes to their educational requirements. As nursing moves to more

emphasis on health education and prevention, payment reforms, and chronic care, the

emphasis for most nursing academic programs will have to move away from acute care-

based curriculums (Buerhaus et al., 2014). Educators must balance the needs between

meeting the demands of the current job market and the ability of the graduates to pass

standardized testing to be able to practice within their state. Many of these exams are

years behind the current practice.

The RRT examination is an example. The content for the examination is updated

every five years to be more in line with current practice. The most recent update

happened on January 14, 2020 (National Board for Respiratory Care, 2019).This

examination was fashioned after a survey conducted by the NBRC in 2017. This means

that a student who takes the examination in 2024, prior to the next update, will be tested

on information that is at least seven years old (National Board for Respiratory Care,

2019).

Patient Outcomes

The link between higher levels of education and successful patient outcomes is

elusive. Respiratory therapy has virtually no data to support this, and nursing has

conflicting equivocal data to support this premise. There is a push to increase the number

of RNs with a baccalaureate degree to 80% by 2020 (Blegen et al., 2013). Blegen et al.

(2013) concluded that beneficial patient outcomes can be determined by more than

mortality rates. The author’s findings indicated that the education level of the nurse had a

greater impact on patient outcomes even though the patients had less time with an RN

compared to other outcome studies performed.

Academic Progression

Nursing has tried the approach of requiring advanced levels of education for many

years. North Dakota was the first state to require that associate degree nurses must attain

a BSN degree within ten years of becoming a registered nurse (Lane & Kohlenberg,

2010). In 2003, New York proposed a plan for continuing education for associate degree

nurses, and New Jersey proposed a plan for mandated BSN’s. (Lane & Kohlenberg,

2010) North Dakota overturned their decision in 2003 and legislation in New York and

New Jersey did not pass. The argument of professionalism exists in the nursing

profession as well. Nursing currently does not meet this definition due to associate degree

education and multiple points of entry into the profession (Lane & Kohlenberg, 2010., p.

221). While these states failed, the premise behind their attempts was sound according to

the authors. In December 2017, the state of New York was the first state to pass the BSN-

in-10 law which requires new licensed registered nursing graduates to have their BSN

degree within 10 years to keep their nursing license (Zittel, 2018).

The idea of requiring a BSN degree within 10 years of attaining the RN shows

that the contributions of associate degree nurses are not being discounted but that a path

to improved outcomes are the basis for increased education (Zittel, 2018). The discussion

of the BSN-in-10 initiative is still being discussed in legislative circles outside of New

York (Specht, 2015). There are those who believe that legislative interference is not

necessary as RNs are returning to school on their own. Specht (2015) stated that 60% of

all new RNs are from ADN programs and that 5.8% of those continue through the

master’s level. The authors do not discuss the percentage of ADNs that are continuing to

the BSN level and leads the reader to believe that this 5.8% is not enough to meet the

Institute of Medicine 2020 goal. That goal is to increase the BSN population of nurses by

2020 and does not address the MSN situation.

While the movement to continue education after attaining entry-level continues,

there are factors that can affect the attainment of that additional education. Munkvold et

al. (2012) looked at some of these factors in nursing education in Oregon. A consortium

was formed between the community colleges and the Oregon Health & Sciences

University to allow graduates from the applied associate of science (AAS) nursing degree

to enroll in the BSN completion program. Munkvold et al. (2012) says “the factors stated

by students for not advancing their education after completion of the AAS included

financial concerns, and conflicts with time regarding energy required for work and

energy required for family” (p. 233). Another factor that is sometimes not accounted for

in studies is the age of the graduate. Many community college graduates are not

traditional students fresh from high school. A factor in the Munkvold et al. (2012) study

that limited those going for their BSN were respondents between 49-58 years of age.

Many of these students already hold a baccalaureate degree in something other than

nursing. By already having a baccalaureate degree, these nursing students do not want to

repeat many courses that will only lead to a lateral degree to the one they already hold

(Munkvold et al., 2012).

Brown-Benedict (2008) identified that some of the problems with doctoral

degrees in nursing were related to the traditional pathways that many universities follow.

Many ADN and diploma nursing programs did not emphasize research as traditional PhD

programs require. This led to many nurses not pursing advanced degrees as they would

basically have to start over again. By instituting the MSN and DNP as professional

practice degrees, it gave the opportunity for nurses to advance their education and help

present themselves as professional practitioners in the arena of healthcare (Brown-

Benedict, 2008). This situation needs to be included in any thoughts of other professions

that are considering advanced practice degrees and want them considered the same as

other master’s and doctoral degrees.

A study by Baur et al., (2017) identified themes from RNs regarding their

hesitation to completing a BSN. These included fear of failure, influence of others, family

stressors or obligations, and not knowing what they do not know. This study was

extremely limited in that there were only eight participants in a small hospital (Bauer et

al., 2017). The overarching belief is that these types of stressors can be applied to anyone

that is thinking of advancing their degree beyond their entry-level education. The IOM is

recommending that 80% of all nurses have a BSN by the year 2020 (Institute of

Medicine, 2011). Many healthcare organizations are looking at this benchmark and trying

to find ways to meet this goal.

Some models for academic progression in nursing were identified by Pittman et

al. (2014). Items identified include having universities that are recruiting associate degree

nurses to use criteria other than grade point averages in their admission criteria. Using

nursing work experience should carry some weight in the admission decision. Dual and

automatic enrollment for students who are currently in an associate program into a BSN

program was important to students. Since the students were already enrolled in the BSN

program, it was perceived that they were already part way to completing the BSN degree,

so they were likely to continue even if they were practicing (Pittman et al., 2014). The

use of blended and online courses helps to ensure that students have access to the

program regardless of their physical location and having some of the same instructors in

the ADN and the BSN program helped ensure efficient use of educational resources as

well as some familiarity and continuity for the students that are dual enrolled (Pittman et

al., 2014). Many of these same types of issues can be examined for other professions

including respiratory therapy to encourage students to advance their educational degree.

Nelson (2002) pointed out that utilization of resources has historically been

directed toward the ADN and diploma levels of education. The author believed that the

best way to move forward from the constant debate and fighting about the entry-level for

nursing was to develop true articulation programs in which the nursing education begins

in the community college. A direct transfer of liberal arts, science, and lower-level

nursing courses would then be transferred directly to the baccalaureate program and the

student would graduate with entry-level from the baccalaureate program. This type of

unconventional thinking should be considered with the goal to move the education level

to the BSN as entry-level (Nelson, 2002).

Another profession that has seen a movement into the advanced degree is social

work. Anastas and Videka (2012) discussed the move of the field into the practice

doctorate arena like the DNP nursing profession. The problem observed by Anastas and

Videka (2012) was that there was no clear delineation as to the purpose of the Doctorate

in Social Work (DSW) degree. Some individuals saw this degree as a clinical doctorate

that should allow the graduate to perform as an advanced social worker. One problem

encountered was that some of these individuals never had a practice license at the lower

educational levels of social work, so it was perceived that they were not prepared for the

rigors of practice (Anastas & Videka, 2012). Other individuals saw the DSW as a way for

research and policy to be the focus and these individuals would be prepared to meet the

rigors of those areas in social work.

The last portion was to advance their knowledge and ability to become academic

leaders in a field where they may have never practiced or seen a patient. Many of the

students in these DSW programs felt that no matter what their motivation was, that the

expectation was not being met (Anastas & Videka, 2012). As professions look at

advancing their educational requirements, the profession should have a basis of what the

degree will be able to grant as far as expectations. If there are multiple expectations,

educational programs need to advertise the focus of their degree so that individuals can

make an informed decision when it comes to choosing an entry-level education.

Isomorphism

Healthcare is competitive. Not only does the institution need to attract patients

and doctors, but they also need to attract employees. The concept of isomorphism is that

two groups are similar (Chen & Taylor, 2016). As applied to individuals, we tend to favor

those that are like us in many ways. When it comes to institutions there can be coercive

isomorphism or mimetic isomorphism (Chen & Taylor, 2016). Chen and Taylor (2016)

discuss that coercive isomorphism in healthcare involves pressure from internal or

external constituents. This type of pressure can be from a regulatory agency setting new

standards or a board of directors that has some type of agenda. Chen and Taylor (2016)

also discuss that mimetic isomorphism in healthcare occurs when an institution of similar

size is doing something that is profitable and productive. Other organizations then try to

copy that strategy in hopes of being able to reproduce the results within their own

organization. This can be extrapolated to the hiring managers copying from each other

within a specific region in hopes of attracting the best candidates for open positions.

Review of Methodology

A review of the current literature on respiratory therapy degrees, advancing

educational entry-level requirements, hiring manager practices, and benefits of advancing

entry-level degrees in healthcare revealed that the studies conducted were mostly toward

educators and focused on the advantages of a baccalaureate degree as entry-level for

respiratory therapists. There appears to be a void when it comes to current hiring

practices and job performance duties of the associate versus the baccalaureate respiratory

therapist.

The review of research on educational entry-level requirements and the benefits

of advancing entry-level degrees in other healthcare professions was inconclusive. While

the research regarding RN’s increased value with increased educational requirements

states there is a direct correlation, the data is inconsistent. This may be from a lack of

universal determination of what factors should be used to determine increased value.

Summary

The arguments for advancing the educational requirements for entry-level into a

profession are as numerous and varied as are the arguments against advancing the

requirements. Respiratory therapy is looking to increase the entry-level to a baccalaureate

degree, but data regarding the positive and negative effects of this move is lacking.

Nursing and respiratory therapy are the two bedside, therapeutic care, 24/7

occupations and yet nursing continues to provide both diploma, associate, and bachelor’s

degrees as entry-level education. There are studies for nursing that show better patient

outcomes yet there are studies that show no difference in outcomes. The lack of definitive

data is disturbing since the nursing profession recommended the baccalaureate degree as

the entry-level over 50 years ago and it still has not happened. The determination of what

is considered definitive proof of improved outcomes is also lacking. With so many people

that have a stake in the outcomes (nurses, physicians, hospital administrators, etc.), it is

no wonder that a decision cannot be reached.

The respiratory therapist profession should be clear as to their reasons for

advancing entry-level is required. Being considered a professional cannot be the only

requirement to advance the degree since the definition of professional can be extrapolated

to meet the current educational requirements of the field. If the 69 competencies are a

factor, then there should be research to determine if the baccalaureate degree graduates

are meeting all 69 of these competencies compared to the associate degree graduates.

These competencies being taught in school and the competencies being articulated into

actual hands-on practice as a graduate is information that has not previously been

obtained.

Transition and Connection to Chapter 3

This chapter addressed the various healthcare fields that have sought to increase

their entry-level into their respective professions. Some fields such as physical therapy

and pharmacy have progressed to the point of Doctoral Degree for entry, while others

like nursing and respiratory therapy are still debating. Chapter Three will discuss the

methods that were utilized in this quantitative study in its attempt to assess the

relationships in respiratory therapy between the 69 competencies determined by the 2015

and Beyond committee and what hiring managers are looking for in graduates. Data

collection methods, sample size, survey creation, research question, and the associated

hypothesis are discussed in Chapter Three.

Chapter 3: Research Method

Introduction

Chapter 3 contains the information on the background, study design, instrument

selection, purpose, participants, data collection, and statistical analysis for my study. The

goal of my quantitative study was to determine whether there a difference between

respiratory therapy applicant education levels, respiratory therapy hiring manager

education levels, and respiratory therapy applicant hiring decisions in Pennsylvania.

There has been a push by many healthcare professions to advance the entry-level

requirements for new graduates to enter the workforce (see Jankowski et. al., 2013).

There is no substantial evidence in many of these professions to show one way or the

other if advancing the degree has benefit. As a profession, respiratory therapy has no data

to show benefit or lack thereof. I strived to identify areas that can add to the body of

knowledge regarding benefits or no benefits to advancing respiratory to a baccalaureate

entry-level degree when it comes to hiring practices within the profession. Due to the

Covid-19 pandemic limiting the access to a nation-wide study, the scope of this study

was limited to the state of Pennsylvania.

The beginning of this chapter focuses on the research design and justification for

choosing this design. The next section, setting and sample, describes the population from

which data was obtained including the proposed sampling methods, sample size, and

eligibility criteria for participants. The third section describes the formation of the

instrument and how I used the instrument with the participants. The next section looks at

the type of data collection methods used and ways this data was analyzed. The final

section discusses measures taken to help protect the study participants’ rights.

Research Design and Approach

My quantitative study attempted to answer the research through analysis of the

associated hypotheses presented in null (0) and alternative (1) forms:

RQ1: Is there a difference between respiratory therapy applicant education levels,

respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels and respiratory therapy applicant

hiring decisions in Pennsylvania?

1: There is no significant difference between respiratory therapy applicant

education levels, respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels and

respiratory therapy applicant hiring decisions in Pennsylvania.

1: There is a significant difference between respiratory therapy applicant

education levels, respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels and

respiratory therapy applicant hiring decisions in Pennsylvania.

I used an ethnographic concept. The ethnographic concept is that hiring managers

for respiratory therapy can be viewed as a culture. These managers are all respiratory

therapists and face many of the same challenges when it comes to managing and hiring

respiratory therapists. The ethnographic approach looks at the similarities as well as

differences within this specialized culture (Creswell, 2013). This is in line with the

similarity and contrast principles found in thematic analysis and isomorphism.

My study began by telephoning hiring managers within the state of Pennsylvania

to introduce myself, explain who I was, and to obtain the manager’s email address so that

I could distribute the questionnaire. The questionnaire was then emailed to 70 hiring

managers in Pennsylvania. The focus of the questionnaire was the hiring practices of new

graduate respiratory therapists with the goal of obtaining information about the hiring

managers’ education level as well as how much the 69 competencies played into the

hiring of graduates versus the completion of tasks. These managers were from hospitals

that geographically cover the state of Pennsylvania to obtain a diverse sample. My

questionnaire used Dillman’s principles for constructing web surveys (see Gunn, 2002).

Methodology

Population

Respiratory therapy hiring managers within acute-care hospitals in Pennsylvania

were surveyed. The hospital had to have at least one adult ICU. I had chosen this criterion

since having an adult ICU may mean the hospital has more staff and therefore may have a

higher need for the competencies listed. These hospitals may also have higher turnover

rates which could mean those managers are hiring more graduates. What I did not

anticipate was that children’s hospitals would meet this same criterion and should be

included within future surveys.

Recruitment and Participation

Hiring managers in Pennsylvania were chosen from the American Hospital

Database (n.d.) and were contacted by me via phone to request their email address so that

the survey could be distributed. The email included a link to the study which was hosted

on Survey Monkey. The demographics collected on the participants included their

position in the department, number of licensed beds at the institution, educational degree

when they entered the field, their current educational degree, and the location type the

institution serves. In the invitation, participants were provided with the informed consent

paperwork for participating in the survey.

Sampling Frame and Power Analysis.

My study used a sample size of 70 hospitals in Pennsylvania based upon the total

population of 127, with a 10% margin of error, 95% confidence level, and a 50%

response distribution (see Sample Size Calculator by Raosoft Website, 2004). This

generated a recommended sample size of 55. I received 58 responses to the 70 surveys

emailed. This gave me an 88% response rate. I believe the response rate was higher since

I individually spoke to the managers on the phone, explained why I was doing the survey,

and requested their email address directly. This personal outreach allowed for such a high

response rate.

Instrumentation and Measures

An instrument that was previously used (see Appendix B) by the AARC was the

groundwork basis for the quantitative instrument used in my study. The survey consisted

of 20 questions, some of which were multiple-choice answers with explanation

availability, a few fill-in- the-blank answers for demographics, and the use of a 5-point

Likert scale for most of the survey. The use of the Likert scale allowed the respondent to

indicate their feelings regarding new respiratory graduates possessing the 69

competencies, how various educational graduates perform in orientation, and the skill

levels of associate versus baccalaureate degree graduates. Due to the recent pandemic of

the COVID-19 virus, I was able to ask some questions about changes in hiring practices

due to the pandemic. The Likert scale consisted of choosing from Strongly Agree, Agree,

Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree, or Not Applicable.

Informed Consent

All hiring managers were contacted by myself via telephone. I explained the

research I was conducting and requested their email address so that I could send them an

email with the link for the survey. The email stated that no identifiable information is

being requested in this survey and all data will be reported as aggregate. Once the

manager clicked on the survey link, the informed consent letter appeared. This letter

assured the manager that their participation was voluntary, that they were under no

obligation to participate, and they may leave the survey at any time. The managers were

also informed that by selecting Next Page to enter the survey, they were giving their

consent to participate in the survey. The participants were notified that I would be

emailing a copy of my final report to each of them for their records.

Operationalization

The independent variable of level of education of the new graduate was defined

by an individual graduating from an accredited school, with either an associate or

baccalaureate degree and is immediately eligible to sit for the NBRC credentialing

examinations. The independent variable of level of education of the hiring manager was

defined by the individual having some type of educational degree including certificate of

completion at the time of the survey. The dependent variable of ability of the graduate to

gain employment as a respiratory therapist was defined as a graduate having taken their

credentialing examination and then being hired by a hospital as a respiratory therapist.

The first independent variable was measured in the survey by the hiring manager

answering the question when hiring respiratory therapists for open STAFF positions at

my institution, I require my new graduates to have a(n): (Associate Degree only,

Baccalaureate Degree only, Associate Degree enrolled in a Degree Completion program,

No preference on the degree) The second independent variable was measured in the

survey by the hiring manager answering the question What is your CURRENT

educational level? (On-the-Job-Trainee, Certificate, Diploma, Associate Degree,

Baccalaureate Degree, Master's Degree, Doctoral Degree).

Data Collection and Analysis

I collected data for my research using the Survey Monkey online survey

instrument. This software was used due to the familiarity of this format by many of the

hiring managers. The survey was accessed by an http:// link included in the invitation

email that was sent to the hiring managers. The entry screen to the survey provided a

detailed consent form and required the hiring manager to select the Next Page button to

enter the survey. I will retain the raw data submitted via the Survey Monkey instrument

in a thumb-drive that has been placed in a fire-proof locked box within my residence for a

period of 5 years. The thumb-drive and data will be destroyed after this period has

elapsed.

Data Retrieval Processes

My study used Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version

27 for statistical analysis of the data collected. This software was used to help quantify

responses to the survey regarding the research question: Is there a difference between

respiratory therapy applicant education levels, respiratory therapy hiring manager

education levels and respiratory therapy applicant hiring decisions? I downloaded the

data from Survey Monkey to Microsoft Excel 360 at the conclusion of my data collection

period. I exported the data using the function within Survey Monkey and utilizing the All

Responses Collected option. This function exported all data into an Excel Workbook

.xlsx format.

Once the workbook was saved onto the thumb drive, I recoded all the nonnumeric

responses into numeric entries to utilize the SPSS software functions. The Likert scale

scores ranged from 1 (other) to 7 (strongly agree). The questions requiring a yes or no

response were coded 3 = yes, 2 = no, 1 = not applicable. A Chi-Square test of

independence was performed on the independent and dependent variables to determine if

the Null Hypothesis should be accepted or rejected. The open response information was

collected and reported as listed.

External, Internal, and Statistical Validity

Threats to external validity of my study included time of survey administration,

scope and length of survey, and psychological noise. To address the time of the survey

administration, the survey was housed online with Survey Monkey. Respondents were

given 30 days to log into the survey and were given as much time as needed to complete

the online survey. To address the scope and length of the survey, the survey was

developed to gather as much information in the shortest number of questions possible.

The scope was within the daily job requirements of a hiring manager within a respiratory

therapy department. Psychological noise was addressed by allowing the respondents to

take the survey online at their leisure so as not to be pressured to complete the survey

during work or other busy times. There were no perceived threats to internal, construct,

or statistical conclusion validity.

Ethical Procedures

To gain access to the hiring managers for this study, Institutional Review Board

(IRB) approval through Walden University was obtained after University Research

Review acceptance of my proposal as IRB approval 01-13-21-0247429. Participants were

informed at the beginning of the survey that the results are confidential. Participants were

also informed that they were free to withdraw from the study at any time by exiting the

survey and that they would receive a copy of the results once the study was completed.

The survey introduction contained my contact information, contact information for my

dissertation chair and the director of research integrity and compliance at Walden

University as well as the IRB phone number. The participant gave their consent to

participate in the study by clicking on the Next Page button on the consent form at the

beginning of the survey.

The use of Survey Monkey as the medium for the survey was utilized based upon

the familiarity of the individuals surveyed with the format of this tool. No statistical data

was obtained from the Survey Monkey format, only the familiarity and ease of use was

the focus of this choice. The data was removed from Survey Monkey within 30 days after

the close of the survey. All data is confidential and is being stored on a USB device

specifically intended to house the study results and only accessed by me. The USB is

being kept in a fire-proof locked safe in the home office of the researcher and will be

destroyed by the researcher 5 years after the completion of the study.

Summary of Design

I used a quantitative methodology via Survey Monkey to assess the overall

attitude of hiring managers in the respiratory therapy profession regarding associate

versus baccalaureate degree employees. The survey was originally slated as a nationwide

survey, but the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic, required a smaller accessible

sample. The survey was limited to Pennsylvania. Once the data was collected, I used

SPSS version 27 software for my statistical analysis. A final report will be mailed to the

invited participants upon completion of the research. All data is considered confidential

and is being stored on a USB drive in a fire-proof safe in my home and will be destroyed

by me after 5 years.

This chapter focused on the research design, methodology, data collection,

storage methods, and disposal of my study. The research survey, potential threats to

validity, sample size, population, and data analysis were also discussed. The following

chapter will use the data collected by the survey in Chapter 3 to test and analyze the

research question in my study and its associated hypotheses.

Chapter 4: Results

Introduction

The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to explore the extent to

which respiratory therapy hiring managers in Pennsylvania hired new graduates with

varying educational degrees in relationship to the manager’s educational degree.

Participants for this study were obtained using the information from the American

Hospital Directory in the state of Pennsylvania. I contacted the managers directly and

sent them an email. Those who decided to participate in the survey clicked on the link

located in the email. This chapter details information from the IRB-approved survey

instrument and provides inferential and descriptive analysis of the research findings.

Research Instrument

IRB approval (01-13-21-0247429) from Walden University to conduct my

research was obtained on January 13, 2021. The survey instrument is based upon the

types of questions that were asked by the 2015 and Beyond task force. The original

research questionnaire is listed in Appendix B. My survey focused on hiring managers,

not educators, and was looking to determine if the education level of the hiring manager

affected their decisions on hiring new graduate respiratory therapists. This research

survey is listed in Appendix D. Other information obtained from my survey focused on

the 69 competencies from the AARC 2015 and Beyond initiative as well as orientation

and if the Covid-19 pandemic affected attitudes or behaviors in hiring respiratory

therapists with a different degree.

Unexpected Variants

This study’s survey was designed to be answered by respiratory therapy hiring

managers of hospitals in Pennsylvania who had at least one adult ICU. I did not consider

that children’s hospitals could also fit within this criterion that I had determined. I had

one hospital that was a children’s hospital that has no adult ICU. I did leave this data

within the collection as it does meet all the other criteria and general purpose of the

research question. Removal of this data did not statistically affect the study outcomes.

It was also discovered upon contacting the hiring managers that some of the

managers are the hiring managers for more than one hospital within their healthcare

network. This variant was not considered at the time of the study design. If the manager

listed that they were the hiring manager for more than one facility, the results were

repeated for the other hospitals if those hospitals were included in the randomization.

Data Collection

On January 21, 2021, I started contacting hiring managers and emailing out my

invitation and link to those managers. The number of hospitals that met the criterion was

127. I chose the hospitals by using every third hospital listed on the index and circling

back through the list until the sample size of 70 was achieved. I then called the

respiratory managers for those hospitals listed and spoke to them directly. I explained my

survey and the reasons for my research. I then asked if I could have their email address to

send them an email to participate in the survey. I made phone calls and sent emails to the

chosen hospitals over the next 7 days as so not to trigger my email server to think that I

was sending out spam notifications. After 2 weeks, I sent out a reminder email to all

those individuals that had been invited to participate. The window for the managers to

respond was 30 days from the date that I sent the last original invitation email. This

produced 58 responses to the survey which exceeded the minimum sample size of 55

necessary to achieve a power of at least 0.95 with an alpha level of 0.05 and a 50%

distribution rate.

Descriptive Statistics

Analyses were conducted on position within the department, type of location

served, education level of hiring manager upon entering the profession, current education

level of the hiring manager, degree required by new graduates upon hiring, credential

required upon hiring, if graduates possessed the 69 competencies determined by the 2015

and Beyond initiative, graduates completing their department orientation within the

allotted time, graduate skill sets, degree completion availability, current entry-level

structure for the profession, open positions affecting hiring decisions, and any types of

hiring changes or belief change due to Covid-19.

Table 1 provides a summary of the sample characteristics. There were 58

respondents, and the participants were distributed across the state of Pennsylvania with

56.9% of respondents indicating that they serve a suburban population within their

hospital. Seventy-one percent of the respondents skipped the question that asked for the

number of hospitals for which they are the hiring manager. Of the respondents that did

answer the question, 29% (n = 5) listed that they are the hiring manager for more than

one hospital within their healthcare system.

Table 1

Survey of Respiratory Therapy Hiring Managers Characteristics of Sample Population

Descriptive Variable

Number

Percentage

Position in your department?

Supervisor

6.90%

Manager

51.72%

Director

41.38%

Location hospital serves?

Urban

22.41%

Suburban

56.90%

Rural

17.24%

Other

3.45%

Education level when entering the field

Certificate

12.07%

Associate Degree

56.90%

Baccalaureate Degree

29.31%

Other

1.72%

CURRENT educational level?

Associate Degree

5.17%

Baccalaureate Degree

25.86%

Master’s Degree

68.97%

When hiring new graduates I require a(n):

Associate Degree Only

67.24%

No preference on the degree (Associate OR Baccalaureate)

32.76%

When hiring therapists I only hire new graduates with a:

CRT waiting to take CSE exam

43.10%

RRT only

46.55%

Temporary license with no credential

6.90%

Other

3.45%

My associate degree hires possess all 69 competencies

Strongly Agree

22.41%

Descriptive Variable

Number

Percentage

Agree

44.83%

Neither Agree nor Disagree

31.03%

Disagree

1.72%

My baccalaureate degree hires possess all 69 competencies

Strongly Agree

22.41%

Agree

44.83%

Neither Agree nor Disagree

31.03%

Disagree

1.72%

My associate degree hires complete orientation within the

allotted time

Strongly Agree

56.90%

Agree

39.66%

Other

3.45%

My baccalaureate degree hires complete orientation within the

allotted time

Strongly Agree

55.17%

Agree

37.93%

Neutral

1.72%

Other

5.17%

My associate degree skill sets equal my baccalaureate degree

Strongly Agree

20.69%

Agree

44.83%

Neutral

27.59%

Disagree

6.90%

Degree completion programs available, my staff they likely to

participate

Strongly Agree

3.45%

Agree

67.24%

Neutral

24.14%

Disagree

5.17%

I hire new associate degree graduates already enrolled in

degree completion program

Strongly Agree

27.59%

Agree

36.21%

Neutral

25.86%

Descriptive Variable

Number

Percentage

Disagree

6.90%

Strongly Disagree

3.45%

The current entry-level structure meets my facility’s needs

Strongly Agree

18.97%

Agree

65.52%

Neutral

12.07%

Disagree

3.45%

Amount of open positions in department change position on

the associate versus baccalaureate entry-level perception?

Yes

20.69%

75.86%

N/A

3.45%

Covid-19 pandemic change position on the associate versus

baccalaureate entry-level perception?

Yes

12.07%

87.93%

Covid-19 make you adjust your hiring practices temporarily?

Yes

27.59%

72.41%

During the Covid-19 pandemic, did you have enough

respiratory therapists?

Yes

75.86%

24.14%

n = 58

The survey allowed participants to write some comments for a few of the

questions. Table 2 lists the questions that had a written response and the responses listed

as written by the participant.

Table 2

Written Responses from Survey.

Question on Survey

Written Response

Position in Your Dept.

Director of Cardiopulmonary

Services

Location

Both Urban & Suburban

General Acute Care Community

Hospital

Ed Level Entered

BS Biology but OJT Respiratory

Degree in Biology, OJT in

Respiratory, University of

Chicago RT program

When hiring, I only hire grads with

Must have RRT within 6 months

of hire

RRT or RRT Eligible

RRT or CRT, new grads have 190

days to take and pass the RRT.

Must have their NPS within 2

years

Recently hired a new grad, expect

to have RRT as soon as possible

Need RRT within 6 months

AS degree complete Orient

On average, 15% of new grads,

regardless of degree, need

additional orientation

days/simulations

We are small enough that we

individualize our orientation to

the individual so there is no

specific time frame.

Question on Survey

Written Response

BS degree complete Orient

A higher degree does not make

someone more qualified. There

are some people with higher than

associate degree but are lacking in

clinical skills.

Open positions change manager position on AS vs

Not enough candidates to choose

from. Have to lower my

expectations

On average, we hire >40

therapists of mixed degrees. With

our current acceptance of AAS

CRT with RRT required within

190 days we have a small number

of applicants in our area and

struggle to fill positions.

Because of location there is no

local program with either degree.

I prefer to hire baccalaureate

degree graduates but that is not

always possible because of our

location.

It's more difficult to focus on the

professional growth and

advancement of individuals and

our department when significant

vacancies exist. It's much more

imperative to first meet basic

patient care needs

Covid-19 change hiring practices temp

If we only accepted BS, we would

not have many RTs in the

applicant pool.

COVID worsened vacancies as

parents had to decrease hours to

help their children with virtual

learning. Some RTs retired

because of the elevated age and

associated risks of working in a

hospital.

Our profession is paid per our

degree requirements and that is so

unfair and not right.

Used traveling therapists *

Less candidates to choose from *

Added sign on bonuses to attract

candidates *

All interviews now by Zoom

We have several full-time

positions open as RTs are leaving

to capitalize on travel agency

assignments. We hire only RRT,

but we have recently opened up a

position for CRT and added a $10

thousand dollar sign on bonus for

2 years.

More willing to take

agency/travel RT's

Could not interview in person

Lowered our quality expectations

*Multiple responses were repeated so the main theme was listed only once.

The measurement of the education level when the manager entered the profession

shows that 68.9% (n = 40) had an associate degree or less. The survey data also shows

that at least 63.7% (n = 37) of these people increased their education above an associate

degree since entering the field of respiratory therapy and that 68.97% (n = 40) of the

hiring managers currently have advanced to a master’s degree. This current education

level is one of the independent variables within the research question. The position that

these individuals currently hold shows that 51.72% (n = 30) are managers while 41.38%

(n = 24) are directors. These titles show that the individuals are responsible for their

department. The survey responses represented a mean number of adult ICUs at 4.19 and

mean licensed hospital beds at 357. The survey question regarding graduates possessing

all 69 competencies as outlined by the 2015 and Beyond initiative were analyzed. Since

the questions regarding the associate degree versus the baccalaureate degree graduates

possessing all 69 competencies as outlined by the 2015 and Beyond initiative were on a

Likert scale, a Spearman’s correlation was run to determine if there was any significance

(see Gravetter & Wallnau, 2013). As the data was ordinal, not interval, the Spearman’s

correlation was chosen over a Pearson’s correlation.

The Spearman’s correlation indicates that there was a significant positive

association between associate degree versus baccalaureate degree graduates possessing

all 69 competencies as outlined by the AARC’s 2015 and Beyond initiative (r

(57) = 1, p

= <.001). This data is interpreted with caution as a 1.0 is a perfect correlation. The

answers on the Likert scale to these two questions were identical across each participant,

so this could indicate an artifact that may need to be examined in future research. The

survey questions regarding completion of department orientation by degree were

analyzed. A Spearman’s correlation indicates that there was a significant positive

association (r

(57) = .782, p = <.001). This correlation indicates that managers believe

the associate degree hires complete their department orientation in slightly faster time

than the baccalaureate degree hires.

There was a positive result indicating that new associate degree graduate skill sets

are equal to the new baccalaureate skill set with 65.51% (n = 38) indicating agree or

strongly agree. Table 3 reveals that the chi-square test for independence showed a

significant association between the number of open positions in the department changing

the manager’s position on associate versus baccalaureate entry-level perception and if the

managers changed their position on this perception due to the Covid-19 pandemic X

(2, N

= 58) = 12.53, p = .002. Managers are not changing their opinions even in the face of the

Covid-19 pandemic.

Table 3

Frequencies and Chi-Square Results for Number of Open Positions and Covid-19

Changing Managers Positions on Hiring (N = 58)

Covid Change Perceptions

Yes

(2)

Open

Positions

N/A

3.92%

0.00%

12.53*

82.35%

28.57%

Yes

13.73%

71.42%

*p = .002

To determine if there was a link between the Covid-19 pandemic causing hiring

managers to adjust their hiring practices temporarily and if the Covid-19 pandemic

changed the hiring manager’s position on associate versus baccalaureate entry level

perception, a Chi-Square test of independence was performed. Table 4 shows that the

relationship between these variables was significant, X

(1, N = 58) = 7.66, p = .006. This

relationship shows that mangers are not adjusting their hiring practices due to the Covid-

19 pandemic.

Table 4

Frequencies and Chi-Square Results for Link Between Covid-19 Causing

Temporary Hiring Practice Changes and Hiring Managers Changing Position on

Associate Versus Baccalaureate Perception (N = 58)

Covid Temporary Hiring Changes

(1)

Yes

Covid Change

Perceptions

95.24%

68.75%

7.66*

Yes

4.76%

31.25%

*p = .006

The question to determine if the managers had enough respiratory therapists to

meet patient demands showed that 75.86% (n = 44) answered yes. The question about

changing hiring practices temporarily during the pandemic resulted in many written

responses indicating that the hospital had to hire traveling therapists. Table 5 reveals that

a Chi-Square test of independence shows there was no significance between these

variables X

(1, N = 58) = .009, p = .925.

Table 5

Frequencies and Chi-Square Results for Having Enough Respiratory Therapists

During Covid-19 and Managers Temporarily Changing Their Hiring Practices (N = 58)

Covid Temporary Hiring Changes

(1)

Yes

Covid Enough

Therapists

23.81%

25.00%

.009*

Yes

76.19%

75.00%

*p = .925

Many managers indicated they were using traveling therapists when they had not

done this previously, so the insignificance between the variables may show an ambiguity

that could be addressed in future studies.

Hypothesis Testing

The research question and associated null and alternate hypotheses were created

to measure if the educational degree of hiring managers for respiratory therapists

influenced their decisions on hiring new graduate therapists with associate or

baccalaureate degrees. The results are of which are presented here.

Research Question 1

Is there a difference between respiratory therapy applicant education levels,

respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels and respiratory therapy

applicant hiring decisions in Pennsylvania?

1: There is no significant difference between respiratory therapy applicant

education levels, respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels and

respiratory therapy applicant hiring decisions in Pennsylvania.

1: There is a significant difference between respiratory therapy applicant

education levels, respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels and

respiratory therapy applicant hiring decisions in Pennsylvania.

To evaluate the hypothesis, a Chi-Square test of independence was performed.

This test was used to evaluate frequency data between the two variables in the population

(see Gravetter & Wallnau, 2013). The dependent variable was that the graduate,

regardless of educational degree, was getting hired. The first independent variable

examined in the Chi-Square was the educational level of the graduate who was being

hired. The choices were associate degree or baccalaureate degree. The managers were

able to choose if they had a preference on the specific degree they wanted, or they could

choose that they had no preference for the degree of the graduate.

The second independent variable that was examined in the Chi-Square was the

current educational level of the hiring manager. The manager could choose their current

education level from On-the-Job Trainee through Doctoral Degree. The assumption was

accepted that the hiring manager was answering correctly on their hiring practices. The

answers for these questions were quantified into SPSS for statistical analysis. The

relationship between these variables was significant, X

(2, N = 58) = 7.52, p = .023. This

shows there is a difference between respiratory therapy applicant education levels,

respiratory therapy hiring manager education levels, and respiratory therapy applicant

hiring decisions in Pennsylvania.

Table 6 shows that the managers are preferring associate degree over other

degrees, regardless of the education level of the hiring manager. This significance means

that the null hypothesis H

1 is rejected in favor of accepting the alternative. This data

may have artifact. When looking at Table 2, some managers stated that they have limited

choices due to locations of the hospitals in relation to educational institutes. This could

mean that the managers prefer one degree simply because they have limited options on

choosing from graduates with other degrees.

Table 6

Frequencies and Chi-Square Results for Current Education Level of Hiring

Managers and Their Educational Preferences When Hiring for Staff Positions (N = 58)

Hiring New Graduate Staff Positions

(2)

Pref

AS in

Degree

Comp.

Only

Current

Education

Level of

Manager

Doctoral

Degree

7.52*

Master's

Degree

21.95%

78.04%

Baccalaureate

Degree

57.14%

42.86%

Associate

Degree

66.67%

33.33%

Diploma

Certificate

On-the-Job

Trainee

*p = .023

Summary

Chapter 4 began with a description of the variables that were used within this

study. Spearman’s correlation and Chi-Square tests were performed on the various data

sets to determine correlations or statistical significance. The hypothesis showed that there

was significance in the educational level of the hiring manager and the educational level

of the graduate. Therefore, the null hypothesis is rejected. In Chapter 5, I will discuss the

findings considering my results and discuss my conclusions, study limitations,

recommendations, and implications for social change.

Chapter 5: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Introduction

This chapter discusses the findings, interpretation of the results, limitations of my

study, conclusions, and recommendations for further study. Chapter 5 concludes with

how this study can impact positive social change. The purpose of this study was to

attempt to fill a gap in literature and to determine if the education level of hiring

managers for respiratory therapy influenced their decisions on hiring new graduate

respiratory therapists from various levels of education.

In this study, 70 respiratory therapy hiring managers in Pennsylvania were invited

to complete my internet-based survey. A total of 58 managers completed the survey. No

participants were excluded from the data collected. There were correlations and

statistically significant findings when analyzing the data.

Interpretation of Findings

Research Question 1 was intended to find if there was a statistical difference

between the current educational level of the hiring managers in respiratory therapy and

the education levels of new graduates from respiratory therapy programs. The lens of

French and Raven’s power theory (Raven, 1993) was used during this analysis. The fact

that the individuals hiring the graduates may have the same or higher degree was part of

the analysis. Since power theory is looked at as the managers being experts in their niche

of the world of hiring graduates, there could be the assumption that these managers

would want to hire graduates with a higher degree. The assumption being that these

managers may believe that the baccalaureate graduate was more knowledgeable and

proficient at the bedside and considered more professional based solely upon their

educational degree.

The findings of the Chi-Square in Table 6 in Chapter 4 indicated that there was a

statistically significant (p = .023) difference between these educational levels. Overall,

the hiring managers who currently have a master’s degree wanted graduates with

associate degrees (78% n = 32) compared to managers with a baccalaureate degree (42%;

n = 6). No managers surveyed in Pennsylvania listed that they preferred a baccalaureate

degree over an associate degree graduate (see Table 6.) The two choices made by

participants were associate degree only or no preference in degree. While this question

was intended to determine if hiring managers with higher level degrees wanted

baccalaureate degree graduates, the study shows that the level of education of the

respiratory graduate in Pennsylvania is not as large a factor as the literature suggested.

This finding could be different with a nationwide sampling and is a recommendation for

further study.

The survey of managers showed that of the 58 respondents, 70.69% (n = 41) had

an associate degree or less when they entered the field. Table 7 shows that the current

education level that has an associate degree or less has dropped to 5.17% (n = 3). The

survey also shows that 68.97% (n = 40) have advanced to a master’s degree. Currently,

there is no master’s degree entry-level for respiratory therapists. The master’s degrees are

for management, education, or advanced practice, but not for an entry-level position. By

advancing their degrees, these managers have demonstrated that entry-level does not

mean that furtherance of education should stop.

Table 7

Education Levels of Respiratory Hiring Managers When They Entered the Field Versus

Their Current Education Level (N = 58)

Education Level of Hiring Managers

Enter Field

Current Education

On-the-Job Trainee

0.00%

Certificate

12.07%

0.00%

Diploma

0.00%

Associate Degree

56.90%

5.17%

Baccalaureate Degree

29.31%

25.86%

Master's Degree

0.00%

68.97%

Other

1.72%

0.00%

The questions regarding associate degree graduates possessing all 69

competencies as outlined by the AARC’s 2015 and Beyond initiative (Appendix A)

versus the baccalaureate degree had a direct correlation (r

(57) = 1, p = <.001). As

discussed in Chapter 4, the answers to the questions from the managers were identical on

the Likert scale. This indicates that both associate degree and baccalaureate degree

graduates are believed to possess the necessary competencies upon graduation. This

should be interpreted with caution as this may be artifact and may need further

investigation. There was also strong correlation regarding the associate versus

baccalaureate graduates completing their orientation on time (r

(57) = .782, p = <.001).

This strong association indicates that managers believe that approximately 78.2% of

graduates are completing their orientations in the allotted time regardless of their degree.

Table 2 indicates some written responses that add a small amount of artifact to this

correlation as well. Further study could clarify or strengthen the result reported. There is

also a 65.51% (n = 38) positive result indicating that the new associate degree graduate

skill set is equal to the baccalaureate graduate skill set.

Due to the timing of this survey being conducted, I was able to obtain some

preliminary data on how the Covid-19 pandemic might be affecting hiring managers and

their perceptions or hiring practices. Table 3 shows significant findings, X

(2, N = 58) =

12.53, p = .002, indicating that the number of open positions with the respiratory

department during the Covid-19 pandemic did not change the manager’s opinions on

baccalaureate versus associate degree entry-level. This is not unexpected since most

managers were hiring associate degree graduates. Another statistically significant finding

illustrated in Table 4 is that hiring managers are not adjusting their hiring practices due to

the Covid-19 pandemic X

(1, N = 58) = 7.66, p = .006. This shows that the managers are

utilizing the same strategies for hiring as they were prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

There was one insignificant finding regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. Table 5

shows the determination regarding the managers changing their hiring practices

temporarily versus if they had enough therapists to care for patients during the pandemic

(1, N = 58) = .009, p = .925. While this output is not statistically significant, the open-

ended statements (Table 2) indicate that many are using agency therapists when they had

not used this service in the past to supplement staffing requirements. This lends itself to

question this statistic and should be considered for further review in future studies.

Limitations of the Study

Limitations of my study include the fact that I did not consider children’s

hospitals when I determined the inclusion criterion. The same premise for choosing adult

ICUs in the inclusion would apply to a children’s hospital. This study was originally

slated to be a nationwide survey of hiring managers in respiratory therapy. Due to the

Covid-19 pandemic, I selected a convenient participant pool within the state of

Pennsylvania. Despite my professional association with some respondents, survey data

were completed anonymously and there were no identifiable data linkages to the

participants. This anonymous reporting limits any form of follow-up inquiries. Another

limitation was the fact that I had not considered that some hiring managers are

responsible for hiring staff in multiple hospitals within their healthcare network. While

the same principles are applied to the hiring since the individual is being assessed and not

the hospital, it is still something that I had not considered.

Recommendations for Action

Based on my study results, it is recommended that the Pennsylvania Society for

Respiratory Care begin working with the hiring managers within the state of

Pennsylvania to represent the state interests at the national level with the AARC. The

AARC’s initiative for baccalaureate entry-level for respiratory therapists, which was

based on the wishes of educators, has been pushed back but is not reflective of what the

managers in Pennsylvania are looking for to meet their needs. As discussed in the

literature (Zittel, 2018), having an entry-level at associate degree but requiring a higher

level within a specified time would meet the current needs of the field while requiring

those individuals to continue their education. This could be adopted on a state-by-state

basis or could be a recommendation from the AARC for national legislation.

Recommendations for Further Study

This study was limited to the state of Pennsylvania. I would recommend that to

help fill the gap in the literature on this matter, this study be conducted to respiratory

therapy hiring managers on a national basis. This could be completed with the assistance

of the AARC to disperse the study. A limitation may be that the AARC would be

dispersing this study to members only and therefore may not be indicative of a random

sampling. The researcher would need to utilize other resources to include those managers

that are not AARC members to ensure a more diverse and randomized sampling. The

questionnaire will need to be honed for more specific information to be obtained and

could be more quantified. It is important to find out what the hiring managers and their

hospitals need. It would also be important in future studies to somehow factor in that

some managers hire for multiple hospitals within their healthcare system.

Implications for Positive Social Change

This study shows that in Pennsylvania, the current entry-level education system is

meeting the needs of the healthcare systems across the state. Of the 21 respiratory therapy

programs in the state of Pennsylvania, 71.4% (n = 15) offer an associate degree for entry-

level into the profession. The removal of these programs would have a negative effect on

the state’s healthcare systems in relation to this vital health care role. Currently, the

respondents indicated that they were using temporary agency therapists to help fill

positions. This loss of even more therapists being put into the employment pool could

have unknown effects for hospitals and patients. This would also create barriers for some

at-risk populations from being able to get a college degree and employment in a

healthcare setting. The cost of a baccalaureate degree can be out of reach for some

individuals. Meeting the need of the industry and removing barriers to education should

be in the mix when considering how to increase educational requirements within a

profession.

Conclusion

In conclusion, increasing the entry-level to any profession can be unpopular.

There will always be those who do not want a change from the status quo. The field of

respiratory therapy is considering an increase from an associate degree or baccalaureate

degree as entry-level to only a baccalaureate degree for entry-level. There is minimal

literature on this matter regarding respiratory; the needs of the hospitals themselves as

well as the hiring managers has not been ascertained.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if the current level of education of the

hiring managers in respiratory, in the state of Pennsylvania, influenced the hiring

decisions of those managers. This study showed that the managers were more interested

in hiring associate degree graduates than they were baccalaureate degree graduates.

Knowing this need may help to remove any barriers to individuals who want an

affordable education and a job in healthcare. This will provide the necessary respiratory

therapists to meet the needs of the hospitals and hiring managers.

73 
 
 
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Appendix A: Competencies on Which General Agreement was Reached by the Second

Conference Attendees.

Competency Area

Questions

(n, =73)

Respondents

(n, %)

Strongly

Agree

Agree Undecided Disagree

Strongly

Disagree

Median Min Max

Total

Score

I. Diagnostics

A. Pulmonary Function Technology 3 28 (76) 47 (56) 21 (25) 9 (11) 7 (8) 0 (0) 5 2 5 84

B. Sleep 3 28 (76) 30 (36) 43 (51) 5 (6) 6 (7) 1 (1) 4 1 5 84

C. Invasive Procedures 5 28 (76) 100 (71) 27 (19) 9 (6) 3 (2) 1 (1) 5 1 5 140

II. Disease Management

A. Chronic 3 28 (76) 64 (76) 18 (21) 1 (1) 1 (1) 0 (0) 5 2 5 84

B. Acute 3 28 (76) 41 (49)* 10 (12)* 5 (6)* 0 (0) 0 (0) 5 3 5 84

III. Evidence-Based Medicine and

Respiratory Care Protocols

A. Evidence Based Medicine 3 28 (76) 46 (55) 24 (29) 7 (8) 5 (6) 2 (2) 5 1 5 84

B. Respiratory Care Protocols 2 28 (76) 39 (70) 13 (23) 4 (7) 0 (0) 0 (0) 5 3 5 56

IV. Patient Assessment

A. Patient Assessment 3 28 (76) 68 (81) 11 (13) 5 (6) 0 (0) 0 (0) 5 3 5 84

B. Diagnostic Data 4 27 (73) 74 (68) 21 (19) 8 (7) 5 (5) 0 (0) 5 2 5 108

C. Physical Examination 4 27 (73) 104 (96) 4 (4) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 5 4 5 108

V. Leadership

A. Team Member 1 28 (76) 24 (86) 3 (11) 1 (4) 0 (0) 0 (0) 5 3 5 28

B. Healthcare Regulatory System 1 28 (76) 15 (54) 11 (39) 1 (4) 1 (4) 0 (0) 5 2 5 28

C. Written and Verbal Communication 1 28 (76) 26 (93) 2 (7) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 5 4 5 28

D. Healthcare Finance 1 28 (76) 16 (57) 8 (29) 3 (11) 1 (4) 0 (0) 5 2 5 28

E. Team Leader 1 28 (76) 19 (68) 4 (14) 3 (11) 1 (4) 1 (4)* 5 1 5 28

VI. Emergency and Critical Care

A. Emergency Care 7 27 (73) 139 (74) 37 (20) 9 (5) 4 (2) 0 (0) 5 2 5 189

B. Critical Care 13 26 (70) 252 (75) 61 (18) 17 (5) 8 (2) 0 (0) 5 2 5 338

VII. Therapeutics

A. Assessment of Need for Therapy 1 28 (76) 18 (64) 10 (36) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 5 4 5 28

B. Assessment Prior to Therapy 6 28 (76) 128 (76) 37 (22) 3 (2) 0 (0) 0 (0) 5 3 5 168

C. Administration of Therapy 5 28 (76) 121 (86) 19 (14) 0 (0) 0 (0) 0 (0) 5 4 5 140

D. Evaluation of Therapy 5 28 (76) 116 (83) 18 (13) 1 (1) 5 (4) 0 (0) 5 2 5 140

Adapted from Barnes et al. 2010

* Percentage calculations in original publication were incorrect. These have been corrected.

^ General Agreement was definied as approval of > 80% of respondents to the second conference survey.

+ Likert Scale: 5 = strongly agree, 4 = agree, 3 = undecided, 2 = disagree, 1 = strongly disagree. Likert category is the total for all questions in that competency area.

£ Total Score = number of respondents x number of questions in that competency area

Likert Scale Scores (n, %)+

Appendix B: 2015 Survey of Respiratory Therapy Department Directors

AARC 2015 Survey of Respiratory Therapy Department Directors

DEPARTMENT INFORMATION

*1. Please indicate the city and state where your hospital is located.

City/Town: State:

*2. This survey should be completed by the Department Director if possible, if

not by their designee. What is your position in the Department? Select one only.

_____________

3. How many beds are supported by your facility? Use only whole numbers

with no letters or commas.

_________________

4. How many full time equivalent respiratory therapists are employed or are

expected to be employed in each of the following years? Answer with whole numbers

only for all positions that require graduation from an accredited respiratory therapy

program.

2010 ________

2012 ________

2015 ________

2020 ________

*5. Which type of program do you prefer, if any, when hiring graduate respiratory

therapists?

Masters

Baccalaureate

Associate

No preference

Briefly explain your choice.

*6. How did the preparation of recent graduates (2005-2009) that you hired, meet

your expectation?

Exceeded

Met

Fell below

*7. How long does your institution give recent graduates to earn the RRT

credential before terminating their employment?

6 months

12 months

18 months

36 months

Not applicable, we do not have this requirement

8. Do you require respiratory therapists to maintain active NBRC credentials

in addition to maintaining a state license?

Yes

9. Does your hospital offer tuition reimbursement to staff respiratory

therapists pursuing a baccalaureate or higher degrees?

Yes

10. Is your institution a clinical affiliate of one or more COARC accredited

respiratory therapy education programs?

Yes

No (Go to question 13)

11. What is the maximum number of students you can take on clinical rotation

during the academic year? Enter whole numbers only.

12. How many hours of clinical practice to respiratory therapy students can

you provide during the entire academic year? Answer with whole numbers and multiply

the number of students x the number of hours they are in your facility, e.g., 6 students x

200 hours/each = 1200.

13. What are the barriers to taking students, or taking more students, on

clinical rotations? Select all that apply.

Inadequate number of hospital-based clinical preceptors.

Clinical instructors are not provided by the program.

Not enough clinical experiences appropriate for students.

Workload prevents staff from serving as clinical preceptors.

Other (please specify)

14. How many full time equivalent "unfilled" staff respiratory therapist

positions to you have? Do not include supervisory positions and use only whole numbers.

15. How many additional, “new", full time equivalent staff respiratory

therapist positions to you expect to need by 2015? Do not include supervisory positions

and use only whole numbers.

*16. How many work weeks does it typically take to orient a new graduate

therapist in your organization? A work week should be considered as 40 hours, answer

with the number of weeks using whole numbers only.

Weeks for Associate degree graduate?

Weeks for Baccalaureate degree graduate?

DIAGNOSTICS

The purpose of questions 17-25 is to evaluate how many competencies identified

by the AARC Task Force on the Future of Respiratory Care will be needed by new

graduates and other therapists working in your Department in 2015. See the special

article published in Respiratory Care May 2010; 55(5):601-616 for specific information

on these competencies.

*17. Which of the following diagnostic competencies do you expect a new

graduate and other staff therapists to need in 2015? Select all that apply.

Perform basic spirometry.

Explain indications and contraindications for advanced pulmonary function tests.

Explain indications and contraindications for sleep studies.

Relate results of sleep studies to types of sleep disorders.

Explain indications and contraindications, general hazards, and complications of

bronchoscopy.

Describe the bronchoscopy procedure and the respiratory therapist’s role in

assisting the physician.

Evaluate monitoring of a patient’s clinical condition with pulse oximetry,

electrocardiogram, exhaled gas analysis, and other related devices.

Perform arterial puncture and sampling, and blood analysis.

CHRONIC AND ACUTE DISEASE MANAGEMENT

*18. Which of the following chronic and acute disease management competencies

will a new graduate and other staff therapists to need in 2015? Select all that apply.

Explain the etiology, anatomy, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of

cardiopulmonary diseases (e.g., asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary

disease) and comorbidities.

Engage patients through communication and education and empowerment.

Develop, administer, and re-evaluate the care plan for chronic disease

management.

Manage respiratory care plans in the acute-care setting, using evidence-based

medicine, protocols, and clinical practice guidelines.

EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE AND RESPIRATORY CARE PROTOCOLS

*19. Which of the following evidence-based and respiratory care protocols

competencies will a new graduate and other staff therapists need in 2015? Select all that

apply.

Critique published research.

Explain the meaning of general statistical tests.

Apply evidence-based medicine to clinical practice.

Explain the use of evidence-based medicine in the development and application of

hospital-based respiratory care protocols.

Treat patients in a variety of settings, using the appropriate respiratory care

protocol.

ASSESSMENT

*20. Which of the following patient assessment competencies will a new graduate

and other staff therapists need in 2015? Select all that apply.

Complete a patient assessment through physical examination, chart review and

other means as appropriate and interact with healthcare team members

about assessment results.

Obtain past medical, surgical, and family history.

Obtain social behavioral and occupational history and other historical information

incident to the purpose of the current complaint.

Interpret pulmonary function studies (spirometry).

Interpret lung volumes and diffusion studies.

Interpret arterial blood gases, electrolytes, complete blood cell count and related

laboratory tests.

Inspect the chest and extremities to detect deformation, cyanosis edema, clubbing

and other anomalies.

Measure vital signs (blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate).

Evaluate patient breathing effort, ventilatory pattern, and use of accessory

muscles.

Document oxygen saturation oximetry measurements under all appropriate

conditions (with or without oxygen at rest, during sleep, ambulation, and

exercise).

LEADERSHIP

*21. Which of the following leadership competencies will a new graduate and

other staff therapists need in 2015? Select all that apply.

Contribute to organizational teams as related to planning, collaborative decision

making and other team functions.

Describe fundamental/basic organizational implications of regulatory

requirements on the healthcare system.

Demonstrates effective written and verbal communications with various members

of the healthcare team, patients, families, and others (cultural competence

and literacy).

Describe healthcare and financial reimbursement systems and the need to reduce

the cost of delivering respiratory care.

Lead groups in care planning, bedside decision making, and collaboration with

other healthcare professionals.

EMERGENCY CARE

*22. Which of the emergency care competencies will a new graduate and other

staff therapists need in 2015? Select all that apply

Perform basic life support (BLS).

Perform advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS).

Perform pediatric advanced life support (PALS).

Perform neonatal resuscitation program (NRP).

Perform endotracheal intubation.

Maintain current AHA certification in BLS and ACLS.

Perform as a member of the Rapid Response Team (Medical Emergency Team).

Participate in mass casualty staffing to provide airway management, manual and

mechanical ventilatory life support, medical gas administration, aerosol

delivery of bronchodilators and other agents in the resuscitation of

respiratory and cardiovascular failure.

Provide intra-hospital transport of critically and chronically ill patients, provide

cardiopulmonary life support and airway control during transport.

Recommend pharmacotherapy in clinical settings including emergencies.

CRITICAL CARE

*23. Which of the following critical care competencies will a new graduate and

other staff therapists need in 2015? Select all that apply.

Apply invasive and noninvasive mechanical ventilation.

Apply all ventilation modes currently available on all invasive and noninvasive

mechanical ventilators as well as adjunct to mechanical ventilation.

Interpret ventilator data and hemodynamic monitoring data, and calibrate

monitoring devices.

Manage airway devices and sophisticated monitoring systems.

Make recommendations for treatment based on wave form graphics, pulmonary

mechanics and related imaging studies.

Use of therapeutic medical gases in the treatment of critically ill patients.

Apply circulatory gas exchange systems in RT practice, e.g., ECMO.

Participate in collaborative care management based on evidence-based protocols.

Deliver therapeutic interventions based on protocol.

Integrate the delivery of basic and/or advanced therapeutics in conjunction with or

without the mechanical ventilator in the care of critically ill patients.

Make recommendations, and provide treatment to critically ill patients based on

pathophysiology.

Recommend cardiovascular drugs based on knowledge, understanding of

pharmacologic action.

Use electronic data systems in their practice.

THERAPEUTICS

*24. Which of the following therapeutic competencies will a new graduate and

other staff therapists need in 2015? Select all that apply.

Assess therapy.

Assess a patient prior to therapy.

Administer therapy.

Evaluate therapy.

THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS

*25. Which of the following therapeutic applications competencies will a new

graduate and other staff therapists need in 2015? Select all that apply.

Medical gas therapy.

Humidity therapy.

Aerosol therapy.

Hyperinflation therapy

Bronchial hygiene therapy.

Airway management.

Mechanical ventilation

POST GRADUATE EDUCATION

26. How will your staff respiratory therapists acquire and document achievement

of competencies that will be needed by the workforce in 2015? Select all that apply.

Required yearly competency demonstration.

Attendance at departmental inservices.

Required yearly written examinations.

Attendance at conferences and symposium.

Other

Please specify "Other"

RESPIRATORY THERAPY PRACTICE

Assuming several of the new competencies described above are needed by your

department, please respond to the following questions.

*27. What credential should future graduates earn to enter the profession and

meet the legal requirements of their state?

RRT

CRT

Please explain your rationale.

*28. What degree should future graduates be required to earn to be eligible for the

examination they take to become licensed and enter practice as a respiratory therapist?

Doctorate

Masters

Baccalaureate

Associate

Please explain your rationale.

29. What degree should future graduates be recommended to earn for

continued practice beyond licensure and entry into practice as a respiratory therapist?

Doctorate

Masters

Baccalaureate

Associate

Please explain your rationale.

30. Should future graduates be required to maintain an active CRT or RRT

credential to document competency for renewal of their license to practice in your state?

Yes

Please explain your rationale.

SUMMARY COMMENTS AND SURVEY SUBMITTAL

Thank you for taking time to complete this important survey. Use the text box

below for additional comments on any of the survey questions.

IMPORTANT: Remember to click on the “DONE” button on the bottom of the

last page to submit your survey.

31. Use the text box below for additional comments on any of the survey

questions.

Appendix C: AARC Permission Letter

From: Dean Hess <dhess@XXXX.ORG>

Sent: Wednesday, February 5, 2020 9:19 AM

To: Aumiller, Curtis <rcaumill@XXXX.edu>

Subject: Re: Permission Request

Importance: High

Curtis,

Permission granted.

Best of luck on your dissertation.

Dean Hess

Managing Editor

Respiratory Care

On Feb 4, 2020, at 12:37 PM, Aumiller, Curtis <rcaumill@XXXX.edu> wrote:

Dear Dr. Hess,

My name is Ronald Curtis Aumiller and I am working on my Doctoral Dissertation titled

"What Are the Benefits of Baccalaureate First-Professional Degree in Respiratory

Therapy". In my paper I am hoping to build upon the work of the 2015 and Beyond work

that was completed. I am requesting permission to reprint in my paper, the survey that

was sent to Directors of Respiratory Therapy Departments. The survey was by:

Kacmarek, Barnes, and Durbin. (2012). Survey of directors of respiratory therapy

departments regarding the future education of credentialing of respiratory care students

and staff. Respiratory Care, 57(5). https://doi.org/10.4187/respcare.01360

I am using this survey as a basis for my own survey to determine if things have changed

in hiring manager practices.

If you have any questions regarding this request, please do not hesitate to contact me at

number below.

You may respond to this email with your decision.

Have a great day!

R. Curtis Aumiller, MS, MBA, RRT, RRT-NPS, RRT-ACCS, RPFT

-----Original Message-----

From: Dean Hess <dhess@XXXX.ORG>

Sent: Tuesday, February 4, 2020 6:25 AM

To: Aumiller, Curtis <rcaumill@XXXX.edu>

Subject: Your message

Curtis,

I received an email from the AARC executive office stating that you left a message

regarding permission to reproduce a paper from Respiratory Care. Can you send me your

request in writing to this email address?

Dean Hess

Managing Editor

Respiratory Care

Appendix D: Questionnaire of Respiratory Hiring Managers

The following survey is being conducted to determine how hiring managers in respiratory

therapy departments are weighing the educational entry-level of their prospective

employees in the hiring decisions. This survey will be referencing the 69 competencies

that were determined by agreement in the 2015 and Beyond survey conducted by Barnes,

Gale, Kacmarek, & Kageler, (2010).

These competencies can be found at

http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/55/5/601.full.pdf+html

1. What is your position in your Department?

Supervisor

Assistant Manager

Manager

Director

Vice-President

Other

If "Other", please specify your position.

2. For how many beds is your hospital licensed? Use only whole numbers with no letters

or commas.

3. How many adult ICU’s are in your institution? Use only whole numbers with no letters

or commas.

4. What type of location does your hospital serve? (Select one only)

Urban

Suburban

Rural

Other (please specify)

5. When you entered the profession of Respiratory Therapy, what was your education

level? (please choose one only)

On-the-Job Trainee

Certificate

Diploma

Associate Degree

Baccalaureate Degree

Master's Degree

Other

If "Other", please specify degree or experience.

100

6. What is your CURRENT educational level? (please choose one only)

On-the-Job Trainee

Certificate

Diploma

Associate Degree

Baccalaureate Degree

Master's Degree

Doctoral Degree

Other (please specify)

7. When hiring new graduates for open STAFF positions at my institution, I require my

new graduates to have a(n): (please choose only one)

Associate Degree Only

Baccalaureate Degree Only

Associate Degree enrolled in a Degree Completion program

No preference on the degree (Associate OR Baccalaureate)

If "Other", please specify your hiring preference.

8. When hiring respiratory therapists for open STAFF positions at my institution, I only

hire new graduates with a (choose only one)

CRT only

CRT waiting to take CSE exam

RRT only

Temporary license with no credential

Other

9. My new graduate associate degree hires possess all 69 competencies as outlined by the

AARC’s 2015 and Beyond initiative.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

N/A - I do not hire associate degree graduates

Other (please specify)

10. My new graduate baccalaureate degree hires possess all 69 competencies as outlined

by the AARC’s 2015 and Beyond initiative.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

101

N/A - I do not hire baccalaureate degree graduates

Other (please specify)

If "Other", please explain.

11. My new graduate associate degree hires complete their department orientation within

the allotted time.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

N/A - I do not hire associate degree graduates

Other

If "Other", please explain.

12. My new graduate baccalaureate degree hires complete their department orientation

within the allotted time.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

N/A

Other

13. My associate degree new graduate skill sets are equal to my new baccalaureate degree

graduate skill sets.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

N/A

14. If degree completion programs are available to my staff, they are likely to participate

in these programs.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

102

15. I am more likely to hire new associate degree graduates that are already enrolled in a

degree completion program.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

16. The current entry-level structure for the profession is adequate to meet my facility’s

needs.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

17. Does the amount of open positions in your respiratory department change your

position on the associate versus baccalaureate entry-level perception?

Yes

N/A

If yes, please explain

18. Did the current Covid-19 pandemic change your position on the associate versus

baccalaureate entry level perception?

Yes

If yes, please explain:

19. Did the pandemic for Covid-19 make you adjust your hiring practices temporarily?

Yes

N/A

20. During the Covid-19 pandemic, did you have enough respiratory therapists to meet

the patient demands for your institution?

Yes