Abstract
Background
According to a 1992 Delphi study, 75% of respondents considered research interpretation skills important to advanced respiratory care practitioners (ARCPS). Considering that finding, we sought to describe research instruction among ARCP programs.
Methods
After several educators evaluated face validity and readability of the Research Education Questionnaire (REQ), we mailed it to ARCP programs in the U.S. listed by the Joint Review Committee on Respiratory Therapy Education (JRCRTE). The REQ contains 32 items that together describe types of programs, faculty preparation, and extent to which research instruction is offered. To follow up, we contacted 25 randomly selected nonrespondents by phone 6 weeks after the initial mailing. Descriptive statistics were generated to describe our findings.
Results
Sixty-four percent (179/280) responded to the mailed survey. Of 25 telephone contacts, only 6 were available to survey. Of respondents, 16% offer formal courses in research. The most common goals were for students to read and interpret research and statistics. The modal reason for excluding formal research instruction was insufficient time. Of programs without research courses, 69% include journal studies. Of respondents, 72% require students to read research, 26% provide a format to evaluate it.
Conclusions
Formal research courses are largely restricted to BS programs (21/28). Both associate- and baccalaureate-degree programs generally require students to read research and teach them to interpret it. Although our inability to adequately characterize nonrespondents inhibits our ability to validate our sample and, therefore, its responses, the relatively high response rate (64%) lends credence to our results. We believe this research accurately describes the extent to which research concepts are taught in ARCPs and may help guide the development of future guidelines for respiratory care educational programs.
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