Background: Interventional pulmonology is an evolving specialty with a board certification for physicians. The specialty is technology-dependent. Respiratory therapists play a crucial role in assisting interventional pulmonary programs throughout the country. It is of paramount importance to have a structured curriculum for respiratory therapists to understand the various devices and disease processes to enable them to be efficient team members. We formalized a structural process of training with an introductory course in interventional pulmonology to assess and evaluate the competency gained before and after the administration of the training. Methods: The curriculum consisted of a preliminary evaluation of knowledge base in interventional pulmonology followed by a structured lecture on various parenchymal, airway, and pleural diseases. The devices that are used in procedures related to each part of the lung, device-tissue interaction, and performance were emphasized. Subsequently, a post-instruction evaluation was conducted in a multiple-question format with a single best answer. Knowledge before and after the instructional course was evaluated. The study was exempted by the Institutional Review Board (186-SB23-045). Results: The class average on the pre-test was 62.8% ± 9% (mean ± 95% CI). A total of 6 out of 15 students (40%) met or exceeded the criterion of success for the pre-test. The difference between the pre-test score and the criterion of success was not statistically significant: t(14) = - 1.55, P > .05. The difference between these scores had a small effect size (Cohen’s d = - 0.4). The class scores on this test approached the criterion of success for this assessment. The class average on the post-test was 85.9% ± 8.4% (mean ± 95% CI). A total of 12 out of 15 students (80%) met or exceeded the criterion of success for the post-test. The difference between the post-test score and the criterion of success was statistically significant: t(14) = 3.73, P < .005. The difference between these scores had a large effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.96). The class scores on this test greatly exceeded the criterion of success for this assessment. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that an introductory course in interventional pulmonology enhances the knowledge base of respiratory therapists in the field. Larger studies are needed to further validate this data.
Lum et al. (Sun,) studied this question.