Assessment of an Associate Degree Respiratory Therapy Program by Its Graduates

To evaluate achievement of the Indiana University (IU) Respiratory Therapy Program's curriculum objectives and to provide a basis for curriculum planning, a survey was conducted among the 36 persons who had graduated from the program during the years 1968 through 1973. The 29 respondents to a mailed survey questionnaire evaluated how effectively the program had provided opportunities to acquire competence in 30 specific activities related to patient care, administration, teaching, and personal and professional growth; the importance of these skills to the graduates' current positions as staff therapists was also evaluated. In addition, respondents expressed their opinions about various Indiana University services to students. With the graduates' permission, the performance of 17 (59%) graduates was evaluated by their employers. Graduates generally reported they had acquired lesser degrees of competence in the 30 areas than their employers believed they demonstrated on the job. Graduates also expressed some dissatisfaction with the limited opportunities during the program to apply theory and to develop clinical skills as well as skills in interpersonal relations, management and administrative procedures, and community aspects of health care. Most graduates expressed satisfaction with their choice of respiratory therapy as a career; but only four had completed the Registry process. These data suggest not only a need for some improvement in the IU respiratory therapy curriculum, but also a need for greater coordination between schools and the agencies that accredit them and test and recognize professional competence—namely the Joint Review Committee for Respiratory Therapy Education and the National Board for Respiratory Therapy.