This study sought to determine a national average attrition rate for respiratory therapist educational programs, to identify the common causes of attrition and to determine whether attrition may be related to the academic sponsoring institution or to the admissions criteria. Of the 83 accredited programs surveyed, 58 (70%) responded and 52 of these provided usable data. The average attrition rate of all programs responding was 26%. The most common causes were poor academic performance (47%), unknown reasons (17.2%), and changes in career interest (12.4%). There was no statistically significant difference between the 24% attrition rate seen in programs sponsored by 4-year institutions and the 28% rate seen in the programs of 2-year institutions. Programs assigning a weight of 60% or more to the two admissions criteria of preprofessional academic achievement and knowledge of the profession had less than half the attrition rate of programs that did not emphasize these criteria (P < 0.01).
