In recent years, there has been a heightened focus on the need to train a new generation of respiratory therapy (RT) professionals. Retirement quits, and falling enrollment in approved RT programs across the country all point to a bleak future for employment levels. Researchers in this study polled RTs to get their thoughts on the labor shortage facing the field and where they see the RT industry going in the future. Between November 2019 and February 2020, this cross-sectional study emailed a modified version of a 39-question survey to 618 American Association for Respiratory Care members (AARC) in Louisiana. There were 118 responses out of a possible 618 or a 19% response rate. Half of those surveyed said there wasn’t enough personnel, yet nearly 8 in 10 said they wanted to stay in the RT field anyhow for personal reasons. Over 93% of respondents said they understood the value of being an active AARC member. A higher proportion of hospital workers than any other occupation reported working in an understaffed workplace. The employee ranked salary as their top concern (33.6%; 39/116), followed by opportunities for professional development and expanding their sphere of activity, each with 14.7% (17/116). Assessing patients, creating care plans, and getting paid for services were recognized as the most crucial abilities for the profession’s future. Almost 70% of respondents agreed that a bachelor’s degree should be required for admittance, and 21.6% said that a master’s degree in RT should be encouraged to broaden the profession’s reach. Respondents in this study reported that staying in the respiratory care RT profession was important to them, and they shared a general impression that their workplace was understaffed. The results of this study also backed the idea of increasing the bar for entry-level RTs and highlighted the need to further one’s education for career advancement.
Source: rc.rcjournal.com/content/67/10/1254
