Respiratory Care Educational Program Across an Integrated Health System

Background: Continuing education is not only vital to the maintenance of a respiratory therapist’s licensure, but it has become increasingly important to a respiratory therapist’s professional growth and what one may seek in an employer. Integrated health systems often include numerous clinical settings with varied clinical expertise and experience. In this abstract, we detail the formation of an educational program for respiratory therapists throughout our health system. Methods: After agreeing on the need, leaders of respiratory care departments within the integrated health system gathered through electronic communication and virtual meetings to determine the specifics of a continuing educational program, including frequency of in-services, the format of in-services, topics of education, and potential presenters, among others. A process for applying for AARC-approved contact hours, along with standardized promotional emails and evaluation forms, was created. For respiratory therapists who wished to develop the skill of presenting education, mentors were identified. A business platform was employed for leader communication and scheduling of in-services, while a web-based learning platform was used to store recordings of in-services for asynchronous learning. Results: The educational program has been active for 6 months (Jan-June 2023). As compared to the previous 12 months (2022), the number of continuing education offerings will increase from 12 to a projected 18 (150% increase). The number of respiratory therapists involved in presenting information has grown from 3 in 2022 to a projected 9 in 2023. Furthermore, the number of respiratory therapists with access to these in-service sessions increased from 125 at 1 academic medical center in 2022 to 294 at 9 institutions in 2023 (230% increase). The topics of learning have diversified to include adult critical care, journal club, pediatric critical care, artificial airway management, oxygen therapy, and care of chronic diseases, among others. Conclusions: We were able to successfully implement a respiratory care educational program throughout our integrated health system. As continued education is important for staff retention, increasing the variety of and frequency of learning topics will greatly benefit our system. In addition, respiratory therapists at each care setting care share their clinical expertise, and respiratory care practices can be standardized across all institutions, without duplication of efforts to do so.