TY - JOUR T1 - Practice of Respiratory Therapists in Pennsylvania: A Statewide Survey JF - Respiratory Care SP - 972 LP - 976 DO - 10.4187/respcare.07153 VL - 65 IS - 7 AU - Rebecca Armaghan AU - Brittany Geesey AU - Jerin Juby AU - Javier Amador-Castaneda AU - Allison Bollinger AU - Karsten J Roberts AU - Rachel Newberry AU - Mandy Harshberger AU - Nathan Radabaugh AU - Margie Pierce AU - Natalie Napolitano A2 - , Y1 - 2020/07/01 UR - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/65/7/972.abstract N2 - BACKGROUND: The Pennsylvania Respiratory Research Collaborative formed in January 2017 for the purpose of providing mentorship and opportunities to participate in statewide research, quality improvement, and evidence-based practice projects. The inaugural project was designed to investigate and describe the practice of respiratory therapy in Pennsylvania.METHODS: A survey related to the practice and business of in-patient respiratory therapy departments was developed and sent to managers/directors of every hospital within the state of Pennsylvania. The survey period was October 2017 to April 2018. Pennsylvania hospitals were contacted to ask the respiratory therapy manager/director to complete the electronic survey. One hundred eighty-eight hospitals with in-patient respiratory therapy departments were contacted; direct information for the respiratory therapy manager/director was obtained for 159 hospitals.RESULTS: Of the 159 hospitals sent the survey, 101 (63.5%) responded. Of the respondents, 52% were academic medical centers. For staff positions, 50% prefer a bachelor’s degree, and 77.3% prefer the Registered Respiratory Therapist certification. However, managers are only able to hire preferred candidates 50% of the time. Clinical ladders are utilized in 29% of the responding institution, and protocols are utilized in 74% of hospitals, with the most common being ventilator (92%), bronchodilator (79%), airway clearance (56%), hyperinflation (41%), and disease-specific (23%). Respiratory therapists in 84% of the hospitals perform nontraditional procedures, with the most common being electrocardiography (35%), advanced procedures including intubation (20%), arterial line placement (14%), blind bronchoalveolar lavage (14%), and electroencephalography (12%). Respiratory therapists are utilized in alternative roles in 42% of hospitals. The most common alternative roles are patient educator (29%), out-patient clinics (21%), patient navigators (19%), transport (14%), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (6%), case managers (5%), research (5%), and telehealth (2%).CONCLUSIONS: The practice of respiratory therapy in the state of Pennsylvania varies greatly, with a small number of hospitals practicing at the top of their license. Additional research is needed to understand variations in practice. ER -