Earn your BS degree

Calling all Therapists
Why should you earn your BS degree to advance your career?
See statement below:

A Tripartite Position Statement on Baccalaureate and Graduate
Respiratory Care Education

[The North Carolina Association of Respiratory Educators (NCARE), the North Carolina Respiratory Care Board (NCRCB) and the North Carolina Society for Respiratory Care (NCSRC)]

There are about 100,000 respiratory therapists in the United States and 3,400 in North Carolina. They work with patients of all ages and in many different care settings. In NC Respiratory therapists are nationally credentialed and state licensed members of the health care team that provide respiratory care for patients with heart and lung disorders. Most respiratory therapists, also known as respiratory care practitioners (RCP's), work in hospitals where they perform intensive care procedures in the adult, pediatric and neonatal critical care units. They are typically a vital part of the hospital's lifesaving response team that handles patient emergencies. Of the more than 7,000 hospitals in this country, about 5,700 have separate respiratory care departments.

In a recent statement released by the agencies representing the profession of Respiratory Care (American Association for Respiratory Care), program accreditation (Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care), and professional credentialing (National Board for Respiratory Care), the continued growth and advancement of the profession requires that every respiratory therapist demonstrate an advanced level of critical thinking, assessment and problem solving skills. These facilities are essential in today's health care environment not only to improve the quality of care but also to reduce inappropriate care and thereby reduce costs. Respiratory therapists are expected to participate in the development, modification and evaluation of care plans, protocol administration, disease management and patient education. As a result of this need the AARC developed a white paper supporting the need for advanced training at a baccalaureate and graduate degree level. (See attached white paper)

Despite this need to develop the advanced qualities and skills needed for the respiratory care practitioner (RCP), there are no such programs offered in North Carolina beyond the associate degree level. Although the associate degree programs are the foundation for the profession and they do an outstanding job in providing the majority of the needed human resources for the field, there is an increasing need in the number of practitioners with advanced credentials and education in order to take on leadership roles within the profession. Such roles include research, education, management, as well as advanced clinical diagnostic skills. North Carolina RCP's often enroll in distance learning programs outside of NC to obtain the advanced training needed for these skills.

Therefore in cooperation with the AARC, NBRC, and CoARC, we, the North Carolina Association of Respiratory Educators (NCARE), the North Carolina Respiratory Care Board (NCRCB) and the North Carolina Society for Respiratory Care (NCSRC) wish to support the advancement of respiratory care in North Carolina by supporting the development of baccalaureate level education in respiratory care, and to encourage respiratory therapists to pursue advanced levels of education. The non-traditional degree program suggested by NCARE would meet the needs of our flourishing profession without duplication of excellent resources and expenses. As a collective group, we are devoted to our professional growth and development through higher levels of education in order to improve the most important aspect of our profession-the patient.

Contributors

Bill Croft, MS, RRT-NPS, RCP
Floyd Boyer, BS, RRT-RCP
Tammy Crump, PhD, RRT-RCP
June Beck, BS, RRT-RCP
Donna Neal, MS, RRT, RCP

Reference

AARC Website. "Development of Baccalaureate and Graduate Degrees in Respiratory Care". A white paper from the AARC Steering Committee of the Coalition for Baccalaureate and Graduate Respiratory Therapy Education.