ASSESSMENT PLAN FOR THE UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR IN RESPIRATORY THERAPY
The mission of the Department is to prepare not only competent practitioners in cardiopulmonary care but future leaders in the profession, and to contribute new knowledge in respiratory care. As a program preparing students for a specific healthcare profession, Respiratory Therapy, the undergraduate program must answer to an external accrediting agency for its instructional performance. Because of this, the undergraduate program has had established learning outcomes since its inception in the early 1970s, which are coupled to assessments of cognitive and clinical performance, as well as attrition and employment rates.
Upon completion of the respiratory care program, graduates will:
A. Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
B. Demonstrate competent understanding of advanced respiratory therapy skills.
C. Demonstrate competent technical performance of advanced respiratory therapy skills.
D. Demonstrate professional behaviors expected of advanced-level therapists.
E. Utilize technology for all evolving aspects of respiratory therapy
F. Apply critical thinking skills within the context of professional respiratory care practice.
H.
Apply current standards of professional
respiratory care practice to the analysis of contemporary issues and problems.
A. Upon completion of the respiratory care program, graduates will demonstrate competent communication skills both orally and in writing as measured by success on the following:
· Case presentations - all students must successfully orally present a case study to the faculty and students at least once during the clinical seminar as part of their clinical practice. The clinical seminar meets weekly and is chaired by a faculty member or the medical director.
· Capstone course – during spring semester of senior year “Trends and Professional Issues” is a writing intensive course that concentrates on a series of reflective assignments designed to allow the senior student to demonstrate their proficient writing skills.
B. Upon completion of the respiratory care program, graduates will demonstrate competent understanding of advanced skills as measured by success on each of the following:
· Mid-Program comprehensive exam – all students must successfully pass this exam, administered in Summer semester, between the Junior and Senior year to demonstrate cognitive competence of therapist skills and procedures.
· NBRC Entry Level CRT – all students must successfully complete the National Board for Respiratory Care’s Entry Level Exam, and obtain the “Certified Respiratory Therapist” credential to demonstrate cognitive mastery of entry level skills, and to obtain their degree.
· NBRC Written Registry Exam – the NBRC Written Registry exam is a measure of cognitive mastery on advanced therapist skills and procedures taken after graduation, and involves predominantly ‘application’ and ‘analysis’ items. A passing score is required on this exam as partial recognition for the credential of ‘Registered Respiratory Therapist’ (RRT).
· NBRC Clinical Simulation Exam - the NBRC Clinical Simulation exam is another measure of cognitive mastery on advanced therapist skills and procedures taken after graduation, and involves demonstration of higher-level patient management ability, including therapeutic procedure initiation and modification. A passing score is required on this exam in addition to that on the Written Registry, to obtain the credential of ‘Registered Respiratory Therapist’ (RRT).
· Employer Survey- Cognitive – following graduation from the program, students are asked to provide employment status and location, and a nationally standardized survey instrument on their cognitive ability is sent to the clinical employer. For each item, a score of >2 on a 1 to 5 scale is needed to indicate minimal acceptability.
· Graduate Survey- Cognitive – prior to graduation students are asked to evaluate their satisfaction with the program preparation for understanding of content areas in Respiratory Therapy.
· Departmental Exit Exam – a final cumulative and comprehensive assessment of understanding and minimal competency of content areas in Respiratory Therapy. A satisfactory passing score is required to complete the program and graduate.
C. Upon completion of the respiratory care program, graduates will demonstrate competent technical performance of advanced skills as measured by success on each of the following:
· Employer Survey-Psychomotor - following graduation from the program, a nationally standardized survey instrument on students’ clinical skills is sent to the clinical employer. For each item, a score of >2 on a 1 to 5 scale is needed to indicate minimal acceptability.
· Graduate Survey-Psychomotor - prior to graduation students are asked to evaluate their satisfaction with the program preparation for performance of clinical skills in Respiratory Therapy.
· Summative Psychomotor Evaluation – in order to complete the program, each student must demonstrate adequate clinical skills as rated by an instructor.
D. Upon completion of the respiratory care program, graduates will demonstrate professional behaviors expected of advanced-level therapists as measured by success on each of the following:
· Employer Survey-Affective - following graduation from the program, a nationally standardized survey instrument on students’ professional behavior is sent to the clinical employer. For each item, a score of >2 on a 1 to 5 scale is needed to indicate minimal acceptability.
· Graduate Survey-Affective - prior to graduation students are asked to evaluate their satisfaction with the program preparation for professional behavior in Respiratory Therapy.
· Summative Affective Evaluation - in order to complete the program, each student must demonstrate adequate professional behavior as rated by an instructor.
E. Upon completion of the respiratory care program, graduates will demonstrate the successful use of technology as measured by success on the following:
· Entry Level Self Assessment Exam – all students must complete this exam at the beginning of their final semester, as a formative exercise to prepare for the first phase of the national board exam (Entry Level CRT). This exam is given via the Web and feedback is provided on each content area.
F. Upon completion of the respiratory care program, graduates will demonstrate critical thinking skills within the context of professional respiratory care practice as measured by success on the following:
· NBRC Clinical Simulation Exam – this exam is a measure of cognitive mastery on advanced therapist skills and procedures taken after graduation. The exam consists of 10 separate patient management problems. The clinical setting and patient situation for each problem are designed to simulate reality and be relevant to the clinical practice of respiratory care. This exam also involves demonstration of higher-level patient management ability, including therapeutic procedure initiation and modification. A passing score is required on this exam in addition to that on the Written Registry, to obtain the credential of ‘Registered Respiratory Therapist’ (RRT).
· Students will receive a grade of satisfactory for their performance in the clinical practical courses (RT 3050, RT 3051, RT 3052, RT 4051, and RT 4052.
H. Upon completion of the respiratory care program, graduates will apply current
standards of professional respiratory care practice to the analysis of contemporary issues and problems as measured by successful completion of:
· Capstone course – during spring semester of senior year “Trends and Professional Issues” is a writing intensive course that analyses the professional environment for the current practice of respiratory care. The role and function of the respiratory therapist in preventing and managing respiratory diseases is discussed. Topics and emphasis may vary.
A. A number of the learning outcomes measures e.g. the Entry Level Self Assessment exam, are formative in nature, and are used to help ensure student competency. Others, such as the Mid-program Exam, the Exit Exam, the NBRC Entry Level CRT Exam, the Summative Psychomotor Evaluation, the Summative Affective Evaluation and The Capstone course RT 4075 all must be successfully completed for a student to ultimately complete the program and graduate.
B. Each year at the appropriate time data is received, the Department faculty meet to review the pass rates and score distributions on the Departmental measures, or the results of the surveys from graduates and from employers. Remedial action can be decided on and implemented to address weaknesses in student performance. This may involve revisions to the curriculum or clinical rotations.
C. On an annual basis pass rates on the NBRC examinations, employer and student surveys must be summarized and reported to the national accrediting agency for Respiratory Therapy, the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC), along with attrition rates and employment rates. Failure to achieve specified thresholds on any of these measures can result in Program probation or even loss of accreditation. The CoARC annual report requires an analysis section as well as an action plan section for the results of the assessment measures.
D. Department faculty dedicate a meeting each year to review outcomes on NBRC examinations for graduates of the previous year. This data is also presented annually at the external Advisory Board meeting for the Program. In both instances, remedial action can be decided on and implemented to address weaknesses in student performance.
Some form of program learning outcomes assessment as measured by National Board performance, employer and student surveys, has been implemented by the Department since its inception in 1969. This is largely dictated by the requirement for a healthcare program such as Respiratory Therapy to answer to an external accreditation agency.
The current form of Program assessment, as described above, is currently in use and has been since the mid-1980s. Changes to nationally standardized employer and student surveys occurred in 2000, and are currently in use.
CCS
program outcomesUG.1.04/9.04