News in Education
Respiratory care is quickly evolving from a profession based on the provision of individual components of care to one encompassing the higher order thinking skills needed to manage chronic respiratory disease patients across the continuum of care.
To ensure the workforce is adequately prepared to meet the challenges it will face in terms of protocol-driven care and disease management, the AARC has issued a new RT Education Position Statement that calls for a shift to RT bachelor’s degree programs.
Specifically, the Association is calling for all new respiratory care educational programs to award, at a minimum, a bachelor’s degree in respiratory care.
COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION FOR RESPIRATORY CARE :
Response to AARC Position Statement on Respiratory Therapist Education
The mission of the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) is to ensure that high quality educational programs prepare competent respiratory therapists for practice, education, research and service.
The CoARC acknowledges that respiratory therapists with baccalaureate and graduate education are needed in larger numbers to serve as educators, researchers, managers, clinical specialists, and other roles throughout the healthcare delivery system. Likewise the CoARC recognizes the prominent role played by associate degree respiratory therapy programs.
