Many practitioners in respiratory therapy must perform managerial functions in service departments without having had an opportunity for formal training in administration. Few programs for such preparation are available in the United States. In 1976, Indiana University (Indianapolis, Indiana) received a federal grant to develop and implement a baccalaureate program for the education of respiratory therapists and several other allied health professionals in mid-level managerial functions. The program is unique in that: (1) advanced standing is granted to students who hold an associate degree or a certificate in respiratory therapy (2) to ensure quality, foundation courses are offered and shared with other university departments (3) advanced technical and basic science courses are available to students and (4) a closely supervised eight-week internship as an apprentice supervisor is required.
Conine et al. (Sun,) studied this question.