respiratory care survey

2009 AARC Human Resource Survey of Respiratory Therapists

Prepared by

Robert C. Shaw, Jr., PhD, Program Director Christopher Traynor, MA, Research Associate

and Jennifer L. Benavente, B/BEd, Research Assistant

Psychometrics Department

APPLIED MEASUREMENT PROFESSIONALS, INC.

Copyright © 2009. American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC). PROPRIETARY. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy or recording, or any information retrieval system, without permission in writing from the American Association for Respiratory Care.

AARC Human Resource Survey of Respiratory Therapists Page i

Table of Contents Page INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................2 GUIDE TO RESULTS INTERPRETATION...................................................................................3 RESULTS .....................................................................................................................................3

General Descriptions ................................................................................................... 3 Frequency Tables and Response Distributions ........................................................... 8 DME/Home Care ....................................................................................................... 19 Long Term Care......................................................................................................... 25 Education................................................................................................................... 29 Manufacturing/Distribution ......................................................................................... 35 Outpatient Facility/Physician’s Office......................................................................... 38 Registry providing temporary employees................................................................... 43 Job Satisfaction ......................................................................................................... 60 Job Title ..................................................................................................................... 64 Credentials ................................................................................................................ 65 Compensation Factors............................................................................................. 100 Interval and Ratio Level Variables ........................................................................... 100 Nominal and Ordinal Level Variables....................................................................... 102 Region ..................................................................................................................... 103 Job title .................................................................................................................... 104 Characteristics of respiratory therapy training or education..................................... 106 Degree earned from respiratory therapy school ...................................................... 107 Highest academic level............................................................................................ 107 Summary of Consequential Compensation Factors................................................. 109

DISCUSSION............................................................................................................................113 Regression Analyses ............................................................................................... 119 Analysis of Covariance Analyses............................................................................. 120

Appendix A................................................................................................................................121 Human Resource Survey of Respiratory Therapists.................................................................121 Appendix B................................................................................................................................140 Postcards to Respiratory Therapists.........................................................................................140 Appendix C ...............................................................................................................................144 Compiled Comments from Survey Respondents......................................................................144 Appendix A - Human Resource Survey of Respiratory Therapists ...........................................121 Appendix B - Postcards to Respiratory Therapists ...................................................................140 Appendix C - Compiled Comments from Survey Respondents ................................................144

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List of Tables

Page

Table 1. Population numbers and sampling outcomes .................................................................2 Table 2. Respondents by state ..................................................................................................... 3 Table 3. Distribution of respondents by region .............................................................................6 Table 4. Distribution by census division........................................................................................ 7 Table 5. Age of respondents in years ...........................................................................................8 Table 6. Years respondents have practiced since completing training.........................................9 Table 7. Years worked for current primary employer ..................................................................10 Table 8. Descriptive statistics for year of intended departure from respiratory therapist

workforce ......................................................................................................................11 Table 9. Year of intended departure from respiratory therapist workforce.................................. 12 Table 10. Hours worked per week at jobs at Acute Care Hospitals............................................ 14 Table 11. Hours worked per week at Primary job in Acute Care Hospital .................................. 14 Table 12. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Acute Care hospital .............................. 17 Table 13. Hours worked per week at Third job in Acute Care Hospital ...................................... 18 Table 14. Hours worked per week in DME/Home Care ..............................................................20 Table 15. Hours worked per week at primary job in DME/Home care ........................................ 20 Table 16. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in DME/Home Care .................................. 22 Table 17. Hours worked per week at third job in DME/Home care ............................................. 24 Table 18. Hours worked per week in Long Term Care ...............................................................25 Table 19. Hours worked per week at Primary job in Long Term Care ........................................ 25 Table 20. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in LTC....................................................... 27 Table 21. Hours worked per week at Third job in Long Term Care ............................................ 28 Table 22. Hours worked per week in Education program ...........................................................30 Table 23. Hours worked per week at Primary job in Education ..................................................30 Table 24. Hours worked per week at Second job in Education .................................................. 32 Table 25. Hours worked per week at Third job in Education ......................................................34 Table 26. Hours worked per week in Manufacturing/Distribution................................................35 Table 27. Hours worked per week at Primary job in Manufacturing/Distribution ........................ 35 Table 28. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Manufacturing/Distribution.................... 36 Table 29. Hours worked per week at Third job in Manufacturing/Distribution............................. 37 Table 30. Descriptive statistics for Hours worked per week in Outpatient facility/

Physician’s office ........................................................................................................39 Table 31. Hours worked per week in Primary job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s office .......... 39 Table 32. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s

office ........................................................................................................................... 41 Table 33. Hours worked per week at Third job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s office .............. 42 Table 34. Descriptive statistics for Hours worked per week for Registry .................................... 43 Table 35. Hours worked per week in Primary job in Registry .....................................................44 Table 36. Hours worked per week at Second job in Registry .....................................................46 Table 37. Hours worked per week at Third job in Registry .........................................................47 Table 38. Descriptive statistics for Hours worked per week for all employers ............................ 48 Table 39. Descriptive statistics for hourly base wage at primary job .......................................... 50 Table 40. Descriptive statistics for differentials...........................................................................51 Table 41. Descriptive statistics for most recent bonus amount...................................................57 Table 42. Descriptive statistics for estimated compensation from primary, secondary,

and tertiary jobs in 2008 .............................................................................................58

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Table 43. Descriptive statistics for job satisfaction .....................................................................60 Table 44. Job satisfaction ........................................................................................................... 61 Table 45. Area of lowest job satisfaction ....................................................................................62 Table 46. Strongest reason for employment change ..................................................................63 Table 47. Job titles...................................................................................................................... 64 Table 48. NBRC credential maintenance requirement ...............................................................66 Table 49. NBRC Credentials Earned ..........................................................................................67 Table 50. NCLEX credentials earned .........................................................................................67 Table 51. Other credentials earned ............................................................................................68 Table 52. Other certifications completed ....................................................................................69 Table 53. Procedures in which respiratory therapists assisted sorted in descending order

by frequency ...............................................................................................................70 Table 54. Respiratory therapy training/education .......................................................................71 Table 55. Degree earned when eligible for credential ................................................................ 72 Table 56. Highest academic level achieved?..............................................................................74 Table 57. Comparison of degrees earned from the respiratory therapy program and the

highest academic degree............................................................................................74 Table 58. Presently pursuing higher academic degree............................................................... 75 Table 59. Goal for pursuing higher academic degree.................................................................77 Table 60. Descriptive statistics for patients receiving mechanical ventilation assigned to

therapists ....................................................................................................................78 Table 61. Patients receiving mechanical ventilation assigned to therapists ............................... 78 Table 62. Percentage of time spent in hospital units sorted by descending mean values.......... 80 Table 63. Percentage of time spent caring for patients with diseases/disorders ........................ 86 Table 64. Mean differences in percentage of time spent caring for patients with

diseases/disorders......................................................................................................86 Table 65. Expectation to deliver therapy to multiple patients in different locations

simultaneously ............................................................................................................87 Table 66. Descriptive statistics for percentage of recent shifts respondents have been

unable to complete all assigned work.........................................................................88 Table 67. Availability of work prioritization system......................................................................89 Table 68. Use of prioritization system.........................................................................................90 Table 69. Use of protocols to deliver respiratory care ................................................................91 Table 70. Shift worked ................................................................................................................ 92 Table 71. Gender ........................................................................................................................ 93 Table 72. Race/ethnicity ............................................................................................................. 93 Table 73.Which of the following best describes your tobacco use? (cigarettes, cigars,

pipe, or spit tobacco) ..................................................................................................97 Table 74. In what year did you quit using tobacco?....................................................................97 Table 75. Low and high estimates for affirmative responses to survey items limited to

Yes and No ...............................................................................................................100 Table 76. Correlations of potential 2008 compensation predictors sorted by strength ............. 101 Table 77. Multiple regression result for compensation in 2008.................................................102 Table 78. ANCOVA estimates of marginal means for compensation from primary job in

2008 by region ..........................................................................................................103 Table 79. Pairwise comparisons of means by regions.............................................................. 103 Table 80. ANCOVA estimates of marginal means for compensation from primary job in

2008 by job title.........................................................................................................104 Table 81. Pairwise Comparisons of means by job title ............................................................. 105 Table 82. ANCOVA estimates of marginal means for compensation from primary job in

2008 by respiratory therapy training/education.........................................................106

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Table 83. Pairwise Comparisons of means by respiratory therapy training.............................. 107 Table 84. ANCOVA estimates of marginal means for compensation from primary job in

2008 by degree earned from respiratory therapy school .......................................... 107 Table 85. ANCOVA estimates of marginal means for compensation from primary job in

2008 by highest academic level................................................................................108 Table 86. Pairwise Comparisons of means by highest academic level ....................................108 Table 87. First compensation scenario .....................................................................................109 Table 88. Second compensation scenario................................................................................110 Table 89. Worksheet for fine-tuning compensation prediction.................................................. 111

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List of Figures

Page Figure 1. Distribution of active therapists by state ........................................................................5 Figure 2. Distribution by region ..................................................................................................... 6 Figure 3. Distribution by division ................................................................................................... 7 Figure 4. Age of respondents in years ..........................................................................................8 Figure 5. Years respondents have practiced since completing training........................................9 Figure 6. Years worked for current primary employer.................................................................10 Figure 7. Year of intended departure from respiratory therapist workforce ................................ 13 Figure 8. Hours worked per week at primary job in Acute Care hospital .................................... 16 Figure 9. Hours worked per week at second job in Acute Care hospital .................................... 18 Figure 10. Hours worked per week at third job in Acute Care hospital ....................................... 19 Figure 11. Hours worked per week at primary job in DME/Home care....................................... 21 Figure 12. Hours worked per week at second job in DME/Home care ....................................... 23 Figure 13. Hours worked per week at third job in DME/Home care............................................24 Figure 14. Hours worked per week at primary job in Long Term Care ....................................... 26 Figure 15. Hours worked per week at second job in Long Term Care........................................ 28 Figure 16. Hours worked per week at third job in Long Term Care ............................................ 29 Figure 17. Hours worked per week at primary job in Education program ................................... 31 Figure 18. Hours worked per week at second job in Education program ................................... 33 Figure 19. Hours worked per week at Third Job in Education ....................................................34 Figure 20. Hours worked per week in primary job in Manufacturing/Distribution........................ 36 Figure 21. Hours worked per week at second job in Manufacturing Distribution ........................ 37 Figure 22. Hours worked per week at Third job in Manufacturing/Distribution ........................... 38 Figure 23. Hours worked per week in Primary job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s office ......... 40 Figure 24. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s

office.......................................................................................................................... 42 Figure 25. Hours worked per week at Third job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s office ............. 43 Figure 26. Hours worked per week at primary job for Registry...................................................45 Figure 27. Hours worked per week at Second job for Registry...................................................47 Figure 28. Hours worked per week at third job for Registry........................................................48 Figure 29. Hourly base wage at primary job ...............................................................................50 Figure 30. Hourly evening shift differential..................................................................................52 Figure 31. Hourly night shift differential ...................................................................................... 53 Figure 32. Hourly weekend differential .......................................................................................54 Figure 33. Hourly holiday differential .......................................................................................... 55 Figure 34. Hourly On call Differential .......................................................................................... 56 Figure 35. Most recent bonus amount ........................................................................................57 Figure 36. Estimated compensation from primary job in 2008.................................................... 58 Figure 37. Estimated compensation from second job in 2008 ....................................................59 Figure 38. Estimated compensation from third job in 2008.........................................................60 Figure 39. Job satisfaction .......................................................................................................... 61 Figure 40. Area of lowest job satisfaction ...................................................................................62 Figure 41. Strongest reason for employment change.................................................................63 Figure 42. Job titles..................................................................................................................... 65 Figure 43. NBRC credential maintenance requirement ..............................................................66 Figure 44. Respiratory therapy training/education ......................................................................71

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Figure 45. Degree earned when eligible for credential ............................................................... 73 Figure 46. Highest academic level achieved ..............................................................................75 Figure 47. Presently pursuing higher academic degree .............................................................76 Figure 48. Goal for pursuing higher academic degree................................................................77 Figure 49. Patients receiving mechanical ventilation assigned to therapists .............................. 79 Figure 50. Percentage of time spent in Adult ICU.......................................................................80 Figure 51. Percentage of time spent in Pediatric ICU.................................................................81 Figure 52. Percentage of time spent in Neonatal ICU ................................................................82 Figure 53. Percentage of time spent on General Medical/Surgical floor..................................... 83 Figure 54. Percentage of time spent in Emergency Department ................................................ 84 Figure 55. Percentage of time spent in Other areas ...................................................................85 Figure 56. Expectation to deliver therapy to multiple patients in different locations

simultaneously...........................................................................................................87 Figure 57. Percentage of recent shifts respondents have been unable to complete all

assigned work ...........................................................................................................88 Figure 58. Availability of work prioritization system ....................................................................89 Figure 59. Use of prioritization system........................................................................................90 Figure 60. Use of protocols to deliver respiratory care ...............................................................91 Figure 61. Shift worked ............................................................................................................... 92 Figure 62. Have you received a Pneumococcal vaccination within the past 12 months?........... 94 Figure 63. Have you received an Influenza vaccination within the past 12 months?.................. 95 Figure 64. Have you smoked 100 or more cigarettes in your lifetime?.......................................96 Figure 65. Are you currently a member of the AARC? ...............................................................99

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INTRODUCTION The AARC is the professional membership organization for respiratory therapists and has periodically conducted human resource studies of therapists and institutions that employ therapists. The intent behind this arm of the study was to gather information from individual therapists. The AARC prepared and made available a survey with the intent that individuals who were respiratory therapists would respond. Opportunities to respond to the survey were sent to the sample unsolicited by potential respondents. Members of the sample then chose whether to respond. Therefore, the sample was composed of volunteers. The report that follows contains a number of statistical analyses. A brief guide to interpretation of these analyses is provided. The Results section follows the order of questions as presented in the survey. Where applicable, the specific survey question that pertained to the analysis is listed with the research question. The survey question is listed in bold type. The survey document is presented in Appendix A.

AARC Human Resource Survey of Respiratory Therapists

METHODS

A survey of this population was completed in 2005, so the instrument from that study was the starting point for development of an instrument for this study. AARC Director of Education and Management Services, Bill Dubbs, revised and added questions to bring the instrument to its final form. Respondents interacted with the survey through an Internet web page. Text of the survey document is shown in Appendix A. The survey was administered over the Internet from a secure server. Responses were recorded electronically in a database on the server. Survey sampling came from populations of (1) credentialed therapists, (2) acute care hospitals, and (3) education programs. Table 1 summarizes the population numbers and sampling outcomes. The education program and acute care hospital populations were left intact rather than sampled so each member of those two groups had an opportunity to respond to the therapist survey. Table 1. Population numbers and sampling outcomes

Cohort Population N Survey Sample

Credentialed therapists in the NBRC database 139,675 randomly selected

7,000Acute care hospitals with 25 beds or more and 1 or more operating rooms 3,853 3,853CoARC accredited education programs 359 359

Total solicited by postcard 11,212 Postcards were distributed by the United States Postal Service to the survey sample. Text of the postcard is shown in Appendix B. Postcards sent to the 7,000 therapists directly encouraged them to respond to the survey for individual therapists. Postcards sent to acute care hospital directors and directors of education programs encouraged a snowball sampling technique in which they would encourage others in their institutions to respond to the survey for individual therapists. This snowball solicitation encouraged the postcard recipient to respond to the survey for therapists as well. Nine hundred and three postcards were returned due to incomplete or bad addresses. Other therapists were permitted to register for survey access. They learned about the survey from information posted to the AARC website and emails distributed by the AARC. The addition of responses from therapists to whom we did not mail a postcard made it impossible to calculate a response rate. There were eventually 3,942 therapists who registered to access the survey of whom 3,139 submitted responses. Each study participant was limited to submitting a single set of responses. We extended the deadline for submitting survey responses one time to encourage more participation. The survey was available between March 16, and April 27, 2009. The first survey question asked each respondent for his or her zip code. Using the zip code information from the survey, respondents were classified by census divisions, regions, and by urban or rural locations. These classifications were used for subsequent analyses in the report.


GUIDE TO RESULTS INTERPRETATION This section was moved to the Introduction to the reports since all of the reports had tables that were similarly formatted. Readers of this report who seek guidance about interpreting statistical tables are encouraged to refer to the Introduction to All Reports document.

RESULTS General Descriptions Results shown in Table 2 had two inputs. Counts of licensed or registered therapists were solicited from state agencies who track these lists. An AARC chapter representative from each of the two states (Alaska and Hawaii) that did not regulate respiratory therapy practice provided an estimated therapist count. Larger numbers of responses tended to come from states with larger general populations. Table 2. Respondents by state

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent Population Reported by State Agencies/Chapters

AK 6 .2 .2 .2 175 AL 35 1.1 1.1 1.3 2,539 AR 52 1.7 1.7 3.0 1,836 AZ 83 2.6 2.7 5.6 3,801 CA 214 6.8 6.9 12.5 17,808 CO 50 1.6 1.6 14.1 2,293 CT 43 1.4 1.4 15.5 1,686 DC 3 .1 .1 15.6 773 DE 7 .2 .2 15.8 708 FL 144 4.6 4.6 20.4 6,238 GA 103 3.3 3.3 23.7 4,767 HI 9 .3 .3 24.0 250 IA 36 1.1 1.2 25.2 1,467 ID 19 .6 .6 25.8 713 IL 99 3.2 3.2 29.0 5,802 IN 84 2.7 2.7 31.7 3,700 KS 48 1.5 1.5 33.2 1,743 KY 33 1.1 1.1 34.3 3,028 LA 64 2.0 2.1 36.3 1,436 MA 60 1.9 1.9 38.2 2,891 MD 57 1.8 1.8 40.1 2,587 ME 31 1.0 1.0 41.1 602 MI 86 2.7 2.8 43.8 4,525 MN 60 1.9 1.9 45.7 1,674



Percent Population Reported by State Agencies/Chapters

MO 98 3.1 3.1 48.9 3,759 MS 26 .8 .8 49.7 1,676 MT 20 .6 .6 50.4 557 NC 133 4.2 4.3 54.6 4,123 ND 22 .7 .7 55.3 446 NE 44 1.4 1.4 56.8 1,256 NH 19 .6 .6 57.4 540 NJ 82 2.6 2.6 60.0 3,344 NM 27 .9 .9 60.9 940 NV 13 .4 .4 61.3 892 NY 119 3.8 3.8 65.1 6,557 OH 202 6.4 6.5 71.6 6,956 OK 35 1.1 1.1 72.7 1,980 OR 40 1.3 1.3 74.0 1,470 PA 174 5.5 5.6 79.6 6,357 PR 5 .2 .2 79.7 RI 17 .5 .5 80.3 529 SC 55 1.8 1.8 82.0 2,445 SD 25 .8 .8 82.8 414 TN 48 1.5 1.5 84.4 3,673 TX 132 4.2 4.2 88.6 12,373 UT 25 .8 .8 89.4 1,186 VA 92 2.9 3.0 92.4 3,520 VT 14 .4 .4 92.8 456 WA 91 2.9 2.9 95.7 2,270 WI 76 2.4 2.4 98.2 2,474 WV 39 1.2 1.3 99.4 1,576 WY 18 .6 .6 100.0 306 Total 3117 99.3 100.0 Missing 22 .7 Total 3139 100.0 145,117


Figure 1. Distribution of active therapists by state


Responses were combined into the four regions shown in Table 3 so we could analyze other variables by geography. Table 3. Distribution of respondents by region

Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Population Reported By State Agency

Northeast 559 17.8 18.0 18.0 22,962 Midwest 880 28.0 28.3 46.2 34,216 South 1058 33.7 34.0 80.2 55,278 West 615 19.6 19.8 100.0 32,661

Total 3112 99.1 100.0 Outside US 5 .2 Missing 22 .7

Total 27 .9 Total 3139 100.0 Northeast – MA, RI, NH, ME, VT, CT, NJ, NY, PA Midwest – OH, IN, MI, WI, IL, IA, MN, SD, ND, MO, KS, NE South – DC, DE, MD, VA, WV, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, TN, MS, KY, LA, AR, OK, TX West – MT, CO, WY, ID, UT, AZ, NM, NV, CA, HI, OR, WA, AK

Figure 2. Distribution by region


Survey responses were recompiled into the divisions listed in Table 4 to coincide with groups defined by the United States census. Table 4. Distribution by census division

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative PercentNew England 184 5.9 5.9 5.9 South Atlantic 633 20.2 20.3 26.3 Middle Atlantic 375 11.9 12.1 38.3 East North Central 547 17.4 17.6 55.9 East South Central 142 4.5 4.6 60.4 West North Central 333 10.6 10.7 71.1 West South Central 283 9.0 9.1 80.2 Mountain 255 8.1 8.2 88.4 Pacific 360 11.5 11.6 100.0

Total 3112 99.1 100.0 Outside US 5 .2 Missing 22 .7

Total 27 .9 Total 3139 100.0

Figure 3. Distribution by division


Frequency Tables and Response Distributions Survey Questions are shown in bold type and research questions follow. 1. What is your age in years? What is the age profile of respondents? The typical respondent to the survey of respiratory therapists was between 47 and 49 years old based on mean and median values. Figure 4 shows that relatively few respondents in this sample of therapists remained in respiratory care beyond the age of 62. Table 5. Age of respondents in years

N Valid Missing Mean

Std. Error of Mean Median

Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum

3128 11 47.45 .173 49.00 9.649 21 87

Figure 4. Age of respondents in years


2. How many years have you practiced as a respiratory therapist since completing your training?

What is the profile for years of practice? Figure 5 shows that the largest subgroup within the sample had 30 years of experience, so that would be one way to describe what was typical. However, a mean value of 20.6 and a median of 22 gave somewhat lower values for what was the typical level of experience for the whole sample of survey respondents. Table 6. Years respondents have practiced since completing training


Std. Error of Mean Median Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum

3130 9 20.64 .194 22.00 10.858 0 46

Figure 5. Years respondents have practiced since completing training


3. How many years have you worked for your current primary employer? What is the profile for years of service at primary employers? The fact that the modal point of the distribution in Figure 6 was on the extreme low end was consistent with a population that typically experiences transitions to different employers. The fact that the shapes of the histograms on this page and the previous page were different helped to confirm that it was common for respondents to change employers. Table 7. Years worked for current primary employer



3130 9 11.37 .170 9.00 9.524 0 44

Figure 6. Years worked for current primary employer


4. During what year do you plan to leave the respiratory therapist workforce? What is the profile for years of intended service? The largest subgroup within this sample identified 2020 as the year they planned to leave the workforce of respiratory therapists. The year 2020 also was the median point, which indicates that about one-half of the sample intended to leave the workforce over the next eleven years. We suggest that the cumulative frequency column of Table 9 is particularly helpful in making predictions and planning for the movement of individuals out of the workforce. We produced one set of predictions, which are listed in the projected cumulative number column of Table 9. We calculated these numbers by multiplying the cumulative percent value by the 2009 population number, which was 145,117. For example, we learned to expect that about 34,500 from the current population of therapists will have left the workforce by the end of the year 2015. Something else we noted was that the 5-, 10- and 15-year points were each associated with upward spikes in the numbers. We infer from this behavior that typical respondents were expressing general rather than specific plans to leave the workforce. In other words, many therapists are not that strongly committed to leaving at the specific points that they indicated in their responses to this survey. Still, planning for the departure of these individuals makes sense. Toward that end, we found that the average percentage of this sample that planned to leave the population corresponded to 3,029 therapists each year. We will talk more about study limitations later in the Discussion section of this report, but it is worth highlighting that these projections are only as good as the degree to which there was little or no sampling bias. If people who chose to respond to the survey were different than therapists in the population, then behavior related to leaving the workforce could be strongly affected. Because we cannot pinpoint ways in which this sample might be different from the population, we cannot know whether our projections are high or low. Table 8. Descriptive statistics for year of intended departure from respiratory therapist workforce


Std. Errorof Mean Median


3026 113 2023.71 .191 2020.00 10.492 2009 2060


Table 9. Year of intended departure from respiratory therapist workforce

Frequency PercentValid

PercentCumulative

Percent Projected cumulative number from 2009 population that will have left*

2009 58 1.8 1.9 1.9 2,757

2010 59 1.9 1.9 3.9 5,660

2011 71 2.3 2.3 6.2 8,997

2012 122 3.9 4 10.2 14,802

2013 72 2.3 2.4 12.6 18,285

2014 114 3.6 3.8 16.4 23,799

2015 224 7.1 7.4 23.8 34,538

2016 79 2.5 2.6 26.4 38,311

2017 78 2.5 2.6 29 42,084

2018 90 2.9 3 32 46,437

2019 199 6.3 6.6 38.5 55,870

2020 372 11.9 12.3 50.8 73,719

2021 80 2.5 2.6 53.5 77,638

2022 72 2.3 2.4 55.8 80,975

2023 41 1.3 1.4 57.2 83,007

2024 102 3.2 3.4 60.6 87,941

2025 209 6.7 6.9 67.5 97,954

2026 27 0.9 0.9 68.4 99,260

2027 35 1.1 1.2 69.5 100,856

2028 27 0.9 0.9 70.4 102,162

2029 170 5.4 5.6 76 110,289

2030 199 6.3 6.6 82.6 119,867

2031 23 0.7 0.8 83.4 121,028

2032 15 0.5 0.5 83.9 121,753

2033 21 0.7 0.7 84.6 122,769

2034 39 1.2 1.3 85.9 124,656

2035 71 2.3 2.3 88.2 127,993

2036 14 0.4 0.5 88.7 128,719

2037 14 0.4 0.5 89.1 129,299

2038 13 0.4 0.4 89.6 130,025

2039 64 2 2.1 91.7 133,072

2040 90 2.9 3 94.6 137,281

2041 5 0.2 0.2 94.8 137,571

2042 2 0.1 0.1 94.9 137,716

2043 7 0.2 0.2 95.1 138,006

2044 6 0.2 0.2 95.3 138,297


Frequency PercentValid

PercentCumulative

Percent Projected cumulative number from 2009 population that will have left*

2045 18 0.6 0.6 95.9 139,167

2046 4 0.1 0.1 96 139,312

2047 4 0.1 0.1 96.2 139,603

2048 5 0.2 0.2 96.3 139,748

2049 11 0.4 0.4 96.7 140,328

2050 21 0.7 0.7 97.4 141,344

2053 1 0 0 97.4 141,344

2054 1 0 0 97.5 141,489

2055 2 0.1 0.1 97.5 141,489

2058 1 0 0 97.6 141,634

2059 1 0 0 97.6 141,634

2060 73 2.3 2.4 100 145,117

Total 3026 96.4 100

Missing 113 3.6

Total 3139 100

Figure 7. Year of intended departure from respiratory therapist workforce


5. How many hours do you work in a typical week for the following employers? What are the descriptive statistics for hours worked in each venue of employment in the total sample of active therapists? Acute Care Hospital 75% of therapists in this sample worked in their primary job at an acute care hospital, which extrapolated to a population of 108,087 people. Among therapists whose primary job was in an acute care hospital, they typically worked for 37 to 40 hours per week (Table 10). Those who had second jobs worked an average of nearly 12 hours a week in acute care hospitals. We did note in Table 12 that among those who worked a second job at least a few were putting in full-time hours. However, two-thirds of this group worked no more than 12 hours, so that was a more typical scenario for second jobs. Very few therapists in this sample worked a third job in an acute care hospital. Those who did typically worked one shift per week (Table 13). Table 10. Hours worked per week at jobs at Acute Care Hospitals


Std. Errorof Mean Median


Hours worked per week at Primary job in Acute Care hospital

2338 801 36.77 .20 40.00 9.49 1.00 60.00

Hours worked per week in Secondary job in Acute Care hospital

317 2822 11.61 .42 12.00 7.45 1.00 44.00

Hours worked per week in Third job in Acute Care hospital

21 3118 7.24 .87 8.00 4.00 1.00 12.00

Table 11. Hours worked per week at Primary job in Acute Care Hospital

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 11 .4 .5 .5 2 8 .3 .3 .8 3 1 .0 .0 .9 4 7 .2 .3 1.2 5 3 .1 .1 1.3 6 5 .2 .2 1.5 7 1 .0 .0 1.5 8 22 .7 .9 2.5 9 4 .1 .2 2.7 10 12 .4 .5 3.2 12 35 1.1 1.5 4.7 13 1 .0 .0 4.7 14 3 .1 .1 4.8 15 9 .3 .4 5.2

16 18 .6 .8 6.0


Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 17 2 .1 .1 6.1 18 5 .2 .2 6.3 19 3 .1 .1 6.4 20 37 1.2 1.6 8.0 22 1 .0 .0 8.0 23 2 .1 .1 8.1 24 101 3.2 4.3 12.4 25 3 .1 .1 12.6 26 3 .1 .1 12.7 28 15 .5 .6 13.3 29 1 .0 .0 13.4 30 25 .8 1.1 14.5 31 1 .0 .0 14.5 32 76 2.4 3.3 17.8 33 2 .1 .1 17.8 34 7 .2 .3 18.1 35 18 .6 .8 18.9 36 618 19.7 26.4 45.3 37 20 .6 .9 46.2 38 46 1.5 2.0 48.2 39 10 .3 .4 48.6 40 796 25.4 34.0 82.6 41 6 .2 .3 82.9 42 24 .8 1.0 83.9 43 4 .1 .2 84.1 44 34 1.1 1.5 85.5 45 93 3.0 4.0 89.5 46 13 .4 .6 90.1 47 4 .1 .2 90.2 48 67 2.1 2.9 93.1 50 111 3.5 4.7 97.9 51 1 .0 .0 97.9 52 7 .2 .3 98.2 53 2 .1 .1 98.3 55 15 .5 .6 98.9 56 1 .0 .0 99.0 57 1 .0 .0 99.0 60 23 .7 1.0 100.0 Total 2338 74.5 100.0

Missing 801 25.5 Total 3139 100.0


Figure 8. Hours worked per week at primary job in Acute Care hospital


Table 12. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Acute Care hospital Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 6 .2 1.9 1.9 2 11 .4 3.5 5.4 3 3 .1 .9 6.3 4 26 .8 8.2 14.5 5 11 .4 3.5 18.0 6 18 .6 5.7 23.7 8 63 2.0 19.9 43.5 10 10 .3 3.2 46.7 12 100 3.2 31.5 78.2 13 2 .1 .6 78.9 14 2 .1 .6 79.5 15 2 .1 .6 80.1 16 17 .5 5.4 85.5 17 1 .0 .3 85.8 18 2 .1 .6 86.4 20 5 .2 1.6 88.0 22 2 .1 .6 88.6 24 20 .6 6.3 95.0 25 1 .0 .3 95.3 30 5 .2 1.6 96.8 32 3 .1 .9 97.8 35 1 .0 .3 98.1 36 3 .1 .9 99.1 40 2 .1 .6 99.7 44 1 .0 .3 100.0

Total 317 10.1 100.0 Missing 2822 89.9 Total 3139 100.0


Figure 9. Hours worked per week at second job in Acute Care hospital

Table 13. Hours worked per week at Third job in Acute Care Hospital Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 3 .1 14.3 14.3 2 1 .0 4.8 19.0 4 2 .1 9.5 28.6 5 1 .0 4.8 33.3 6 2 .1 9.5 42.9 8 5 .2 23.8 66.7 10 1 .0 4.8 71.4 12 6 .2 28.6 100.0

Total 21 .7 100.0 Missing 3118 99.3 Total 3139 100.0


Figure 10. Hours worked per week at third job in Acute Care hospital

DME/Home Care 6.3% of the sample worked in the Durable Medical Equipment/Home Care setting as their primary job. This extrapolated to a population of 9,200. When a respondent’s primary job was in a DME/Home Care setting, typical therapists who worked full time put in 38 to 40 hours per week (Table 14). Like we saw in the group who worked primarily in the acute care setting, the typical therapist working a second job in the DME/Home Care setting put in 10 to 11 hours, but a few worked a full 40 hours in their second job (Tables 14 and 16). The few who worked a third job in the DME/Home Care setting typically put in 3 to 5 hours (Tables 14 and 17).


Table 14. Hours worked per week in DME/Home Care N

Valid Missing MeanStd. Error of Mean Median


Hours worked per week at Primary job in DME/Home care 199 2940 37.86 1.000 40.00 14.107 1 60

Hours worked per week at Second job in DME/Home care 59 3080 11.27 1.180 10.00 9.063 1 40

Hours worked per week at Third job in DME/Home care 17 3122 5.06 1.193 3.00 4.918 1 20

Table 15. Hours worked per week at primary job in DME/Home care

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 3 .1 1.5 1.5 2 2 .1 1.0 2.5 3 1 .0 .5 3.0 4 5 .2 2.5 5.5 5 1 .0 .5 6.0 7 2 .1 1.0 7.0 8 4 .1 2.0 9.0 10 5 .2 2.5 11.6 12 1 .0 .5 12.1 16 1 .0 .5 12.6 20 4 .1 2.0 14.6 24 3 .1 1.5 16.1 26 1 .0 .5 16.6 30 8 .3 4.0 20.6 32 1 .0 .5 21.1 36 1 .0 .5 21.6 37 2 .1 1.0 22.6 38 1 .0 .5 23.1 40 79 2.5 39.7 62.8 42 6 .2 3.0 65.8 43 5 .2 2.5 68.3 44 3 .1 1.5 69.8 45 18 .6 9.0 78.9 46 2 .1 1.0 79.9 47 1 .0 .5 80.4 48 3 .1 1.5 81.9 50 22 .7 11.1 93.0

55 2 .1 1.0 94.0


56 1 .0 .5 94.5 60 11 .4 5.5 100.0


Figure 11. Hours worked per week at primary job in DME/Home care


Table 16. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in DME/Home Care Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 4 .1 6.8 6.8 2 7 .2 11.9 18.6 3 3 .1 5.1 23.7 4 2 .1 3.4 27.1 5 1 .0 1.7 28.8 6 5 .2 8.5 37.3 7 1 .0 1.7 39.0 8 5 .2 8.5 47.5 10 7 .2 11.9 59.3 12 5 .2 8.5 67.8 15 1 .0 1.7 69.5 16 5 .2 8.5 78.0 20 6 .2 10.2 88.1 21 1 .0 1.7 89.8 24 3 .1 5.1 94.9 30 1 .0 1.7 96.6 40 2 .1 3.4 100.0



Figure 12. Hours worked per week at second job in DME/Home care


Table 17. Hours worked per week at third job in DME/Home care Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 4 .1 23.5 23.5 2 4 .1 23.5 47.1 3 1 .0 5.9 52.9 4 1 .0 5.9 58.8 6 1 .0 5.9 64.7 7 1 .0 5.9 70.6 8 3 .1 17.6 88.2 10 1 .0 5.9 94.1 20 1 .0 5.9 100.0


Figure 13. Hours worked per week at third job in DME/Home care


Long Term Care 4.4% of the sample worked in Long Term Care/Rehabilitation/Skilled Nursing Facilities settings for their primary job. We extrapolated a population of 6,380 from this percentage of the sample. Average values for work hours among therapists in the Long Term Care/Rehabilitation/Skilled Nursing Facility settings were between 32 and 36 hours (Table 18). When therapists held a second job in one of these settings, they tended to work 8 to 11 hours (Table 19 and Figure 15). When a therapist worked a third job in this setting, the hours were typically limited to 4 (Tables 18 and 21). Table 18. Hours worked per week in Long Term Care




Hours worked per week at Primary job in LTC/Rehab/SNF

138 3001 31.51 1.161 36.00 13.634 2 60

Hours worked per week at Second job in LTC/Rehab/SNF

67 3072 10.69 .933 8.00 7.640 1 40

Hours worked per week at Third job in LTC/Rehab/SNF 12 3127 6.75 1.871 4.00 6.482 1 24

Table 19. Hours worked per week at Primary job in Long Term Care

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 2 4 .1 2.9 2.9 3 4 .1 2.9 5.8 5 3 .1 2.2 8.0 6 1 .0 .7 8.7 7 1 .0 .7 9.4 8 8 .3 5.8 15.2 12 3 .1 2.2 17.4 16 1 .0 .7 18.1 20 4 .1 2.9 21.0 24 10 .3 7.2 28.3 28 1 .0 .7 29.0 30 4 .1 2.9 31.9 32 7 .2 5.1 37.0 34 1 .0 .7 37.7 36 29 .9 21.0 58.7 37 1 .0 .7 59.4 38 1 .0 .7 60.1 39 1 .0 .7 60.9

40 36 1.1 26.1 87.0


Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 42 2 .1 1.4 88.4 44 2 .1 1.4 89.9 45 5 .2 3.6 93.5 48 2 .1 1.4 94.9 50 4 .1 2.9 97.8 52 1 .0 .7 98.6 55 1 .0 .7 99.3 60 1 .0 .7 100.0


Figure 14. Hours worked per week at primary job in Long Term Care


Table 20. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in LTC Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 1 .0 1.5 1.5 2 5 .2 7.5 9.0 3 1 .0 1.5 10.4 4 7 .2 10.4 20.9 5 2 .1 3.0 23.9 6 1 .0 1.5 25.4 8 22 .7 32.8 58.2 10 2 .1 3.0 61.2 12 12 .4 17.9 79.1 14 1 .0 1.5 80.6 16 3 .1 4.5 85.1 20 3 .1 4.5 89.6 24 5 .2 7.5 97.0 36 1 .0 1.5 98.5 40 1 .0 1.5 100.0



Figure 15. Hours worked per week at second job in Long Term Care

Table 21. Hours worked per week at Third job in Long Term Care

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 1 .0 8.3 8.3 2 1 .0 8.3 16.7 3 2 .1 16.7 33.3 4 3 .1 25.0 58.3 5 1 .0 8.3 66.7 7 1 .0 8.3 75.0 12 2 .1 16.7 91.7 24 1 .0 8.3 100.0



Figure 16. Hours worked per week at third job in Long Term Care

Education 12.5% of the sample worked primarily in the education setting. We extrapolated a population of 18,076 from this percentage of the sample. However, we were reminded that there were only 359 accredited programs. There would have to be an average of more than 50 employees per program to reach 18,000+ people, which we knew from the AARC study of education programs was not the case. Therefore, this result revealed that people who primarily worked for education programs were overrepresented in this sample. Therapists who worked in education settings as their primary job tended to put in 31 to 40 hours (Table 22). We expected that the lower end of this range acknowledged that some therapists may only have 9- or 10-month appointments with their schools. When therapists worked second jobs in the education setting, they typically put in 8 to 9 hours (Table 22). Although Table 24 showed that several of those who worked second jobs in education put in 2, 8, and 16 hours per week. Those working a third job put in 6 to 8 hours (Table 22), although there were comparatively few of them (Table 25).


Table 22. Hours worked per week in Education program N

Valid Missing Mean Std. Error of Mean Median


Hours worked per week at Primary job in Education

391 2748 30.57 .865 40.00 17.113 1 60

Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Education

113 3026 8.97 .659 8.00 7.007 1 40

Hours worked per week at Third job in Education

16 3123 8.19 2.313 5.50 9.254 2 40

Table 23. Hours worked per week at Primary job in Education

Frequency Percent Valid PercentCumulative

Percent 1 9 .3 2.3 2.3 2 22 .7 5.6 7.9 3 7 .2 1.8 9.7 4 15 .5 3.8 13.6 5 11 .4 2.8 16.4 6 6 .2 1.5 17.9 7 3 .1 .8 18.7 8 7 .2 1.8 20.5 10 21 .7 5.4 25.8 12 6 .2 1.5 27.4 16 10 .3 2.6 29.9 20 5 .2 1.3 31.2 24 8 .3 2.0 33.2 26 1 .0 .3 33.5 30 10 .3 2.6 36.1 32 2 .1 .5 36.6 34 1 .0 .3 36.8 35 12 .4 3.1 39.9 36 5 .2 1.3 41.2 37 2 .1 .5 41.7 38 5 .2 1.3 43.0 40 151 4.8 38.6 81.6 44 3 .1 .8 82.4 45 20 .6 5.1 87.5 48 3 .1 .8 88.2

50 30 1.0 7.7 95.9



Percent 52 1 .0 .3 96.2 54 1 .0 .3 96.4 55 6 .2 1.5 98.0 56 1 .0 .3 98.2 60 7 .2 1.8 100.0


Figure 17. Hours worked per week at primary job in Education program


Table 24. Hours worked per week at Second job in Education Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 6 .2 5.3 5.3 2 16 .5 14.2 19.5 3 4 .1 3.5 23.0 4 6 .2 5.3 28.3 5 8 .3 7.1 35.4 6 4 .1 3.5 38.9 7 4 .1 3.5 42.5 8 21 .7 18.6 61.1 9 3 .1 2.7 63.7 10 9 .3 8.0 71.7 12 9 .3 8.0 79.6 15 1 .0 .9 80.5 16 12 .4 10.6 91.2 18 1 .0 .9 92.0 20 5 .2 4.4 96.5 24 1 .0 .9 97.3 26 1 .0 .9 98.2 40 2 .1 1.8 100.0



Figure 18. Hours worked per week at second job in Education program


Table 25. Hours worked per week at Third job in Education


Percent 2 1 .0 6.3 6.3 3 3 .1 18.8 25.0 4 3 .1 18.8 43.8 5 1 .0 6.3 50.0 6 2 .1 12.5 62.5 8 3 .1 18.8 81.3 10 1 .0 6.3 87.5 17 1 .0 6.3 93.8 40 1 .0 6.3 100.0


Figure 19. Hours worked per week at Third Job in Education


Manufacturing/Distribution 1.2% of the sample worked primarily in this setting, which extrapolated to a population of 1,803. The few therapists who worked in the Manufacturing/Distribution setting tended to put in 39 to 40 hours (Table 26). Those with second jobs in this setting were typically limited to 4 to 8 hours and third job holders were limited to about 5 hours. There were no therapists working a second or third job in this setting who put in a full 40 hours per week. Table 26. Hours worked per week in Manufacturing/Distribution




Hours worked per week at Primary job in Manufacturing/ Distribution

39 3100 39.08 2.082 40.00 13.003 1 60

Hours worked per week at Second job in Manufacturing/Distribution

14 3125 7.93 2.482 3.50 9.286 1 28

Hours worked per week at Third job in Manufacturing/ Distribution

5 3134 4.60 .245 5.00 .548 4 5

Table 27. Hours worked per week at Primary job in Manufacturing/Distribution


Percent 1 1 .0 2.6 2.6 2 1 .0 2.6 5.1 8 1 .0 2.6 7.7 20 1 .0 2.6 10.3 24 1 .0 2.6 12.8 28 1 .0 2.6 15.4 30 1 .0 2.6 17.9 40 18 .6 46.2 64.1 45 5 .2 12.8 76.9 46 1 .0 2.6 79.5 48 1 .0 2.6 82.1 50 4 .1 10.3 92.3 52 1 .0 2.6 94.9 60 2 .1 5.1 100.0



Figure 20. Hours worked per week in primary job in Manufacturing/Distribution

Table 28. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Manufacturing/Distribution

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 4 .1 28.6 28.6 2 3 .1 21.4 50.0 5 1 .0 7.1 57.1 6 1 .0 7.1 64.3 8 1 .0 7.1 71.4 10 1 .0 7.1 78.6 20 1 .0 7.1 85.7 24 1 .0 7.1 92.9 28 1 .0 7.1 100.0



Figure 21. Hours worked per week at second job in Manufacturing Distribution

Table 29. Hours worked per week at Third job in Manufacturing/Distribution

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 4 2 .1 40.0 40.0 5 3 .1 60.0 100.0



Figure 22. Hours worked per week at Third job in Manufacturing/Distribution

Outpatient Facility/Physician’s Office About 6% of the sample worked primarily in this setting, which extrapolated to a population of 8,738. However, only about one-third of this group worked for 40 hours a week (Table 31). Among therapists whose primary job was in an outpatient facility or physician’s office, they typically put in 30 to 36 hours each week. We extrapolated a population of 3,097 for the population who worked most of their hours in this setting. Those working a second job in this setting tended to work 6 to 8 hours (Table 30). Very few worked a third job in this setting (Tables 30 and 33).


Table 30. Descriptive statistics for Hours worked per week in Outpatient facility/ Physician’s office




Hours worked per week at Primary job in Outpt facility/ Physician’s Office

189 2950 30.44 .98 36.00 13.49 1 50

Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Outpt facility/ Physician’s Office

43 3096 8.49 1.03 6.00 6.78 1 30

Hours worked per week at Third job in Outpt facility/ Physician’s Office

5 3134 7.60 2.42 8.00 5.41 1 15

Table 31. Hours worked per week in Primary job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s office

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 2 .1 1.1 1.1 2 4 .1 2.1 3.2 3 2 .1 1.1 4.2 4 2 .1 1.1 5.3 5 2 .1 1.1 6.3 6 1 .0 .5 6.9 7 1 .0 .5 7.4 8 10 .3 5.3 12.7 9 1 .0 .5 13.2 10 4 .1 2.1 15.3 12 6 .2 3.2 18.5 15 1 .0 .5 19.0 16 6 .2 3.2 22.2 18 1 .0 .5 22.8 20 7 .2 3.7 26.5 24 9 .3 4.8 31.2 25 2 .1 1.1 32.3 26 1 .0 .5 32.8 28 3 .1 1.6 34.4 30 5 .2 2.6 37.0 32 10 .3 5.3 42.3 33 1 .0 .5 42.9 34 2 .1 1.1 43.9 35 5 .2 2.6 46.6

36 8 .3 4.2 50.8


Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 37 1 .0 .5 51.3 38 3 .1 1.6 52.9 39 1 .0 .5 53.4 40 67 2.1 35.4 88.9 41 2 .1 1.1 89.9 42 3 .1 1.6 91.5 43 1 .0 .5 92.1 44 2 .1 1.1 93.1 45 5 .2 2.6 95.8 48 3 .1 1.6 97.4 49 1 .0 .5 97.9 50 4 .1 2.1 100.0


Figure 23. Hours worked per week in Primary job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s office


Table 32. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s office

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 3 .1 7.0 7.0 2 3 .1 7.0 14.0 3 2 .1 4.7 18.6 4 2 .1 4.7 23.3 5 10 .3 23.3 46.5 6 2 .1 4.7 51.2 8 8 .3 18.6 69.8 10 3 .1 7.0 76.7 12 3 .1 7.0 83.7 16 2 .1 4.7 88.4 20 3 .1 7.0 95.3 28 1 .0 2.3 97.7 30 1 .0 2.3 100.0



Figure 24. Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s office

Table 33. Hours worked per week at Third job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s office Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1 1 .0 20.0 20.0 4 1 .0 20.0 40.0 8 1 .0 20.0 60.0 10 1 .0 20.0 80.0 15 1 .0 20.0 100.0



Figure 25. Hours worked per week at Third job in Outpatient facility/Physician’s office

Registry providing temporary employees 0.9% of the sample worked primarily for a registry service. We extrapolated a population of 1,341 therapists based on this percentage. Among those whose primary job was in this setting, they typically put in 24 hours each week (Table 34). Therapists working a second job in this setting typically put in one shift a week (Table 36). Very few worked a third job for a registry (Tables 34 and 37). Table 34. Descriptive statistics for Hours worked per week for Registry




Hours worked per week in Primary job in Registry 29 3110 24.48 3.13 24.00 16.860 1 60

Hours worked per week in Second job in Registry 23 3116 15.39 2.16 12.00 10.334 4 40

Hours worked per week in Third job in Registry 9 3130 10.00 1.63 8.00 4.899 2 20


Table 35. Hours worked per week in Primary job in Registry


Percent 1 1 .0 3.4 3.4 2 1 .0 3.4 6.9 3 1 .0 3.4 10.3 4 1 .0 3.4 13.8 8 3 .1 10.3 24.1 10 2 .1 6.9 31.0 12 3 .1 10.3 41.4 24 4 .1 13.8 55.2 30 2 .1 6.9 62.1 36 4 .1 13.8 75.9 40 5 .2 17.2 93.1 60 2 .1 6.9 100.0



Figure 26. Hours worked per week at primary job for Registry


Table 36. Hours worked per week at Second job in Registry Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 4 1 .0 4.3 4.3 5 1 .0 4.3 8.7 6 2 .1 8.7 17.4 8 3 .1 13.0 30.4 12 9 .3 39.1 69.6 15 1 .0 4.3 73.9 24 2 .1 8.7 82.6 30 1 .0 4.3 87.0 32 1 .0 4.3 91.3 36 1 .0 4.3 95.7 40 1 .0 4.3 100.0



Figure 27. Hours worked per week at Second job for Registry

Table 37. Hours worked per week at Third job in Registry

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 2 1 .0 11.1 11.1 8 4 .1 44.4 55.6 12 3 .1 33.3 88.9 20 1 .0 11.1 100.0



Figure 28. Hours worked per week at third job for Registry

Table 38. Descriptive statistics for Hours worked per week for all employers




Hours worked per week at Primary job in Acute Care 2338 801 36.77 .196 40.00 9.486 1 60

Hours worked per week at Primary job in DME/Home care

199 2940 37.86 1.000 40.00 14.107 1 60

Hours worked per week at Primary job in LTC/Rehab/ SNF

138 3001 31.51 1.161 36.00 13.634 2 60

Hours worked per week at Primary job in Education 391 2748 30.57 .865 40.00 17.113 1 60

Hours worked per week at Primary job in Manufacturing/ Distribution

39 3100 39.08 2.082 40.00 13.003 1 60





Hours worked per week at Primary job in Outpatient / Physician’s Office

189 2950 30.44 .981 36.00 13.493 1 50

Hours worked per week at Primary job in Registry 29 3110 24.48 3.131 24.00 16.860 1 60

Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Acute Care 317 2822 11.61 .419 12.00 7.453 1 44

Hours worked per week at Secondary job in DME/Home Care

59 3080 11.27 1.180 10.00 9.063 1 40

Hours worked per week at Secondary job in LTC/Rehab/SNF

67 3072 10.69 .933 8.00 7.640 1 40

Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Education 113 3026 8.97 .659 8.00 7.007 1 40

Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Manufacturing/ Distribution

14 3125 7.93 2.482 3.50 9.286 1 28

Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Outpatient / Physician’s office

43 3096 8.49 1.033 6.00 6.777 1 30

Hours worked per week at Secondary job in Registry 23 3116 15.39 2.155 12.00 10.334 4 40

Hours worked per week at Third job in Acute Care 21 3118 7.24 .873 8.00 3.999 1 12

Hours worked per week at Third job in DME/Home Care 17 3122 5.06 1.193 3.00 4.918 1 20

Hours worked per week at Third job in LTC/Rehab/SNF 12 3127 6.75 1.871 4.00 6.482 1 24

Hours worked per week at Third job in Education 16 3123 8.19 2.313 5.50 9.254 2 40

Hours worked per week at Third job in Manufacturing/ Distribution

5 3134 4.60 .245 5.00 .548 4 5

Hours worked per week at Third job in OutPatient/ Physician’s Office

5 3134 7.60 2.421 8.00 5.413 1 15

Hours worked per week at Third job in Registry 9 3130 10.00 1.633 8.00 4.899 2 20

6. What is your hourly base wage at your primary job? What is the profile for hourly wage ($) in the total sample of therapists? The typical respondent in this sample earned an hourly base (before differentials for evening and night shifts, weekends, holidays, and on-call) wage of $30.15 (Table 39). However, one-half of this sample earned $28.85/hour or less. Approximately 68% of the sample earned between


$21.84/hour and $38.45/hour, a range defined by one standard deviation above and below the mean. Because of shape of the histogram in Figure 29 that indicated the extreme values were on the upper end of the range, we recommended that the median value was a better indicator of typical base wage than the median. Table 39. Descriptive statistics for hourly base wage at primary job

N Valid Missing Mean Std. Error of Mean Median Std. Deviation Minimum Maximum

2800 339 30.1503 .15703 28.8500 8.30931 10.00 99.00

Figure 29. Hourly base wage at primary job

7. Please provide details about compensation at your primary job. What differential pay rates did therapists earn? There were some settings where therapists worked in which they could not earn a wage differential. We inferred this from the minimum values of zero shown in Table 40. Because the sample included therapists working in some settings that did not require around-the-clock services, this was expected.


Therapists in this sample who worked the evening shift typically earned an additional $1.75 to $1.80/hour while those who worked the night shift typically earned an additional $2.50 to $2.54/hour as Table 40 showed. Stronger variability was observed in the differential for weekend work, with the typical therapist earning between $1.50 and $1.98/hour in Table 40. On-call differential also showed a lot of variability with a range for the typical therapist between $1.00 and $1.92/hour. Holiday differentials showed the greatest variability ranging between $1.50 and $4.84 for the typical therapist in this sample. Table 40. Descriptive statistics for differentials




Hourly evening shift differential 1654 1485 1.80 .053 1.75 2.164 0 36

Hourly night shift differential 1774 1365 2.54 .057 2.50 2.396 0 40

Hourly weekend differential 1696 1443 1.98 .071 1.50 2.936 0 40

Hourly holiday differential 1344 1795 4.84 .209 1.50 7.652 0 40 Hourly on call differential 1378 1761 1.92 .099 1.00 3.672 0 40


Figure 30. Hourly evening shift differential


Figure 31. Hourly night shift differential


Figure 32. Hourly weekend differential


Figure 33. Hourly holiday differential


Figure 34. Hourly On call Differential


8. What was the amount of your most recent bonus? The first thing to understand about bonus compensation was that only 36% of therapists in this sample received a bonus. Among those who did, the mean was $1,776 and the median was $800 as Table 41 showed. Table 41. Descriptive statistics for most recent bonus amount



1134 2005 1776.19 103.436 800.00 3483.205 1 60000

Figure 35. Most recent bonus amount


9. What do you estimate to be the total wages you earned in 2008? Typical responses were summarized in Table 42. Detailed analyses of 2008 compensation will follow later in this report. Table 42. Descriptive statistics for estimated compensation from primary, secondary, and tertiary jobs in 2008

N

Valid Missing Mean

Std. Error

of Mean Median


Estimated compensation from primary job in 2008* 2831 308 60,017.91 411.56 59,500.00 21,897.70 55 160,000

Estimated compensation from second job in 2008 581 2558 11,211.60 433.51 8,000.00 10,449.39 1 76,000

Estimated compensation from third job in 2008 97 3042 6,801.62 899.76 5,000.00 8,861.57 1 74,000

*Extreme values of $407,776, $440,000, $500,000, $520,000, $531,232, $580,000, $656,000, $700,000, $760,000, $850,000, and $980,747 were removed from analysis because they were so far removed from the rest of the response distribution.

Figure 36. Estimated compensation from primary job in 2008


Figure 37. Estimated compensation from second job in 2008


Figure 38. Estimated compensation from third job in 2008

Job Satisfaction 10. Using the following scale (0 – Unsatisfied, 5 – Completely satisfied), please indicate

your satisfaction with your primary job We first noted that one-third of the sample did not respond to this question (Table 44). A median value of 4 and mean of 3.86 indicated that the typical therapist in the sample was well satisfied with his or her job. About one-quarter of the sample indicated that they were completely satisfied. Among those who responded to this question, 12.7% were on the lower half (0, 1, or 2) of the satisfaction scale (Table 44). Conversely, 87.3% were more satisfied than dissatisfied having given responses of 3, 4, or 5) as Table 44 showed. Table 43. Descriptive statistics for job satisfaction



2117 1022 3.86 .026 4.00 1.196 0 5


Table 44. Job satisfaction


Percent Unsatisfied - Ready to quit 42 1.3 2.0 2.0 1 75 2.4 3.5 5.5 2 153 4.9 7.2 12.8 3 358 11.4 16.9 29.7 4 737 23.5 34.8 64.5 Completely satisfied 752 24.0 35.5 100.0


Figure 39. Job satisfaction


11. With which of the following are you LEAST satisfied with your primary job? While the typical therapist in the sample was well satisfied with his or her job, the element about which his or her satisfaction was lowest was in the area of compensation and benefits (Figure 40). Workload and department administration or supervision factors effectively tied as the second strongest negative effects on satisfaction. Table 45. Area of lowest job satisfaction

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative PercentCompensation/benefits 774 24.7 27.8 27.8 Department administration/supervision 625 19.9 22.4 50.2 Involvement in decisions 252 8.0 9.0 59.3 Opportunities for advancement 516 16.4 18.5 77.8 Workload 618 19.7 22.2 100.0 Total 2785 88.7 100.0

Missing 354 11.3 Total 3139 100.0

Figure 40. Area of lowest job satisfaction


12. If you have changed employers within the last five years, what was the strongest reason?

We first noted that only about one-third of these therapists had changed employers in the last five years. Among those who did change jobs, the issue cited most often as the strongest reason fell into the “department administration/supervision” category (Figure 41). A close second reason was related to advancement opportunities followed by compensation/benefits issues. We would have expected that workload would be cited as a prominent issue for a group with chronic workforce shortages like those experienced by respiratory therapists, but these results placed that reason at fourth out of five possibilities. Table 46. Strongest reason for employment change

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative PercentCompensation/benefits 247 7.9 23.4 23.4 Department administration/supervision 328 10.4 31.1 54.6 Involvement in decisions 55 1.8 5.2 59.8 Opportunities for advancement 299 9.5 28.4 88.1 Workload 125 4.0 11.9 100.0 Total 1054 33.6 100.0

Missing 2085 66.4 Total 3139 100.0

Figure 41. Strongest reason for employment change


Job Title 13. What is the title for your primary job? What is the distribution across job titles for the total sample of therapists? While the Staff Therapist/Technician job title described the largest subgroup in the survey sample, it was clear that there was oversampling of therapists from other job titles. The Director and Instructor/Educator groups particularly stood out in this regard. Technical directors of respiratory therapy in 3,583 acute care hospitals were directly solicited with a postcard. Even allowing that directors of departments from other hospitals could have become aware of the study and responded to this survey, we know that at most there were about 6,000 hospitals of any type in the American Hospital Association database. Projecting a population of more than 24,000 Director level therapists would have meant that there were four of them for each hospital. Results of the acute care hospital study showed that there was typically just one director of respiratory therapy, so the projection clearly revealed oversampling of Directors. There were 359 accredited education programs. We sent one postcard to each program director. Even though they were encouraged to direct their instructors to respond to the therapist survey, observing a population projection of 8,738 would mean that there were more than 24 people per program. Results of the education program study indicated that the typical number of education staff was far fewer than 24 per program. In fact, many programs operate with only a program director and director of clinical education, so again instructors and educators were strongly oversampled in this study of therapists. These were important characteristics for us to manage for other analyses in this study, particularly those related to compensation. We want to emphasize that we included projected populations in Table 47 to illustrate evidence of oversampling, not to assert that these were accurate representations of the sizes of these populations. We suggest that more accurate estimates for these job titles will be found in the report of the study for acute care hospitals. Table 47. Job titles

Frequency Percent Valid

Percent Cumulative

Percent Projected

Population*Director 522 16.6 18.0 18.0 24,132 Clinical Specialist 155 4.9 5.3 23.4 7,166 Supervisor 248 7.9 8.6 31.9 11,465 Staff Therapist/Tech 1187 37.8 40.9 72.9 54,875 Pulm Func Technologist 117 3.7 4.0 76.9 5,409 Sleep Technologist 38 1.2 1.3 78.2 1,757 Instructor/Educator 189 6.0 6.5 84.7 8,738 Disease Mgr/Pt Educ. 23 .7 .8 85.5 1,063 Other 420 13.4 14.5 100.0 19,417

Total 2899 92.4 100.0 134,022 Missing 240 7.6 Total 3139 100.0 *Projected certification = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117, where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population.


Figure 42. Job titles

Credentials 14. Does the employer for your primary job require that you maintain an NBRC

credential as a condition for employment? What is the distribution across credential maintenance for the total sample of therapists? The number of missing responses was notable for this question. Some respondents may have skipped this question because they were uncertain about whether credential maintenance was required by their employers. Other respondents may have withheld a response because the answer was really “no,” but they concluded that the situation did not apply to them. Another group of respondents may have known the answer, but chose to withhold it. In round numbers, just less than two-thirds of these respondents indicated that their employers did require that they maintain an NBRC credential as a condition for employment. The percentage of therapists in the workforce whose credentials will expire will increase in the future since the NBRC implemented a continuing competency policy in 2002. There are still therapists in the population with credentials that were earned for a life-time, but that percentage will shrink going forward since every therapist credentialed since 2002 must renew his or her credential every five years.


Table 48. NBRC credential maintenance requirement


Percent Projected

Population* Yes 1914 61.0 69.4 69.4 88,485 No 844 26.9 30.6 100.0 39,018

Total 2758 87.9 100.0 127,503 Missing 381 12.1 Total 3139 100.0 * Projected total does not equal the sum across NBRC credential maintenance requirement due to 381 cases with

missing data. Projected population = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117 where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population.

Figure 43. NBRC credential maintenance requirement


15. Which of the following NBRC credentials have you earned? What is the distribution across credentials for the total sample of therapists? What is the projected number of therapists in the population who hold each credential? The oversampling of directors from hospitals and education programs that we documented earlier should be considered when interpreting results shown in Table 49. We particularly expected that the RRT group was larger as percentage of the sample than it was as a percentage of the population. Table 49. NBRC Credentials Earned

Responses

N Percent of

Responses* Percent of Cases

in the Sample

Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) 1,998 36.1% 69.3% Certified Pulmonary Function Technologist CPFT 408 7.4% 14.2% Neonatal/Peds Specialist (CRT-NPS or RRT-NPS) 483 8.7% 16.8%

Sleep Disorders Specialist (CRT-SDS or RRT-SDS) 8 .1% .3%

Registered Pulmonary Function Tech (RPFT) 177 3.2% 6.1%

Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) 2,458 44.4% 85.3% Total** 5,532 100.0% *The percentage was based on the number of people who responded to this question. **Respondents were allowed to select each option that applied. Respondents who earned the CRT and RRT credentials selected both options. Therefore, the sum of row frequencies exceeds 3139. 16. Which of the following NCLEX credentials have you earned? What is the distribution across additional certifications for the total sample of therapists? What is the projected number of therapists in the population who hold each certification? Fifty-nine therapists out of 3,139 survey respondents indicated that they had earned a credential in nursing, which we summarized in Table 50. Table 50. NCLEX credentials earned

Responses

N Percent of

Responses*

Percent of Cases in

the Sample Population Projection**

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) 37 62.7% 64.9% 1,711 Registered Nurse (RN) 22 37.3% 38.6% 1,017

Total*** 59 100.0% 2,728 *The percentage was based on the number of people who responded to this question. **Projected certification = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117, where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population. ***Respondents were allowed to select all that applied.


17. Which of the following other credentials have you earned? What is the distribution across additional credentials for the total sample of therapists? What is the projected number of therapists in the population who hold each certification? The largest subgroup within the sample was therapists who were also credentialed as asthma educators (Table 51). This group represented about one-third of the sample. We also observed a large subgroup of therapists credentialed as emergency medical technicians. This group represented just less than 30% of the sample. We cautiously offered population projections for these subgroups. First, because of the oversampling we describe earlier and secondly, because these populations could be defined with a query to the organizations that managed these credentialing operations. For example, the web site of the National Asthma Educator Certification Board reported that there were 2,829 persons in the population at the time this report was assembled. Therefore, persons with the AE-C credential were oversampled in this study particularly when one understood that the asthma educator population included people who were not respiratory therapists (e.g., nurses, pharmacists, physicians, social workers, community educators). Table 51. Other credentials earned

Responses

N Percent of

Responses*

Percent of Cases in the

Sample Projected

Population**

Certified Asthma Educator (AE-C) 225 28.4% 34.1% 10,402 Certified Cardiographic Technician (CCT) 24 3.0% 3.6% 1,110 Certified Case Manager (CCM) 10 1.3% 1.5% 462 Certified Hyperbaric Technologist (CHT) 29 3.7% 4.4% 1,341 Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) 196 24.8% 29.7% 9,061 Paramedic 52 6.6% 7.9% 2,404 Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS) 8 1.0% 1.2% 370

Registered Polysomnographic Technologist (RPSGT) 70 8.8% 10.6% 3,236

Registered Vascular or Cardiac Ultrasound credential (RDMS, RDCS, RVT, RVS)

6 .8% .9% 278

Other credential 171 21.6% 25.9% 7905 Total*** 791 100.0% * The percentage was based on the number of people who responded to this question ** Projected certification = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117, where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total

population. ***Respondents were allowed to select all that applied.


18. What additional certifications have you completed? What is the distribution across additional certifications for the total sample of therapists? What is the projected number of therapists in the population who hold additional certifications? According to Table 52, practically every therapist in this sample was certified in BCLS procedures. Just more than two-thirds of this sample were also ACLS certified. One-half were certified in NRP procedures and a little less than one-half were PALS certified. Table 52. Other certifications completed

Responses

N Percent of

Responses*


Sample Projected

Population**

Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) 1926 26.6% 69.4% 89,040 Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) 2672 37.0% 96.2% 123,527 Neonatal Resuscitation Protocol (NRP) 1388 19.2% 50.0% 64,168

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) 1245 17.2% 44.8% 57,557 Total*** 7231 100.0% * The percentage was based on the number of people who responded to this question ** Projected certification = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117, where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total

population. ***Respondents were allowed to select all that applied. 19. Indicate all of the following medical procedures in which you assist. What is the distribution across medical procedures for the total sample of therapists? What is the projected number of therapists in the population who assist in each medical procedure? All respondents had the opportunity to affirm that they assisted with the procedures listed in Table 53. We had already demonstrated that hospital directors and educators were oversampled in this study, so we expected that population projections were likely higher than those listed in Table 53. We expected that relative comparisons were more useful than the projections of populations anyway. For example, assistance with sleep therapeutics was a much more prevalent (76% of cases) part of respiratory therapy practice than assistance with sleep diagnostics (22% of cases). Assisting the maintenance of arterial lines was more prevalent (39% of cases) than doing the same for intravenous lines (8% of cases). The top seven activities listed in Table 53 were affirmed by one-half or more of therapists in the sample, which we concluded would make them part of the core services in most locations.


Table 53. Procedures in which respiratory therapists assisted sorted in descending order by frequency

Responses

N Percent of

Responses*


Sample Projected

Population**

Emergency intubation 2246 9.9% 80.5% 103,833 Ultrasound diagnostics # 2238 9.9% 80.2% 103,463 Sleep therapeutics 2117 9.4% 75.9% 97,870 Bronchoscopy 2102 9.3% 75.3% 97,176 Discharge planning and patient instruction 1765 7.8% 63.2% 81,596 Overnight pulse oximetry 1551 6.9% 55.6% 71,703 Conscious sedation 1418 6.3% 50.8% 65,554 Patient transport outside of facility 1171 5.2% 42.0% 54,136 Maintenance of arterial line 1083 4.8% 38.8% 50,067 Maintenance of percutaneous tracheostomy 1009 4.5% 36.2% 46,646

Insertion of arterial line 971 4.3% 34.8% 44,890 Noninvasive cardiology 814 3.6% 29.2% 37,631 Insertion of percutaneous tracheostomy 807 3.6% 28.9% 37,308 Sleep diagnostics 626 2.8% 22.4% 28,940 Physiologic monitoring in the ICU 580 2.6% 20.8% 26,814 Insertion of intravenous line 409 1.8% 14.7% 18,908 Anesthesia in the OR 330 1.5% 11.8% 15,256 Other procedures 317 1.4% 11.4% 14,655 Invasive cardiology 273 1.2% 9.8% 12,621 Hyperbaric medicine 255 1.1% 9.1% 11,789 Maintenance of intravenous line 219 1.0% 7.8% 10,124 Insertion of PICC line 113 .5% 4.0% 5,224 Tracheostomy tube changes 108 .5% 3.9% 4,993

Maintenance of PICC line 61 .3% 2.2% 2,820 Total*** 22583 100.0% * The percentage was based on the number of people who responded to this question ** Projected certification = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117, where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total

population. ***Respondents were allowed to select all that applied. Therefore the sum of row frequencies exceeds 3139. #Bill Dubbs was surprised that the frequency was this high. However, on reflection, he realized that he had in mind a

procedure called “endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) during bronchoscopy.” He intends to use this description the next time.

20. Which of the following best characterizes your respiratory therapy

training/education? What is the distribution across training programs for the total sample of therapists? What is the projected number of therapists in the population for each type of training? Most sample members had graduated from an education program that made them eligible for the RRT credential (Table 54). Here again, oversampling among hospital director and educator


groups likely skewed population projections upward for the advanced level group and downward for the other groups. We thought it was interesting that there were more missing responses than those who selected the response for “entry level.” We wondered what might have motivated 10% of the sample to have skipped this question on the survey since we had every possibility covered by the three options offered by this survey question. Table 54. Respiratory therapy training/education


Percent Cumulative

Percent Projected

Population*On-the-job training 117 3.7 4.2 4.2 5,409 Entry level 219 7.0 7.8 11.9 10,124 Advanced level, eligible for the RRT 2477 78.9 88.1 100.0 114,513

Total 2813 89.6 100.0 130,046 Missing 326 10.4 Total 3139 100.0 * Projected total does not equal the sum across training due to 326 cases with missing data for training. Projected

training = (Frequency/3139) x 145117, where 145117 = number of active therapists in total population.

Figure 44. Respiratory therapy training/education


21. If you earned a college degree when you became eligible for your respiratory therapy

credential, what type of degree was it? The spike in missing responses to this question caught our attention. In fact, there were more Missing responses than Bachelors responses. We wondered what motivated 20% of the sample to withhold this information. We could still deduce that 78% of the therapists who gave a response had earned an Associates degree from their respiratory therapy program. 20.1% had earned a Bachelors degree and just a few (1.5%) had earned a Masters degree. Table 55. Degree earned when eligible for credential


Percent Projected

Population Associates 1959 62.4 78.4 78.4 90,565 Bachelors 502 16.0 20.1 98.5 23,208 Masters 37 1.2 1.5 100.0 1,711

Total 2498 79.6 100.0 115,484 Missing 641 20.4 Total 3139 100.0 * Projected total does not equal the sum across training due to 641 cases with missing data for training. Projected

training = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117, where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population.


Figure 45. Degree earned when eligible for credential

22. What is the highest academic level you have achieved? What is the distribution across academics levels for the total sample of active therapists? What is the projected number of therapists in the population for each academic level? The first thing we noted about Table 56 was the decrease in missing responses. Apparently some therapists within this sample were comfortable indicating the highest academic degree they had earned, but uncomfortable indicating the type of degree they had earned from their respiratory education program. We added Table 57 to the report to illustrate that substantial numbers of respiratory therapists in this sample had achieved academic degrees that were more advanced than the degree they earned from their respiratory therapy education program.


Table 56. Highest academic level achieved?


Percent Projected

Population*Some high school, no diploma 1 .0 .0 .0 46

HS diploma/GED 20 .6 .7 .7 925 Some college, no degree 255 8.1 8.9 9.6 11,789 Associates degree 1271 40.5 44.1 53.7 58,758 Bachelors degree 944 30.1 32.8 86.5 43,641 Masters degree 359 11.4 12.5 99.0 16,597 Doctorate degree 30 1.0 1.0 100.0 1,387

Total 2880 91.7 100.0 133,143 Missing 259 8.3 Total 3139 100.0 *Projected total does not equal the sum across academic levels due to 259 cases with missing data for academic level. Projected academic level = (Frequency/3139) x145,117 where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population. Table 57. Comparison of degrees earned from the respiratory therapy program and the highest academic degree

Degree Earned from the respiratory

therapist education program Highest academic degreeAssociates 78.4 44.1Bachelors 20.1 32.8Masters or Doctorate 1.5 13.5


Figure 46. Highest academic level achieved

23. Are you presently pursuing a higher academic degree? What percentage of therapists is pursuing a higher academic degree? What is the projected number of therapists in the population pursuing a higher academic degree? Assuming that most of the 7.8% of the sample who skipped this question did so because they concluded this question did not apply to them, we concluded it was most likely that about 22% of therapists in this sample were pursuing a higher academic degree at the time this study was done. Table 58. Presently pursuing higher academic degree


Percent Projected


Total 2894 92.2 100.0 133,790 Missing 245 7.8 Total 3139 100.0 * Projected total does not equal the sum across those seeking a higher education degree due to 245 cases with

missing data. Projected population = (Frequency/3,139) x 147,115 where 147,115 = number of active therapists in total population.


Figure 47. Presently pursuing higher academic degree

24. If you are pursuing a higher academic degree, which of the following best describes

your goal?

What percentage of active therapists are pursuing a degree to advance their respiratory care career? What is the projected number of therapists in the population pursuing a degree to advance their higher respiratory care career? Among those who were pursuing a higher academic degree, about three-fourths intended to advance their career in respiratory care while the rest intended to change their careers. One important bit of information revealed by Table 59 was that 5.8% of respiratory therapists in this sample were actively working to take their careers away from respiratory care. We have confidence in the population projection (~8,500) for the number who were working to change their careers in this way. This did not mean that 8,500 therapists had typically left the field each year since it usually takes more than a year to achieve a higher academic degree. Still, it was useful to know the size of the subset from the workforce that was actively looking for a change. Our projection from earlier in this report for an average of 3,029 therapists who will leave the workforce seemed to fit within a population estimate of 8,500 who were actively pursuing a career change now.


Table 59. Goal for pursuing higher academic degree


PercentCumulative

Percent Projected

PopulationAdvance my respiratory care career 510 16.2 73.8 73.8 38,714 Change my career 181 5.8 26.2 100.0 8,501

Total 691 22.0 100.0 47,215 2448 78.0 Total 3139 100.0 * Projected total does not equal the sum across those seeking a higher education degree due to 11 cases with missing data. Projected population = (Frequency/691) x 32,454, where 32,454 = projected number of active therapists pursuing a higher academic degree in total population.

Figure 48. Goal for pursuing higher academic degree


25. If you work in a setting where therapists are assigned to the management of mechanical ventilation, approximately how many patients receiving mechanical ventilation are assigned to each therapist?

The large percentage of missing responses shown in Table 61 was again consistent with an oversampled population of educators. The typical respondent among those who answered this question indicated that therapists were assigned six patients who were receiving mechanical ventilation (Table 60). The standard deviation value defined a range of 3 to 9 for the typical number of patient assignments one therapist handled. Table 60. Descriptive statistics for patients receiving mechanical ventilation assigned to therapists



2165 974 5.90 .062 6.00 2.885 1 25 Table 61. Patients receiving mechanical ventilation assigned to therapists


Percent 1 85 2.7 3.9 3.9 2 101 3.2 4.7 8.6 3 171 5.4 7.9 16.5 4 328 10.4 15.2 31.6 5 371 11.8 17.1 48.8 6 450 14.3 20.8 69.6 7 103 3.3 4.8 74.3 8 265 8.4 12.2 86.6 9 32 1.0 1.5 88.0 10 158 5.0 7.3 95.3 11 7 .2 .3 95.7 12 48 1.5 2.2 97.9 13 2 .1 .1 98.0 14 10 .3 .5 98.4 15 14 .4 .6 99.1 16 7 .2 .3 99.4 18 2 .1 .1 99.5 20 10 .3 .5 100.0 25 1 .0 .0 100.0



Figure 49. Patients receiving mechanical ventilation assigned to therapists

26. If you work in an acute care hospital, please indicate the typical percentage of time

you spend in each area when providing direct patient care. Table 62 first showed that at least some respondents in this sample spent all of their time in one area. Typically, respiratory therapists spent the most time in adult ICUs followed closely by general care on the floors. The emergency department and other areas of a hospital required some time of a typical respiratory therapist who answered this survey question. ICUs for pediatric and neonatal patients required the smallest percentage of therapists’ time within the whole sample (Table 62). However, we expected that this was because some hospitals did not have such areas of specialization. We reached this conclusion by observing that the median value for pediatric and neonatal ICUs was zero, which meant that less than one-half of this sample worked in hospitals with those ICUs.


Table 62. Percentage of time spent in hospital units sorted by descending mean values N

Valid Missing MeanStd. Error of

Mean MedianStd.

Deviation Minimum Maximum

Adult ICU 2148 991 33.90 .627 30.00 29.068 0 100 General Med/Surg Floor 2148 991 26.39 .522 20.00 24.192 0 100 Emergency Department 2148 991 13.69 .323 10.00 14.979 0 100 Other Areas 2148 991 11.76 .590 .00 27.364 0 100 Peds ICU 2148 991 5.67 .353 .00 16.371 0 100 Neonatal ICU 2148 991 8.59 .446 .00 20.668 0 100

Figure 50. Percentage of time spent in Adult ICU


Figure 51. Percentage of time spent in Pediatric ICU


Figure 52. Percentage of time spent in Neonatal ICU


Figure 53. Percentage of time spent on General Medical/Surgical floor


Figure 54. Percentage of time spent in Emergency Department


Figure 55. Percentage of time spent in Other areas

27. When providing direct patient care, what percentage of your time do you spend

caring for patients with the following diseases/disorders? With one exception, each mean value shown in Table 63 was significantly different from each of the other mean values as Table 64 showed. Mean values for time spent with “asthma” and “other” patients were not significantly different. COPD patients took nearly 40% of the time of therapists in this sample. After adding the percentages of time spent with asthma patients and those with other chronic pulmonary diseases, therapists spent nearly 72% of their time with patients who had a chronic lung disease. Patients with sleep disorders accounted for just more than 9% of therapists’ time on average although one-half of those who responded to this question spent no more than 5% of their time with these patients.


Table 63. Percentage of time spent caring for patients with diseases/disorders N

Valid Missing Mean Std. Error of Mean Median


COPD patients 2453 686 39.50 .486 40.00 24.094 0 100 Asthma patients 2453 686 18.20 .296 20.00 14.669 0 100 Sleep disorder patients 2453 686 9.38 .358 5.00 17.711 0 100

Other chronic pulmonary diseases patients

2453 686 13.75 .267 10.00 13.236 0 100

Other patients 2453 686 19.17 .476 10.00 23.568 0 100 “F(4,12,264) = 893.162, p<.000, eta square = .291 Table 64. Mean differences in percentage of time spent caring for patients with diseases/disorders

(J) group

(I) group COPD

patients asthma patients

sleep disorder patients

chronic pulmonary

disease other patientsCOPD patients 21.30* 30.12* 25.75* 20.33*

asthma patients -21.30* 8.82* 4.45* -0.97

sleep disorder patients -30.12* -8.82* -4.37* -9.78* chronic pulmonary disease -25.75* -4.45* 4.37* -5.42*

other patients -20.33* 0.97 9.78* 5.42* *. The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level. 28. When providing direct patient care, has your employer expected you to deliver

therapy to multiple patients in different rooms or locations simultaneously within the last year?

What is the distribution across shift types for the total sample of therapists? The spike in missing responses was notable in Table 65. We interpreted this result to indicate that a significant (18.8%) subgroup from this sample preferred not to respond to this question. Among those who did respond, just less than one-half indicated that their employer did expect them to deliver therapy to different patients at the same time.


Table 65. Expectation to deliver therapy to multiple patients in different locations simultaneously


Percent Projected


Total 2550 81.2 100.0 117,887 Missing 589 18.8 Total 3139 100.0 *Projected total does not equal the sum across expectation to deliver therapy to multiple patients simultaneously due to 589 cases with missing data. Projected population = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117 where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population.

Figure 56. Expectation to deliver therapy to multiple patients in different locations simultaneously


29. When providing direct patient care, for what percentage of recent shifts have you been unable to complete all work assigned to you?

The range of responses interested us in Table 66. Some therapists always were unable to complete work assigned to them and some always competed their work assignments. Figure 57 revealed an important result. The most frequent response we received to this question was zero. However, a median of 10% and a mean of nearly 16% indicated that being unable to complete all work was typically a low-level occurrence for this sample. Table 66. Descriptive statistics for percentage of recent shifts respondents have been unable to complete all assigned work



2403 736 15.73 .540 10.00 26.472 0 100

Figure 57. Percentage of recent shifts respondents have been unable to complete all assigned work


30. Does your employer provide a system that helps you to prioritize your work assignments when providing direct patient care if there is not enough time to complete them all?

Just more than one-half of this sample reported that employers did provide a work prioritization system that they could use as workload dictated. Table 67. Availability of work prioritization system


Percent Projected


Total 2856 91.0 100.0 132,034 Missing 283 9.0 Total 3139 100.0 *Projected total does not equal the sum across availability of work prioritization system due to 283 cases with missing data. Projected population = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117 where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population.

Figure 58. Availability of work prioritization system


31. When providing direct patient care, how often do you use the prioritization system? It was curious to us why the non-response rate was fairly low (9%) for results from the previous question, but spiked up to 52.1% for this question as Table 68 showed. Among those who did share information related to the frequency of their use of such systems, the largest group indicated that they used their system every day (Figure 59). Table 68. Use of prioritization system


Percent Projected

Population* Every day 950 30.3 63.2 63.2 43,919 Once a week 223 7.1 14.8 78.0 10,309 Once a month 331 10.5 22.0 100.0 15,302

Valid

Total 1504 47.9 100.0 69,530

Missing System 1635 52.1 Total 3139 100.0 *Projected total does not equal the sum across use of work prioritization system due to 1635 cases with missing data. Projected population = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117 where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population.

Figure 59. Use of prioritization system


32. Do you deliver respiratory care by protocol when providing direct patient care? What percentage of active therapists have delivered respiratory care by protocol? What is the projected number of therapists in the population that have delivered respiratory care by protocol? About two-thirds of respondents in this sample indicated that they used protocols during delivery of respiratory care to patients. Table 69. Use of protocols to deliver respiratory care


Percent Projected

Population Yes 1815 57.8 65.7 65.7 83,908 No 949 30.2 34.3 100.0 43,873

Total 2764 88.1 100.0 Missing 375 11.9 Total 3139 100.0 * Projected total does not equal the sum across use of protocols due to 375 cases with missing data. Projected

population = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117 where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population.

Figure 60. Use of protocols to deliver respiratory care


33. What kind of shift do you typically work? What is the distribution across shift types for the total sample of therapists? What is the projected number of therapists in the population for each shift type? The largest subgroup within this sample indicated that they worked 12-hour shifts (Table 70). 8-hour shifts were also common, cited by more than one-third of respondents. Together, nearly 80% of respiratory therapists who answered this survey question worked 8- or 12-hour shifts. Table 70. Shift worked


Percent Projected

Population 8-hour 1059 33.7 37.6 37.6 48,958 10-hour 229 7.3 8.1 45.7 10,587 12-hour 1177 37.5 41.7 87.4 54,413 Rotating (e.g., 8-hour/12-hour) 173 5.5 6.1 93.5 7,998 Other 182 5.8 6.5 100.0 8,414 Total 2820 89.8 100.0 130,370

Missing 319 10.2 Total 3139 100.0 *Projected total does not equal the sum across availability of shift worked due to 319 cases with missing data. Projected population = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117 where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population.

Figure 61. Shift worked


34. What is your gender? What is the distribution across gender for the total sample of active therapists? What is the projected number of therapists in the population for each gender? Almost 62% of respondents in this sample were female. Table 71. Gender


Percent Projected

Population Female 1744 55.6 61.7 61.7 80,626 Male 1081 34.4 38.3 100.0 49,975 Valid

Total 2825 90.0 100.0 130,601 Missing System 314 10.0 Total 3139 100.0 *Projected total does not equal the sum across gender to 314 cases with missing data. Projected population = (Frequency/3139) x 145,117 where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population. 35. Which of the following ethnicity and race classifications best describes you? What is the distribution across ethnicity for the total sample of active therapists? What is the projected number of therapists in the population for each ethnicity? The fact that respondents could select more than one of the choices shown in Table 72 complicated interpretation. This method was used because it mirrored Federal guidelines for collecting this information and is the way in which United States Census information was collected in the year 2000. The majority of respondents fell into the white and non-Hispanic group. The white-Hispanic group was the largest minority group. Another factor that complicated interpretation was the fact that 248 people did not respond to this item on the survey. The population projections shown in Table 72 assumed that respondents from each race and ethnicity subgroup were equally likely to leave this survey item without a response. If that assumption was not true, then the projections were at best rough estimates. Table 72. Race/ethnicity Hispanic Non-Hispanic

Responses Responses

N Percent*

Percent of

Cases Projected

Population** N Percent*

Percent of

Cases Projected

Population**

American Indian/Alaska Native 20 3.7% 0.7% 1,004 33 1.4% 1.1% 1,656

Asian 14 2.6% 0.5% 703 50 2.1% 1.7% 2,510 Black/African American 30 5.6% 1.0% 1,506 85 3.6% 2.9% 4,267 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 3 .6% 0.1% 151 19 .8% 0.7% 954

White 467 87.5% 16.2% 23,442 2170 92.1% 75.1% 108,926 Total*** 534 100.0% 18.5% 26,806 2357 100.0% 81.5% 118,313 * The percentage was based on the number of people who responded to this question. ** Projected ethnicity = (Frequency/2891) x 145,117, where 145,117 = number of active therapists in total population. ***Respondents were allowed to select multiple responses.


36. Have you received a Pneumococcal vaccination within the past 12 months? What percentage of the population of therapists have received this vaccination? The valid percentage of “Yes” responses was 20%. This indicated that one out of every five therapists had received the Pneumococcal vaccination within the last year.

Figure 62. Have you received a Pneumococcal vaccination within the past 12 months?


37. Have you received an Influenza vaccination within the past 12 months? What percentage of the population of therapists have received this vaccination? The valid percentage of “Yes” responses was 74.6%. This indicated that three out of every four therapists had received the Influenza vaccination within the last year.

Figure 63. Have you received an Influenza vaccination within the past 12 months?


38. Have you smoked 100 or more cigarettes in your lifetime? What percentage of the population of therapists have ever smoked this quantity of cigarettes? The valid percentage of “Yes” responses was 38.1%. This indicated that a little more than one-third of the respiratory therapy population had smoked.

Figure 64. Have you smoked 100 or more cigarettes in your lifetime?


39. Which of the following best describes your tobacco use? What percentages of the population of therapists fall into these categories of tobacco use? Approximately 10% of respiratory therapists who responded to this survey item were still using tobacco. About 61% of therapists in this sample had used tobacco, but did not regularly use it. The other approximately 29% of therapists reported that they had never tried tobacco. Table 73.Which of the following best describes your tobacco use? (cigarettes, cigars, pipe, or spit tobacco)

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative PercentNever tried tobacco 820 26.1 28.8 28.8 Experimented with tobacco a few times 927 29.5 32.5 61.3

Used tobacco but have quit 813 25.9 28.5 89.9 Use tobacco less than once a day 78 2.5 2.7 92.6 Use tobacco once or more a day 210 6.7 7.4 100.0


40. In what year did you quit using tobacco? What was the pattern of therapists who quit using tobacco? Information in Table 74 was made more meaningful when reminded that the average age of therapists in the sample was 47.5 years. Half the sample had quit 15 years ago, when the typical respondent was in his or her early 30s. Table 74. In what year did you quit using tobacco?

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1963 1 .0 .1 .1 1964 1 .0 .1 .2 1965 1 .0 .1 .4 1967 3 .1 .4 .7 1968 1 .0 .1 .9 1969 2 .1 .2 1.1 1970 9 .3 1.1 2.2 1971 3 .1 .4 2.6 1972 7 .2 .9 3.5 1973 5 .2 .6 4.1 1974 10 .3 1.2 5.3 1975 18 .6 2.2 7.6 1976 10 .3 1.2 8.8

1977 6 .2 .7 9.5


Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent 1978 16 .5 2.0 11.5 1979 8 .3 1.0 12.5 1980 29 .9 3.6 16.1 1981 12 .4 1.5 17.6 1982 12 .4 1.5 19.1 1983 21 .7 2.6 21.7 1984 13 .4 1.6 23.3 1985 18 .6 2.2 25.5 1986 27 .9 3.3 28.9 1987 19 .6 2.4 31.2 1988 30 1.0 3.7 34.9 1989 22 .7 2.7 37.7 1990 41 1.3 5.1 42.8 1991 14 .4 1.7 44.5 1992 22 .7 2.7 47.2 1993 8 .3 1.0 48.2 1994 15 .5 1.9 50.1 1995 34 1.1 4.2 54.3 1996 14 .4 1.7 56.0 1997 26 .8 3.2 59.2 1998 24 .8 3.0 62.2 1999 31 1.0 3.8 66.0 2000 54 1.7 6.7 72.7 2001 22 .7 2.7 75.5 2002 14 .4 1.7 77.2 2003 17 .5 2.1 79.3 2004 21 .7 2.6 81.9 2005 28 .9 3.5 85.4 2006 29 .9 3.6 89.0 2007 32 1.0 4.0 92.9 2008 41 1.3 5.1 98.0 2009 16 .5 2.0 100.0



41. Are you currently a member of the AARC? What percentages of the population of therapists fall into these membership categories? The valid percentage of “Yes” responses was 93.8%, indicating that most therapists in the sample were members of the AARC. This would project a population of 136,120. However, the AARC reported that it had just less than 50,000 members when this report was assembled, so AARC members were oversampled in this study. Summary of Oversampled Populations Results of this report caused us to conclude that therapists from the following populations were oversampled in this study and so overrepresented in these results:

• AARC members • Certified Asthma Educators • Therapists who primarily worked in education settings • Technical Directors of respiratory care from acute care hospitals

Figure 65. Are you currently a member of the AARC?


Summary of Yes-No Responses This survey relied on several questions in which respondents were prompted to select “Yes” or “No.” Some chose not to respond, which represented a third response. Table 75 summarizes these responses by giving a high and low estimate of the percentage of “Yes” responses that were reported for each question. The high estimate was the valid percent value, which assumed that those who left the question without a response were equally likely to have selected “Yes” or “No.” The low estimate assumed that respondents skipped the question when it did not apply to them rather than select “No.” The truth most likely lies somewhere between the low and high estimate for each question, which was why we summarized them here. Lastly, we rank ordered these responses from high to low based on the high estimate. Table 75. Low and high estimates for affirmative responses to survey items limited to Yes and No

Estimates of the percentage for which this was true?

Question from the survey Low HighAre you currently a member of the AARC? 84.8 93.8Have you received an Influenza vaccination within the past 12 months? 67.1 74.6Does the employer for your primary job require that you maintain an NBRC credential as a condition for employment? 61.0 69.4Do you deliver respiratory care by protocol when providing direct patient care? 57.8 65.7Does your employer provide a system that helps you to prioritize your work assignments when providing direct patient care if there is not enough time to complete them all? 51.3 56.3When providing direct patient care, has your employer expected you to deliver therapy to multiple patients in different rooms or locations simultaneously within the last year? 39.3 48.4Have you smoked 100 or more cigarettes in your lifetime? 34.2 38.1Are you presently pursuing a higher academic degree? 22.4 24.3Have you received a Pneumococcal vaccination within the past 12 months? 17.9 20.0 Compensation Factors As described earlier in this report, the compensation of some people with a respiratory therapy background was far above the range of most other survey respondents. Because analyses that followed relied on the assumption that the dependent variable (compensation in 2008) was normally distributed, we removed the extreme values that caused the distribution of responses to be skewed. The intent behind this phase of the study was to identify those factors that significantly influenced compensation of respiratory therapists from the sample. Interval and Ratio Level Variables We first turned our attention to sets of responses that each existed continuously along its own continuum. Factors that met this criterion are listed in Table 76. Statisticians refer to these as interval or ratio level variables. Both levels had equal intervals between each potential response. In the case of ratio level responses, the zero point communicated that there was an absence of the attribute that was indicated by the factor.


Table 76 showed that several of these variables predicted a significant degree of variability we observed in 2008 compensation when there was only the one predictor in the statistical model. Most of these correlation values were positive, which indicated that the greater the attribute described by the variable then the greater 2008 compensation tended to be. For some of these factors, either the attribute was fully on or off. For example, either the employer provided a work prioritization system or not. The significant negative correlation value between the simultaneous patient care variable and 2008 compensation indicated that those who worked in places that required simultaneous care tended to be compensated less. The significant negative correlation between the year one planned to leave the workforce and 2008 compensation indicated that the closer in time to 2009 one expected to leave the workforce, the higher one’s compensation tended to be. Table 76. Correlations of potential 2008 compensation predictors sorted by strength Predictor R nHours worked each week at primary job .450* 2,693General experience as a respiratory therapist .352* 2.842Experience with current primary employer .270* 2,842Age .234* 2.840Satisfaction with primary job .220* 2,059Year one plans to leave the workforce -.153* 2,750Whether the RRT credential had been achieved .123* 2,750Whether employer requires simultaneous patient care -.100* 2,489Whether employer provides a work prioritization system .093* 2,782Whether care is delivered by protocol .050* 2,695Whether respondent was an AARC member .043* 2,764

Threshold for Significant Correlations Whether respondent was pursuing a higher academic degree .034 2,813Typical number of patients receiving mechanical ventilation cared for by one therapist -.032 2,113Whether employer requires maintenance of an NBRC credential .005 2,689*Significant at p of .05 or less For the next step in the compensation study, we sought to narrow attention to those predictors that together explained a significant amount of variability in 2008 compensation. We used a multiple regression statistical model to enter the significant predictors from Table 76 one at a time so we could evaluate whether the amount of explained variability in 2008 compensation significantly increased with the addition of each factor. Results shown in Table 77 indicated that the first six factors together explained 32% of variability in 2008 compensation. Although the last four variables list in Table 77 could predict a significant degree of 2008 compensation when alone in a statistical model, they did not boost the R2 value further, so they were dropped from further study. The long list of 14 potential predictors of 2008 compensation was narrowed to a short list of six factors by the multiple regression procedure. We planned to control for the influence of these variables and compare differences between average 2008 compensation among five sets of subgroups described in the next section. Again, our purpose was to determine whether any of the five subgroup factors contributed uniquely to 2008 compensation explanation beyond what was explained by the first six factors listed in Table 77.


Table 77. Multiple regression result for compensation in 2008

Variable R2F test for R2 change (df)

Significance of change

Hours worked each week at primary job .210 437.62 (1646) less than .000Experience with current primary employer .253 95.25 (1645) less than .000General experience as a respiratory therapist .290 84.05 (1644) less than .000Whether respondent held the RRT credential .303 32.70 (1643) less than .000Satisfaction with primary job .312 19.28 (1643) less than .000Whether care is delivered by protocol .316 10.63 (1642) .001

Threshold for Significant Increases in R2 Year one plans to leave the workforce .317 1.72 (1641) .190Whether employer requires simultaneous patient care .317 0.54 (1640) .463Whether employer provides a work prioritization system .317 0.31 (1639) .578Whether an AARC member .317 0.25 (1638) .616 Nominal and Ordinal Level Variables One way to describe these factors was to say that they contained less information than interval and ratio level variables. Nominal level variables assign arbitrary numbers as labels to distinguish one group from another like 1 for male and 2 for female. When a variable contained numbers that indicated when one case had more of an attribute than other cases in the sample, but the interval between attributes was unequal, then we labeled them at the ordinal level. For example, we could have decided to assign a value of 2 to someone with the director job title, while assigning a value of 1 to supervisors, and a value of 0 to staff. This could not imply that each step up represented an equal increase in responsibility, but does acknowledge that each step up is associated with an increase in the job responsibility attribute compared to the group just below it. On the other hand, if other job titles were added to the list that were equal in responsibility to others in the list, then the numbers would no longer have held ordinal meaning and merely reflected arbitrary labeling with numbers. Hence, they would have been at the nominal level. The distinction between nominal and ordinal did not matter for our purposes. We tested for differences in the same way by comparing mean 2008 compensation among subgroups. Five possible factors were available from survey responses in this study. We decided to use analysis of covariance to measure whether we could learn more about 2008 compensation beyond what we had learned thus far from interval and ratio level factors. Our specific intention was to compare mean 2008 compensation values among subgroups defined by the following factors:

• Region • Job title • Characteristics of respiratory therapy training or education • Degree earned from respiratory therapy school • Highest academic level

The six variables that added significantly to the explanation of 2008 compensation in the multiple regression model became the covariates in the analysis of covariance statistical model we used. By doing so, we were able to tease out any remaining factors from the bulleted list above that could still explain significant additional differences in 2008 compensation.


Region Among the five nominal and ordinal level factors, the region in which a therapist worked had the strongest influence on 2008 compensation. Adding information about region to the statistical model boosted what could be explained about compensation by approximately another 4% as the total R2 value showed just below Table 78. Table 79 showed that each mean was significantly different than each of the other means. Therapists from the West earned more than those from the Northeast who earned more than those from the South who earned more than those from the Midwest. We will reiterate that this effect was observed while controlling for effects of the following covariates on 2008 compensation:

• the number of hours worked at the primary employer, • duration of experience with the primary employer, • duration of general experience as a respiratory therapist, • whether respondents held the RRT credential, • satisfaction with the job, and • whether care was delivered by protocols at the institution.

Table 78. ANCOVA estimates of marginal means for compensation from primary job in 2008 by region

95% Confidence Interval Region Mean Std. Error Lower Bound Upper BoundNortheast 63,850.341 957.634 61,972.181 65,728.500Midwest 56,216.546 778.156 54,690.389 57,742.704South 59,157.938 703.426 57,778.344 60,537.531West 66,985.997 901.665 65,217.607 68,754.388F=32.42, df 3, p < .0001, eta squared = .050 for the main effect beyond the covariates Total R2 for the ANCOVA model = .356 Table 79. Pairwise comparisons of means by regions

95% Confidence Interval for Differencea

(I) Region (J) Region Mean

Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.a Lower Bound Upper BoundMidwest 7633.794* 1232.710 .000 5216.142 10051.446South 4692.403* 1190.629 .000 2357.282 7027.523

Northeast

West -3135.657* 1316.308 .017 -5717.266 -554.047Northeast -7633.794* 1232.710 .000 -10051.446 -5216.142South -2941.392* 1052.324 .005 -5005.262 -877.521

Midwest

West -10769.451* 1194.106 .000 -13111.391 -8427.512Northeast -4692.403* 1190.629 .000 -7027.523 -2357.282Midwest 2941.392* 1052.324 .005 877.521 5005.262

South

West -7828.060* 1142.303 .000 -10068.400 -5587.719Northeast 3135.657* 1316.308 .017 554.047 5717.266Midwest 10769.451* 1194.106 .000 8427.512 13111.391

West

South 7828.060* 1142.303 .000 5587.719 10068.400


*. The mean difference is significant at the .05 level. Job title Groups of Sleep Technologists, Disease Managers, and Others with a respiratory therapy background were too small to individually include in the statistical model so we combined them into one group. This left us with seven groups to study as shown in Table 80. Job title turned out to be a factor that explained a significant additional level of 2008 compensation variability. Job title information increased the R2 value so we could see that 34% of compensation variability was explained; an increase of 2.6%. Table 81 showed that respiratory therapists with the Director job title had the highest mean 2008 compensation value compared to each of the other groups. Clinical Specialists, Supervisors, and those in the combined group of Sleep Technologists, Disease Managers, plus Others made a second tier based on 2008 compensation. Staff Therapists showed a significantly higher mean value than Pulmonary Function Technologists, so technologists were compensated the least as a group. We will reiterate that this effect was observed while controlling for effects of the following covariates on 2008 compensation:


Table 80. ANCOVA estimates of marginal means for compensation from primary job in 2008 by job title

95% Confidence Interval Job Titles Mean Std. Error Lower Bound Upper Bound Director 66,918.686 1,019.089 64,920.002 68,917.370 Clinical Specialist 61,629.584 1,790.624 58,117.729 65,141.440 Supervisor 62,663.757 1,391.401 59,934.876 65,392.637 Staff Therapist/Technician 58,492.857 698.249 57,123.420 59,862.294 Pulmonary Function Tech 53,255.255 2,016.024 49,301.335 57,209.176 Instructor/Educator 58,502.065 1,682.769 55,201.740 61,802.390 Sleep Tech/Dis. Mgr/Other 60,601.947 1,043.057 58,556.256 62,647.639 F=10.15, df 6, p < .0001, eta squared = .032 for the main effect beyond the covariates Total R2 for the ANCOVA model = .342


Table 81. Pairwise Comparisons of means by job title 95% Confidence Interval

for Differencea (I) Combined Job Title (J) Combined Job Title

Mean Difference

(I-J) Std.

Error Sig.aLower Bound

Upper Bound

Clinical Specialist 5289.102* 2069.591 .011 1230.124 9348.079Supervisor 4254.930* 1699.513 .012 921.766 7588.093Staff Therapist/Technician 8425.829* 1310.990 .000 5854.655 10997.003Pulmonary Function Tech 13663.431* 2261.140 .000 9228.779 18098.083Instructor/Educator 8416.621* 1937.053 .000 4617.584 12215.659

Director

Sleep Tech/Dis. Mgr/Other 6316.739* 1426.152 .000 3519.703 9113.775Director -5289.102* 2069.591 .011 -9348.079 -1230.124Supervisor -1034.172 2274.458 .649 -5494.946 3426.601Staff Therapist/Technician 3136.727 1915.248 .102 -619.547 6893.001Pulmonary Function Tech 8374.329* 2690.161 .002 3098.260 13650.398Instructor/Educator 3127.519 2462.827 .204 -1702.690 7957.729

Clinical Specialist

Sleep Tech/Dis. Mgr/Other 1027.637 2075.679 .621 -3043.280 5098.555Director -4254.930* 1699.513 .012 -7588.093 -921.766Clinical Specialist 1034.172 2274.458 .649 -3426.601 5494.946Staff Therapist/Technician 4170.900* 1576.351 .008 1079.286 7262.513Pulmonary Function Tech 9408.501* 2457.868 .000 4588.016 14228.987Instructor/Educator 4161.692 2176.662 .056 -107.279 8430.663

Supervisor

Sleep Tech/Dis. Mgr/Other 2061.809 1731.388 .234 -1333.869 5457.488Director -8425.829* 1310.990 .000 -10997.003 -5854.655Clinical Specialist -3136.727 1915.248 .102 -6893.001 619.547Supervisor -4170.900* 1576.351 .008 -7262.513 -1079.286Pulmonary Function Tech 5237.602* 2136.885 .014 1046.644 9428.560Instructor/Educator -9.208 1849.259 .996 -3636.060 3617.645

Staff Therapist/ Technician

Sleep Tech/Dis. Mgr/Other -2109.090 1284.766 .101 -4628.833 410.652Director -13663.431* 2261.140 .000 -18098.083 -9228.779Clinical Specialist -8374.329* 2690.161 .002 -13650.398 -3098.260Supervisor -9408.501* 2457.868 .000 -14228.987 -4588.016Staff Therapist/Technician -5237.602* 2136.885 .014 -9428.560 -1046.644Instructor/Educator -5246.810* 2625.826 .046 -10396.701 -96.918

Pulmonary Function Tech

Sleep Tech/Dis. Mgr/Other -7346.692* 2264.870 .001 -11788.659 -2904.724Director -8416.621* 1937.053 .000 -12215.659 -4617.584Clinical Specialist -3127.519 2462.827 .204 -7957.729 1702.690Supervisor -4161.692 2176.662 .056 -8430.663 107.279Staff Therapist/Technician 9.208 1849.259 .996 -3617.645 3636.060Pulmonary Function Tech 5246.810* 2625.826 .046 96.918 10396.701

Instructor/ Educator

Sleep Tech/Dis. Mgr/Other -2099.882 1964.139 .285 -5952.044 1752.279


95% Confidence Interval for Differencea

(I) Combined Job Title (J) Combined Job Title

Mean Difference

(I-J) Std.


Upper Bound

Director -6316.739* 1426.152 .000 -9113.775 -3519.703Clinical Specialist -1027.637 2075.679 .621 -5098.555 3043.280Supervisor -2061.809 1731.388 .234 -5457.488 1333.869Staff Therapist/Technician 2109.090 1284.766 .101 -410.652 4628.833Pulmonary Function Tech 7346.692* 2264.870 .001 2904.724 11788.659

Sleep Tech/ Dis. Mgr/Other

Instructor/Educator 2099.882 1964.139 .285 -1752.279 5952.044*. The mean difference is significant at the .05 level.

Characteristics of respiratory therapy training or education Information about therapists’ professional training or education only added about one-half of one percent to the explanation of 2008 compensation variability as Table 82 showed. The only difference that was statistically significant was between the group that was eligible for the RRT and the group that had trained on the job. Because earning the RRT credential was already in the model, we expected the weakness of this factor in adding information that explained 2008 compensation. We will reiterate that this effect was observed while controlling for effects of the following covariates on 2008 compensation:


Table 82. ANCOVA estimates of marginal means for compensation from primary job in 2008 by respiratory therapy training/education

95% Confidence IntervalWhich of the following best describes your respiratory therapy training/education? Mean

Std. Error

Lower Bound

Upper Bound

On-the-job training 55,250.623 2,008.619 51,311.160 59,190.086Entry level 58,556.278 1,637.970 55,343.759 61,768.796Advanced level, eligible for the RRT 61,333.338 460.098 60,430.956 62,235.719F=4.985, df 2, p = .007, eta squared = .005 for the main effect beyond the covariates Total R2 for the ANCOVA model = .326


Table 83. Pairwise Comparisons of means by respiratory therapy training 95% Confidence

Interval for Differencea

(I) Respiratory therapy training/education?

(J) Respiratory therapy training/education?

Mean Difference

(I-J) Std.


Upper Bound

Entry level -3305.655 2494.391 .185 -8197.853 1586.543On-the-job training Advanced level, eligible for the RRT

-6082.715* 2076.477 .003 -10155.267 -2010.163

On-the-job training 3305.655 2494.391 .185 -1586.543 8197.853Entry level Advanced level, eligible for the RRT

-2777.060 1729.253 .108 -6168.610 614.490

On-the-job training 6082.715* 2076.477 .003 2010.163 10155.267Advanced level, eligible for the RRT Entry level 2777.060 1729.253 .108 -614.490 6168.610*. The mean difference is significant at the .05 level. Degree earned from respiratory therapy school Table 84 showed that information about the degree earned from the respiratory therapy school did not exert a significant effect on 2008 compensation beyond information provided by the six covariates. Although differences in means could be observed in Table 84, they were within the margin of error, so we were not confident that these differences existed in the population. Table 84. ANCOVA estimates of marginal means for compensation from primary job in 2008 by degree earned from respiratory therapy school

95% Confidence Interval

Degree from respiratory therapy school Mean Std. Error Lower Bound Upper Bound

Associates Degree 60,458.936 511.065 59,456.606 61,461.267

Bachelors Degree 62,169.516 1015.026 60,178.788 64,160.244

Response Not Provided 59,362.964 1178.579 57,051.466 61,674.462F=1.743, df 2, p = .175 Highest academic level Highest academic level was different as summarized in Table 85 than the degree earned from the respiratory therapy school for some respondents. This factor did exert a significant effect on 2008 compensation. When this information was added to the statistical model, another 1.3% of compensation variability was explained. Respondents who had earned a graduate degree had the highest mean for 2008 compensation, which was significantly higher than the mean for each of the other groups (Table 86). The group that had earned a Bachelors degree had the second highest mean, which was significantly different than the group with the Associates degree. However, the Bachelors degree group mean was not significantly different than the group with High School and Some College. This was a curious outcome since the mean for the High School and Some College group was lower than for the Associates degree group. Studying the standard error column showed that the High School and Some College group mean had a large margin of error, which was attributable to a


comparatively small number in this group. This fact complicated the comparisons between these groups. We will reiterate that this effect was observed while controlling for effects of the following covariates on 2008 compensation:


Table 85. ANCOVA estimates of marginal means for compensation from primary job in 2008 by highest academic level

95% Confidence Interval

Highest Academic Degree Mean Std. Error Lower Bound Upper Bound

High School and Some College 58,613.226 1,432.421 55,803.893 61,422.560

Associates 59,390.795 624.815 58,165.376 60,616.213

Bachelors 61,529.520 739.785 60,078.618 62,980.422

Graduate 65,626.771 1,221.745 63,230.627 68,022.916 F=7.70, df 3, p < .0000, eta squared = .012 for the main effect beyond the covariates Total R2 for the ANCOVA model = .329 Table 86. Pairwise Comparisons of means by highest academic level

95% Confidence Interval for Differencea (I) Highest

Academic Degree (J) Highest Academic Degree

Mean Difference (I-J)

Std. Error Sig.a Lower Bound Upper Bound

Associates Degree -777.569 1573.742 .621 -3864.068 2308.931Bachelors -2916.294 1644.858 .076 -6142.269 309.681

High School and Some College

Graduate -7013.545* 1908.022 .000 -10755.651 -3271.439High School and Some College

777.569 1573.742 .621 -2308.931 3864.068

Bachelors -2138.726* 969.217 .027 -4039.600 -237.851

Associates Degree


2916.294 1644.858 .076 -309.681 6142.269

Associates Degree 2138.726* 969.217 .027 237.851 4039.600

Bachelors


7013.545* 1908.022 .000 3271.439 10755.651

Associates Degree 6235.976* 1386.350 .000 3516.999 8954.954

Graduate

Bachelors 4097.251* 1416.352 .004 1319.432 6875.070*. The mean difference is significant at the .05 level.


Summary of Consequential Compensation Factors Returning focus to the covariates, it would be reasonable to ask how one should use a set of six factors to understand or predict 2008 compensation. We pulled together information from the multiple regression phase of the compensation study to facilitate this task. The multiple regression result gave us an equation we could use to predict compensation in 2008. Within the equation were regression coefficients that became weighting factors that could be multiplied by actual values from each factor from a specific situation. While complicated to visualize, the equation defined a straight line that moved through three-dimensional space. This line fit these data the best or represented the best prediction we could make about 2008 compensation based on information from survey responses. Tables 87 and 88 each showed regression results from a different scenario that represented a theoretical person who might apply for a job or compare his or her compensation against national averages. In the first example depicted in Table 87, the respiratory therapist worked for 40 hours a week. The therapist had a lot of experience; 15 years with her current employer and 18 years total in respiratory therapy. This person was assumed to have earned the RRT credential for the purpose of the illustration. We assumed that in this hypothetical case, the employer gave the therapist a chance to respond to the job satisfaction question from the survey and the response value was “4” indicating that she was mostly satisfied. (We wanted to emphasize that when a real job satisfaction number will be entered, it should not be directly linked to compensation. It would be a mistake to hand an employee the job satisfaction question and then state, “Rate your job satisfaction. Your rating will affect the number we will use to compare your compensation with those of other therapists.”) One can still produce a predicted compensation value without an actual job satisfaction value as we will illustrate in the second example. We wanted to emphasize that if an actual job satisfaction value will be included, it should be collected independently from a discussion about compensation. Lastly, we assumed that the institution where this therapist worked had protocols that directly influenced respiratory care for patients. We entered a value of 1 to indicate that this factor was present. Had protocols not been used, then we would have entered a value of 0. Table 87. First compensation scenario Predicted Annual Compensation in 2008 = Regression coefficients Factors

Enter your numbers

here Product1307.414 (Hours worked per week) 40 $ 52,297 plus plus

193.138 (Years with current primary employer) 15 $ 2,897 plus plus

451.741 (Years of general experience in respiratory therapy) 18 $ 8,131 plus plus 6822.363 (Whether the person has earned the RRT; 1=yes 0=no) 1 $ 6,822 plus plus 1509.291 (Job satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 5) 4 $ 6,037 plus plus 3075.902 (Whether patient care is provided by protocol; 1=yes 0=no) 1 $ 3,076 plus plus

(10,012.578) (10,012.578) Total $ 69,248


The second example depicted in Table 88 details a different situation. We chose to illustrate an example for a therapist with much less experience than in the first scenario. We assumed this person had worked five years total, all with the same primary employer. We assumed for this scenario that the individual had not earned the RRT credential. We wanted to illustrate in this example how we advise handling the job satisfaction value when no real value is available. (When the actual value is missing, statisticians will accept the average from peers as reasonable approximation.) The average job satisfaction rating in this study was 3.86, so using that value will yield an average amount of credit within the compensation prediction equation. The second example also illustrates the effect of working in an institution that does not use respiratory care protocols. A zero value will take the product value to zero, just like the absence of an RRT credential took that product to zero. An Excel spreadsheet was included with these reports so that someone could enter their numbers and the predicted 2008 compensation value will be calculated automatically. An examination of the regression coefficients is worth reviewing since they offer some commentary on how these factors individually influenced 2008 compensation. Each hour of work a therapist averaged each week was worth $1,307.414 in additional 2008 compensation. Each year of total experience in respiratory therapy increased 2008 compensation by $193.138. Each year of experience with the same employer was worth another $451.741 in 2008. Holding the RRT credential was worth $6,822.363 for therapists in this sample for 2008. Each additional point on the independently-collected job satisfaction scale was worth $1,509.291. Lastly, expecting therapists to work with protocols increased 2008 compensation another $3,075.902 in 2008. Table 88. Second compensation scenario Predicted Annual Compensation in 2008 =

Regression coefficients Factors

Enter your

numbers here Product

1307.414 (Hours worked per week) 36 $ 47,067 plus plus 193.138 (Years with current primary employer) 5 $ 966

plus plus 451.741 (Years of general experience in respiratory therapy) 5 $ 2,259

plus plus 6822.363 (Whether the person has earned the RRT; 1=yes 0=no) 0 $ - plus plus 1509.291 (Job satisfaction on a scale of 0 to 5) 3.86 $ 5,826 plus plus 3075.902 (Whether patient care is provided by protocol; 1=yes 0=no) 0 $ - plus plus

(10,012.578) (10,012.578) Total $ 46,105 We wanted to emphasize that most of what these study results explained about 2008 compensation were covered by six factors. Some may want to fine-tune the product of the prediction equation by adjusting for region, job title, characteristics of respiratory therapy training and education, and highest academic level. Table 89 illustrated an example of how to adjust for these other factors.


Information in Table 89 was based on the assumption that we were considering compensation for someone in the Supervisor position for an institution that was located in the Northeast. We assumed the individual had received a respiratory therapy education that made her eligible for the RRT. Lastly, we assumed that the highest academic level for this therapist was the Associates Degree. We found the average of each of the four total – subgroup differences had yielded an increase of $1,029. We would increase an estimated 2008 compensation figure by this amount to arrive at a final figure. For example, if we were talking about the person in the first compensation scenario, then we would add $1,029 to $69,248 to produce our best estimate of $70,277. The report package included a spreadsheet that will accept all of the values that significantly influenced 2008 compensation. The spreadsheet will yield one value that takes all factors into account. The last point we will make about compensation is that these analyses were about predicting the past, compensation in 2008 to be specific. Someone who will be using these results in the future should consider the effects of cost of living increases on their estimate for a fair representation of the compensation that a respiratory therapist could expect. The further removed in time from 2008 the more strongly cost of living increases should be considered since the effect is compounded year over year. Table 89. Worksheet for fine-tuning compensation prediction

Factor Sub Group Means ($)

Total – Subgroup Difference

West $66,986 Northeast $63,850

South $59,158

Region Total mean across these subgroups = $60,800

Midwest $56,217

+$3,050

Director $66,919 Supervisor $62,664

Clinical Specialist $61,630 Sleep Tech/Dis.Mgr/Other $$60,602

Instructor/Educator $58,502 Staff Therapist/Technician $58,493

Job title Total mean across these subgroups = $60,727

Pulmonary Function Tech $53,255

+$1,937

Characteristics of respiratory therapy training/education Total mean across these subgroups = $60,831

Advanced, eligible for RRT $61,333 Entry level $58,556

On-the-job training $55,251 +$502

Graduate $65,627 Bachelors $61,530

Highest academic level Total mean across these subgroups = $60,764

Associates $59,391 High School & Some College $58,613

-$1,373

Average difference +1,029 For example, if a compensation estimate was $50,000, but the year was 2012, then three years worth of cost of living adjustments should be added to the estimate for 2009, 2010, and 2011. If the average cost of living increase was 2% each year, this would yield an annual compensation value of $53,060 ($50,000 X 1.023). If one had access to local cost of living increases for each year, then $50,000 of annual compensation should be adjusted differently. We assumed for this example that there was no


cost of living increase in 2009. Increases in 2010 and 2011 were respectively 2% and 4%. These cost of living adjustments would yield $53,040 (($50,000 X 1.02) X 1.04).


DISCUSSION

While the body of this report contains useful details, one could be overwhelmed and unsure about what the highlights might be. This section of the report is intended to draw attention to the high points. Limitations of study results Although the sampling effort for this study was ample with 11,212 postcards distributed to potential respondents, it remained possible that the responses we observed were biased. To illustrate, 5% of the available population of credentialed therapists from the NBRC database were sampled. The sampling method was random, so we were confident that characteristics of the population were present in the group who were sent a postcard. We lost nearly 1,000 respondents immediately since they had not kept their addresses current with the NBRC. We lost another set of people who received the postcard, but chose not to respond to the survey. There was yet another group we lost who had been encouraged by technical directors or educators to respond to the survey, but they chose not to do so. Although the whole population of acute care hospitals was given the opportunity to respond, there were other hospitals where a few therapists could have worked who were not directly solicited to respond. Some of these people may have been notified of the opportunity by other communications from the AARC, but it remained possible that some never learned of the opportunity. What is important while acknowledging limitations is that any of these groups might have given different responses to some survey questions compared to those observed in this study. We registered 3,942 people who signaled that they wanted to access the survey, but only 3,139 submitted responses that we could use. Although asking postcard recipients to recruit other respondents and general email blasts viewed by others who did not receive a postcard had opened participation further, we received responses from only a small percentage of the population of just more than 145,000 therapists. There was evidence in these results that those who primarily worked in the education setting were overrepresented in the sample for this study. We also found evidence that there were more AARC members in the sample than in the population. Respondents who were technical directors of hospital departments were likely overrepresented in the sample. Finally, we knew that certified asthma educators were oversampled in this study as well. Any of these groups may have responded differently than other therapists, so some level of potential bias for some responses should be acknowledged. This illustrated why we should be mindful of the limitations that study results could offer. The hypothesis that there was a nonresponse bias in these results remained. Hence, we urge caution in extrapolating these study results to people in the respiratory therapy workforce who self-selected out of this sample or never learned of the opportunity to participate. Geographic Characteristics Every state in the United States plus Puerto Rico and Washington DC were represented in the sample. Direct contacts with regulators in each state or AARC chapters in Hawaii and Alaska where respiratory care is not regulated, yielded a count of 145,117 respiratory therapists. We characterized this as a direct count, not a projection. We acknowledged that some therapists


could have been counted more than once when they held a license in more than one state. We also acknowledged that counts from Hawaii and Alaska were estimates, so we will characterize the population count as an estimate. We tended to observe the largest numbers of responses from those states that had large general populations and large populations of respiratory therapists. The South region yielded the largest number of responses followed by the Midwest, West, and then the Northeast regions of the United States. The more detailed and smaller census divisions showed a similar pattern with about 20% of the sample from South Atlantic states followed by about 18% from states in the East North Central division, then the Middle Atlantic and Pacific divisions each with about 12% of the sample. The West North Central division provided about 11% of the sample. Ages of Therapists and their Departure from the Workforce The median age of this sample was 49 while the mean was 47.5, which reflected the fact that there were more therapists below these ages than above. A histogram of the age distribution showed that comparatively few therapists were in the sample beyond the age of about 62. Our analyses of respondents’ plans to depart the respiratory therapy workforce found that an average of 3,029 therapists planned to leave each year. Based on the median value, we expected that one half of the current population planned to be out of the workforce by the year 2020. We wanted to emphasize that this situation will be fluid going forward since thousands of therapists will enter the workforce annually. Experience Level of Therapists The typical respondent in this sample had a total of 21 to 22 years of experience in respiratory therapy. The median value for the number of years respondents had worked for their current primary employer was less than one-half of their total experience at 9 years, so changing employers was the norm for this sample. Work Hours in a Typical Week Across several work settings, we found that a few therapists who worked a second job at a full 40 hours a week. We expected that one factor that likely made this result more easily done was the fact that some shifts were as much as 12 hours long, so employees could get their time in over fewer days than if shifts were 8 hours long. We found that 75% of the sample had their primary job in acute care hospitals. 12.5% of the sample worked primarily in education settings. 6.3% of the sample worked primarily in the DME/Home Care setting. 6% of the sample spent some time in Outpatient Facilities or Physician’s offices. Long Term Care settings had 4.4% of the sample. The Manufacturing/Distribution setting had 1.2% of the sample. 0.9% of the sample worked primarily for registries. The typical therapist in this last group only worked 24 hours a week. In contrast, those working primarily in the other settings typically put in close to 40 hours each week. Adding up all of the percentages across work settings yielded more than 100%, so it was evident that some respondents had reported more than one primary job. Therefore, the population extrapolations should be cautiously considered since they likely overestimate the counts for each setting. Base Wage at Primary Job, Differential Pay, and Bonuses The mean wage value was $30.14/hour. However, the median was $28.85/hour. The one standard deviation range around the mean value was $21.84/hour to $38.45/hour, so approximately 68% of the responses from this sample fell between those two points.


The typical differential for working an evening shift was $1.75/hour to 1.80/hour. The range for typical night shift differentials was $2.50/hour to $2.54/hour. Typical differentials for weekend work fell between $1.50/hour and $1.98/hour. The on-call differential was typically between $1.00/hour and $1.92/hour. Holiday differentials varied widely while typically falling between $1.50/hour and $4.84/hour. Most therapists (64%) in this sample did not earn a year-end bonus. Among those who did, a typical bonus was $800 to $1,776. Job Satisfaction Only 12.7% of therapists in this sample rated satisfaction with their jobs on the lower half of the scale. Typical responses fell between 3.86 and 4 on the 0- to 5-point scale. Therefore, most respondents seemed well satisfied. Compensation and benefits topped the list of elements about which therapists were least satisfied. Department administration/supervision plus workload also were cited by many therapists as factors that reduced their satisfaction. Among the subgroup of therapists who had changed jobs within the last five years, department administration/supervision was the most frequently cited reason for the change. Opportunities for advancement and compensation/benefits were cited by other respondents as strong reasons for a job change. Job Titles The largest subgroup of respondents were therapists with the Staff Therapist or Technician job title. This section of results also revealed that therapists with the Director and Instructor or Educator job titles were oversampled. Given our method of directly soliciting both groups with postcards, this outcome was not a surprise. Credentials and Certifications Credential maintenance has become a potential issue for some therapists since the NBRC implemented a continuing competency policy in 2002. Before that point, therapists earned credentials for a lifetime. In this context, maintenance meant proving evidence of continued competency to the NBRC. The NBRC will periodically renew a therapist’s credential for another five years once sufficient evidence of continued competency is provided by each individual. 12.1% of the sample did not respond to this question. Among those who did respond, nearly 70% indicated that their employers did require that an employee maintain an active credential with the NBRC. We wanted to emphasize that maintaining an active credential is different than maintaining active status as a member of the NBRC. One can have an active credential, but be an inactive NBRC member. Having an active credential means that the NBRC recognizes that you have demonstrated your competency within the last five years. 85.3% of the sample reported that they had earned the RRT credential. This was the largest subgroup in the sample. Those who had earned the CRT were the next largest group with 69.3% of the sample. Respondents could make multiple responses among the options for this survey item, when they held more than one NBRC credential.


Only 1.9% of the sample reported earning the LPN or RN credential. On the other hand, 34.1% of the sample were also credentialed as asthma educators and 29.7% were also credentialed as emergency medical technicians. BCLS certification was almost universal in this sample with 96.2% of therapists giving an affirmative response. 69.4% indicated that they were ACLS certified, so this designation was common to more than a majority of the sample. 50% of the sample had earned NRP certification while 44.8% had earned PALS certification. Assisting Medical Procedures Assisting with emergency intubations was the most frequently (80.5%) cited procedure in this sample. Assistance with sleep therapeutics was cited by many (75.9%) in the sample in contrast to a comparatively low percentage (22.4%) who assisted with sleep diagnostics. Bronchoscopy assisting was cited by many (75.3%) in the sample as well. Assisting with discharge planning including patient instruction was another procedure in which many (63.2%) sample members were involved. Characteristics of Respiratory Therapy Training or Education 88.1% of the therapists in the sample had received formal education in respiratory therapy that made them eligible to achieve the RRT credential. Those who had received entry level education and on-the-job training respectively constituted 7.8% and 4.2% of the sample. Degree Earned from Respiratory Therapy Program 20.4% of this sample gave no response to this question, so they concluded it did not apply to them or they chose to withhold the information. Either outcome was possible. Before CoARC implemented its policy to confer accreditation to programs that at least awarded the Associates degree, there were programs that offered certificates of completion that fell short of requirements to earn an Associates degree from a college. Among sample members who did respond to this question, 78.4% had earned an Associates degree while 20.1 had earned a Bachelors degree. Highest Academic Level Some therapists came to respiratory therapy with college degrees in-hand. Others sought degrees after they had completed their respiratory therapy education program. Therefore, the survey asked for respondents’ highest academic levels of achievement as a separate question from the one about the degree from the respiratory therapy program. 8.3% of the sample left this item without a response. Among those who did respond, 44.1% had earned an Associates degree and 32.8% had earned a Bachelors degree. A small group (12.5%) had achieved a Masters degree and a very small group (1%) had earned a Doctorate degree. 22% of therapists in this sample indicated that they were currently involved in pursuing a higher academic degree than the one they had earned. Within this group, 73.8% indicated that they were doing so to advance their career in respiratory care. 26.2% indicated that they intended to change their career, which we interpreted to imply that they had plans to leave the respiratory therapy workforce. We estimated that this represented a population of 8,501 people with active plans to leave over the next few years.


Number of Patients Receiving Mechanical Ventilation Assigned to Each Therapist Mean and median values were close in this set of responses respectively at 5.9 and 6. In whole numbers, we expected that each therapist typically cared for 6 patients receiving mechanical ventilation. The range of responses was interesting to observe since it started at 1 patient per therapist and went up to 25. Percentage of Time in Different Hospital Areas From what we could tell from responses given by this sample, therapists spent 33.9% of their time in adult intensive care units. The next highest (26.4%) area where respiratory care was given included the general medical and surgical floors. The emergency department garnered 13.7% of therapists’ time followed by other areas (11.8%), which we presumed were locations like radiology, laboratories, and clinics. The two areas related to the care of children received the lowest percentages of time in this sample with 8.6% in Neonatal ICU and 5.7% in Pediatric ICU. Percentage of Care by Disease/Disorders Patients with COPD received the largest average percentage of time (39.5%) from therapists in this sample. Those who fell into the Other category were next with an average of 19.2% of time. We inferred that most of the patients with acute disorders were included in this group. Patients with asthma were next with an average of 18.2% of therapists’ time. Patients with other chronic pulmonary problems consumed an average of 13.8% of therapists’ time. Lastly, patients with sleep disorders occupied an average of 9.4% of the time of therapists in this sample. Some Employers Required Simultaneous Care 18.8% of the sample did not respond to this question, which was an increase in nonresponses compared to some other questions from the survey. We concluded that these people preferred it if they had not been asked this question or preferred not to give a response. Among those who did respond, 48.4% indicated that delivering simultaneous care to multiple patients was expected by their employers. Uncompleted Work Assignments During Recent Shifts Here again, the percentage of nonresponses spiked up to 23.4%. Perhaps this signaled for some that the question did not apply to them since they always finished all of their work. Among those who gave a response, typical percentages fell between the median of 10.0% and the mean of 15.7%. Therefore, most respondents were able to complete work assigned to them most of the time. Employer Provided Work Prioritization System 9% of the sample did not provide a response to this question. Among therapists who did respond to this question, 56.3% indicated that their employer did provide a system to help them prioritize their work. When asked how often they used the prioritization system, the nonresponse rate increased to 52.1%. Apparently, respondents in this sample were more comfortable revealing whether they had access to a work prioritization system than they were in revealing how frequently they personally used the system. On the other hand, this nonresponse behavior could have indicated that about one-half of the sample chose not to use the system or felt like they do not need the system. Among those who did respond, 63.2% indicated that they used the system every day.


Respiratory Care Delivery by Protocol 11.9% of this sample did not respond to the question about protocols. Of those who did, 65.7% indicated that protocols were used where they worked. Kind of Shift Responses to this question confirmed our suspicion from the information about primary and second jobs, which was that a large group of therapists worked 12-hour shifts. Among those who gave a response, 41.7% indicated that their shifts were 12 hours in duration. Another large group of 37.6% indicated that they worked 8-hour shifts. 10-hour shifts were less common (8.1%) as were rotating 8-hour/12-hour shifts (6.1%). Nearly one-half of therapists in this sample had access to at least some 12 hour shifts, which coincides with the fact that some were putting in a full-time equivalent of hours for a second job. Gender 10% chose not to respond to this question. Among those who did, 61.7% were female. Race/Ethnicity Description The majority (75.1%) of this sample came from the white and non-Hispanic group. Hispanics were the largest minority group with 18.5% of the sample. Vaccinations Compared to the percentage (74.6%) of therapists in the sample who had received an influenza vaccination in the last year, only a small percentage (20.0) had received the Pneumococcal vaccination. Tobacco Use Behaviors 38.1% of the sample indicated that they had smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetimes. Among therapists in the sample, 29% had never tried tobacco. 61% of the sample had used tobacco, but had quit. About 10% of therapists in the sample still used tobacco. After asking for the year in which therapists in the sample had quit using tobacco and examining information about the typical ages of respondents we reached a conclusion. It appeared that the typical respondent who had smoked was now 47.5 years old and he or she had quit smoking 15 years ago. We found it interesting that the year 2000 was associated with the largest frequency of therapists who had reported that they had quit tobacco use. Either several respondents made the same rough guess about the year they really quit, or there was a common millennial resolution shared by several people to stop using tobacco. AARC Membership Part of the reason a snowball sampling technique was used was to make more people aware of the opportunity to respond to the human resources survey who were not AARC members. Responses to this question indicated that we were somewhat successful in that goal. 93.8% of the sample were members of the AARC. Compensation Factors The powerful feature of this part of the study was the availability of information about income from all sources whether from base wage, differentials, or bonuses. Plus, those who were salaried and those who were compensated on an hourly basis could be studied together by collecting information about compensation for a whole year.


Regression Analyses We expected to start with a long list of potential compensation factors and observe as our method whittled those down to the subset of truly useful bits of information. Because there were therapists who worked part time and full time in the sample, we were not surprised to find that the factor that explained the most about compensation from a primary job was the one containing information about the number of hours worked each week. It was pretty simple for us to understand that the more a therapist worked each week, the more compensation he or she received. We had observed that experience was a predictor of compensation in past human resource studies conducted by the AARC. We found a surprise in these results when two different experience factors survived. We expected that the general experience and experience with one’s current employer factors would cover a lot of the same ground when it came to explaining compensation variance. The fact that both factors survived meant that there were some unique features contributed by the two types of information about experience. The RRT credential was positively valued in this job market. Those who had earned the RRT received an additional $6,822 in 2008 compensation on average. Finding that job satisfaction and 2008 compensation were related was expected. We should explain that because this phase of the compensation analysis was based on regression, we could not make cause and effect conclusions. We can report that job satisfaction and compensation went up and down together. We could not say that job satisfaction produced higher compensation or higher compensation encouraged higher job satisfaction. We will stress again that a director, manager, or supervisor who wanted to add real information to the compensation prediction equation should collect information about job satisfaction independently of any linkage to compensation. We also will offer the reminder that someone can run the equation without an actual job satisfaction value by substituting the average rating of 3.86. The equation will still yield a useful result. We were intrigued to watch the protocol factor leap-frog other factors (presence of a work prioritization system, employers’ expectations for simultaneous patient care, and the year one plans to leave the workforce) that had been more strongly correlated as individual predictors with 2008 compensation. This revealed the usefulness of the multiple regression technique. It permitted us to find a potentially unexpected factor that added to the explanation of compensation variability. Institutions that had protocols in place, shared a unique positive relationship with compensation in an area not captured by the other factors. We could speculate that institutions with protocols valued therapists more since they were making important decisions about patient care; hence those therapists were compensated more. Had we not used the analysis of covariance method that included two experience factors, we could have speculated that more experienced therapists sought out work situations with protocols because they valued having more autonomy. Because they had more experience, we could have argued that they were secondarily paid more. In other words, they were paid more for their experience, not because they could provide care under protocols. However, the protocol factor showed up as a significant addition after both experience factors were already in the model. This ruled out the hypothesis that compensation was higher in institutions with protocols because therapists who worked there were more experienced.


Analysis of Covariance Analyses Among five more potential factors, four survived our evaluation of subgroup mean compensation values. Regional effects were the strongest among the four remaining factors. The cost of living was higher in some parts of the United States, so compensation was generally increased for all who work in those areas, notably in the Western and Northeastern states. There were varying levels of responsibility associated with different jobs. A boss (director) had more responsibilities, so their compensation was higher. Therapists who functioned as supervisors, clinical specialists, and other mid-level department personnel earned the second highest level of compensation. Those on the front lines like staff therapists and those who worked in the pulmonary function area were typically responsible for themselves alone, so their compensation was comparatively less than those who were responsible for the work of others. A small increase in compensation was observed among therapists who were eligible for the RRT at the point of graduation. The effect was very small, almost to the point that we were ready to ignore it. However, the additional information did increase the percentage of explained compensation variability from 31.6 to 32.6, so we continued to respect the influence of this factor on 2008 compensation by leaving it in the multiple regression equation. Although information about the degree earned from the respiratory therapy program exerted no significant effect on compensation differences, the highest academic degree (earned from anywhere) did matter. Graduate and Bachelors degrees each made a positive difference in compensation of therapists in 2008. We do encourage people to take a two-step approach to making compensation comparisons. First, plug numbers for a specific person into the regression equation. We encourage people to use the spreadsheet file included in the reports package to simplify this task. Second, find each difference between Total and Subgroup average values for groups defined by region, job title, characteristics of the respiratory therapy program, and highest academic level. Adjust the regression result by the average difference value to get the most accurate estimate of 2008 compensation available from these study results. Lastly, we encourage those who use study results to account for the effect of cost of living increases on future compensation.


Appendix A

Human Resource Survey of Respiratory Therapists


Appendix B Postcards to Respiratory Therapists


Appendix C Compiled Comments from Survey Respondents


o What is the title for your primary job? o ABG Lab Manager o Account Executive o Account Manager(2 responses) o Accreditation / QA-PI / Employee Education Director o Accreditation Officer/Human Resource/ And Therapist o Account Manger , Ventilator Sales o Acute Care Coordinator o Administrator o Adult Critical Care Team Leader o Adult/NICU Critical Care Therapist o Advanced Practitioner/Ecmo Specialist o Advanced Respiratory Care Practitioner o Advanced Respiratory Therapist Level Ii o Advanced Respiratory Therapist o Advanced Respiratory Therapist Level II o AE-C,CPFT,RRT o Assistant Director (8 Responses) o Assistant Director-Educator o Assistant Manager o Assistant Manager But Report To Nursing Manager o Assistant Professor o Assistant Respiratory Manager o Associate Director o Asst. Professor o Asthma Clinic/Pulmonary Rehab Coordinator o Asthma Health Coach o Blood Gas Laboratory Lead/Principal Respiratory Therapist o Branch Manager o Bronch Lab Coordinator o Bronchoscopy Assistant o Bronchoscopy/PFT Therapist o Cardiac Anesthesia Therapist o Cardiac Cath Lab Tech/ CRT o Cardiac Rehab o Cardiac Rehab Therapist o Cardiac Rehab, Eecp And Stress Testing o Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehab o Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehab Staff o Cardio Pulmonary Rehab Coordinator o Cardiopulmonary Lab Supervisor o Cardiopulmonary Rehab Therapist o CEO(5 responses) o CEO OF STAFFING AGENCY o Certified Hyperbaric Tech o Certified Hyperbaric Technologist o Charge Therapist o Charge Therapist o Chief Therapist o Cht Hyperbaaric Tech


o Clinic And Lab Manager o Clinic Manager o Clinical Analyst o Clinical Applications Analyst o Clinical Applications Specialist o Clinical Associate o Clinical Coordinator(11 Responses) o Clinical Coordinator - Cardiopulmonary Services o Clinical Coordinator Bronchoscopy, Tech OPS Manager Interventional Pulmonology o Clinical Coordinator Pft Lab o Clinical Coordinator-Instructor o Clinical Coordinator, Cardiopulmonary o Clinical Design Consultant o Clinical Director o Clinical Informatics Analyst o Clinical Lead o Clinical Manager(6 Responses o Clinical Monitoring(Lines) o Clinical Operations Manager o Clinical Program Manager o Clinical Program Specialist o Clinical Research Associate o Clinical Research Associate Ii o Clinical Research Coordinator(2 Responses) o Clinical Resourse/Supervisor o Clinical Sales Account Executive o Clinical Services Manager(2 Responses) o Clinical Specialist (2 Responses o Clinical Systems Analyst o Clinical Systems Manager o Clinical Therapist/ECMO Specialist o Co Owner/Manager o Co-Manager o Compliance Coordinator o Consultant(2 Responses) o Consultant For 31 LTAC Buildings o Coordinator o Coordinator CTICU o Coordinator Pulmonary Rehabilitation o Coordinator, Lung Health Services o Copd Case Manager/ Home Oxygen Coordinator o Cpap Clinic/Dme Coordinator o Critical Care Coordinator o Critical Care Lead Therapist o Critical Care Representative o Critical Care RRT o Critical Care Transport Therapist o Currently Not Working In Rt o Currently Unemployed - Having Difficult Time Finding Employment In Rt o Dean Of Health Science o Decision Support Specialist


o Department Manager (13 Responses) o Diagnostic Coordinator o Director Clinical Operations--RT, Sleep, Nuclear, Echo, Vascular o Director Distance Education o Director Of Clinical Education (8 Responses) o Director Of Sleep Lab o Dme Supervisor/ Respiratory Therapist o Ecmo Primer o Ecmo Specialist (2 Responses) o Ecmo Technician o Education & Research Coordinator o Education Coordinator (3 Responses) o Educational Consultant o Educator, Mgr o EEG Coordinator o EEG'S/Staff Therapist o Emergency Room And Education Coordinator o Equipment And Supplies/Staff Therapist/Hispanic o Equipment Specialist o Executive Director o Executive Sales Specialist o Executive VP, Technical And Professional Services o Facility/Clinical Mgr. o Field Health Coach For Asthma And Copd In Southwest, Ga. o Flight Respiratory Therapist (2 Responses) o Flight RRT o Flight RT o Flight Therapist o Gopher o Group Administrator o Health Coach o Health Project Coordinator-Research o Home Care Specialist o Home Oxygen Coordinator o Home Vent Coordinator/ CF Specialist o Hyperbaric Respiratory Therapist / HBO Safety Officer o Hyperbaric Technician(2 Responses) o Hyperbaric Technologist/ Safety Officer o I Am The Whole Dept.NSH Has One Therapist o I Do Both, Disease Manager, PT Ed, Instructor, Educator o I Perform All Of The Above Except Director o I'm The Only One so I Do It Task And Non Task Skills o ICU Coordinator o Implementation Manager o In The Last 6 months I Transitioned To Clinical Research Specialist, Prev A Clinical

Coordinator o Infant Pulmonary Function Technologist o Interventional Therapist o Lead Medical Instrument Technician o Lead Nicu Therapist o Lead Pulmonary Function Technologist


o Lead Registered Respiratory And Sleep Therapist o Lead Respiratory Therapist(3 Responses) o Lead Respiratory Therapist ICU o Lead RT o Lead Tech o Lead Technologist o Lead Therapist (16 Responses) o Lead Therapist, Days o Licensure & Continuing Education Coordinator o Manager (24 Responses) o Manager Respiratory Therapist o Manager Community Outreach/Director Tobacco Free Programs o Manager Of Pulmonary Services o Manager Pulmonary Neurophysiology o Manager Resp Care And Safety Services o Manufacturer Representative o Marketing Manager o Med Tech/Recovery Support Staff (2 Responses) o Medical Center Administrator o Medical Sales o Neonatal / Kids Er Resource o Neonatal Respiratory Therapist o Neonatal Staff RT o Neonatal/Pediatric Therapist o NICU Coordinator o NICU/ICU/LEAD o NIUC Transport Therapist o Nurse Vendor o Nurse/Respiratory/Research Coordinator o Operational Coordinator o Operations Manager o Out-Patient Pulmonary Rehab Therapist o Outpatient Pulmonary Case Manager For Technology Dependent Clinic o Owner (2 Responses) o Owner And CEO o Owner Of DME Company o Owner/Operator o Part-Time Respiratory Therapist o Patient Care Coordinator o Patient Care Representative o Pediatric Respiratory Therapist o Per Deim Staff Therapist o Performance Improvement Project Manager o Pft Lab Manager/Technician o Pft Over Reader And Trainer Of Custom PFT System o Point Of Care Testing Cordinator o President o President - CEO o Product Manager For Respiratory Information System o Product Marketing Manager o Program Coordinator For Science & Allied Health


o Program Manager - (Education, Community Organizing, Etc) o Program/Schedule Coord. o Project Coordinator o Project Leader o Protocol Coordinator o Pulmonary And Cardiac Rehab o Pulmonary Clinic Coordinator o Pulmonary Function Coordinator o Pulmonary Hypertension Coordinator o Pulmonary Rehab (2 Responses) o Pulmonary Rehab Coordinator(5 Responses) o Pulmonary Rehab Lead Therapist o Pulmonary Rehab Program Coordinator (2 Responses) o Pulmonary Rehab Specialist o Pulmonary Rehab Therapist(2 Responses) o Pulmonary Rehab Therapist Rrt o Pulmonary Rehabilitation Coordinator o Pulmonary Rehabilitation Director o QI REVIEWER o Quality Coordinator, Cardiopulmonary Services(2 Responses) o Quality Improvement Coordinator o RCP III < Advanced Practice > o Recruiter o Region Manager International Division o Regional Sales Manager o Registered Respiratory Care Practitioner o Registered Respiratory Therapist (2 Responses) o Regulatory Compliance Office o Representative o Research Coordinator (3 Responses) o Research Therapist o Resource Level Therapist o Respiratory & Sleep Care Provider o Respiratory Care Coordinator o Respiratory Care Department Manager o Respiratory Care Services Manager o Respiratory Care Site Manager o Respiratory Home Care Coordinator o Respiratory Quality Manager o Respiratory Sales Representative o Respiratory Specialist Pulmonary Rehabilitation o Respiratory Technical Assistant o Respiratory Therapist o Retired o Risk Coordinator o RN o RN Coordinator o RRT Lead Therapist o RRT Plus Dept. Clinical Educator o RRT-NPS, NREMT-P FLIGHT THERAPIST o RRT/ Sales Representative


o RT Equipment Coordinator o Sales For Dme o Sales Manager o Senior Clinical Research Coordinator o Senior Consultant, Senior Scientist/Lecturer o Senior Manager o Senior Night Shift Threapist o Senior RCP o Senior Respiratory Therapist(4 Responses) o Senior Therapist(2 Responses) o Senior Therapist; Manager Blood Gas Lab o Senior Therapist/Sales o Shift Manager o Sleep Center Manager o Sleep Lab Coordinator o Software Engineer o Sr. Dir, Clinical Service o Sr. Respiratory Therapist o Staff Respiratory Therapist o Staff Therapist And Asthma Educator o Staff Therapist And Disease Manager/Patient Educator o Staff Therapist And I Do Pft's o Staff Therapist Sometimes Charge Therapist o Staff Therapist/ Clinical Informatics Knowledge Expert o Staff Therapist/Techician And Pft Tech o Supervisor And Therapist (2 Responses) o Supervisor Cardiopulmonary/Cardiovascular/Eeg. Manager Sleep Center o System Analyst o Systems Analyst/Office Coordinator o Team Coordinator o Team Lead Health Ed/ Asthma Programs Coordinator o Team Leader (3 Responses) o Technical And Safety Coordinator o Territory Manager o Therapy Services Coordinator o Tobacco Sessation Specialist In Public Health o Trach/Assessment Core Team o Transport RCP o Transport Respiratory Care Practioner o Transport Team Therapist o Transport Therapist (2 Responses) o Transport Therapist NICU o Travel Therapist o Unemployed o Vent Management Therapist o Vice President (4 Responses) o VP Patient Safety/Education o VP Sales


o Which of the following credentials have you earned? o A+, MCP o ABG LAB Supervisor o ACLS and NRP o ACLS Instructor; PALS Instructor; BLS Instructor o ACLS Instructor o AHA BLS Instructor o American Heart BLS Instructor Trainer o Anesthesia assistant o Anesthesia Practitioner o Anesthesia Technologist (Certified) o B.S Organizational Management o B.S. o B.S. Health Administration o BA o BA, AAS o BA, MBA o Bachelor of Science (2 responses) o Bachelors degree in Respiratory Therapy o Bachelors of Science Degree o BBA Business Management o BCLS instructor o BCLS INSTRUCTOR FOR 321 YEARS o BLS & ACLS instructor o BLS instructor (4 responses) o BLS Instructor Trainer o BLS, NRP, PALS & PEARS Instructor o BS(2 responses) o BS Biology o BS Health Care Administration o BS in Biology o BS in business o CAP Inspector for Blood Gas Labs o CCPT, RCPT o CCRC o Certified International Smoking Cessation Specialist o cert smoking cessation counselor o Certified Cardiopulmonary Technologist(2 responses) o Certified Clinical Research Coordinator(5 responses) o Certified COPD Specialist o Certified CPR Instructor o Certified EKG Technician o Certified Health Care Executive/FACHE o Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) (4 responses) o Certified Massage Therapist o Certified Material Resource Professional (CMRP) o Certified neonatal phototherapist o Certified Nurse Exe o Certified Nursing Assistant(2 responses) o Certified pharmacy technician


o Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT)(2 responses) o Certified Phlebotomist o Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality o Certified Smoking Cessation Instructor o Certified Smoking Counselor o Certified smoking educator o Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist (CTTS)(8 responses) o CHPT--pharmacy technician o Clinical instructor o CNA(4 responses) o COPD Specialist; Tobacco Cessation o CPR INSTRUCTION o CPRInstructor(4 responses) o Critical care therapist o Critical Care Transport o Disease Intervention Specialist ( CDC ) o Doctor of Chiropractic o ECMO Specialist (2 responses) o Ed.D o EKG o Elementary school teacher, BS.Ed. o Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Specialist o FAARC o FACHE o FCCS(4 responses) o Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives o Fire fighter o Fundamentals of Critical Care o Instructor NRP and BLS o Intubation o Licensed acupuncturist (L.Ac.) o Licensed EMS Instructor-Coordinator o Licensed funeral director o Licensed Respiratory Therapist o Limited Radiographer o Limited Radiology Technologist Certification o Master degree in Science o Master of Science-MS o Master's degree in Neurobiology o MASTER'S MANAGEMENT o Masters degree in education o Masters in Business Administration (MBA) o Masters in Healthcare Administration o Masters of Arts in Education o MBA (2 responses) o Med Evac Specialist o Microsoft Certified Solution Developer, MS Cert Trainer SQL Server o Military Emergency Management Specialist (MEMS) o MPA/health care administration o MPH o MS(2 responses)


o MSA o Nil o NIOSH o NRP instructor(2 responses) o OEC Technician (Outdoor Emergency Care) o Operating room technician, CNA o PADI Divemaster o Patient Care Coordinator o PEPP o Perinatal Continuing Education Program - PCEP o Phlebotomist(3 responses) o PHR o Physical Therapist o PICC certified o Presently I am a student o RCP o RCPT o Registered Cardiovascular Noninvasive Specialist (RCS) o Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer o Registered MLT o Registered Pharmacy Technician o RN o Smoking cessation facilitator- American Lung Asoc. o Smoking Cessation Facilitator, Eden Trace Sleep Tech, ResMed Fit Test, HEPA

Mask Fit Tester o student therapist o Supervisor Certification o teach paramedic vent management o Tobacco Addiction Specialist o tobacco cessation o Tobacco Intervention Specialist/Cessation provider o Tobacco Treatment Specialist (3 responses) o Whole Health Educator


When providing direct patient care, with which of the following procedures have you assisted?

o ABG lab o ABG, bedside pft, blood gas analyzer control and maintenance o ABG, EKG, PPD, Home Care o ABG's (5 responses) o ABGs, Neonatal resuscitation o advanced ventilatory management o AERO-MEDICAL TRANSPORT o All Aspects of DME o All emergent procedures o All pulmonary function testing o As an clinical educator, not involved with direct care o Assess and treat protocols o Assist with bedside trachs o Asthma education o Asthma Education, Pulmonary Rehab, Smoking Cessation Classes o Asthma management, Home ventilator o Attend C-Sect, apply holter and event monitors, perform EEG's, stress tests, PFT's,

telemedicine consults, Pulmonary Rehab o Audiometry o Autotransfusion and Intra aortic balloon pumps o Autotransfusionist o BAL-catherization, pulm. function Test, ABG o balloon pump monitoring o balloon pumps o Bedside Spirometry, Protocols o Birth response and rapid response team o Blood Gas Lab Management o Bronchoscopy o C-section (2 responses) o C-sections - newborn care o Calorimetry studies, bedside PFT o CAN PERFORM NEONATAL INTUBATIONS o Cardiac and liver ultrasounds, metabolic testing o Cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation o Cardiac stress testing o Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation o CardioPulmonary Exercise Studies o Cath lab procedures o Cell saver, IABP insertion stand by,EKG, PA lines, cardioversions, IABP

maintenance o Central Line insertion(3 responses) o Certified breath alcohol tech o Chest tube insertion o Chest tube insertion, draining of lung abscess o Chest tube insertion, needle aspiration for pneumothorax o Chest tube insertion, heliox therapy, INO o Chest tube monitoring o Chest tube placement o Chest tube placement, and removal


o Chest tube placement. needle thoracentesis o Clinical and patient education o co-treat w Speech Tx and PT o CODES, VENTILATION MONITORINGETC o Contact Investigation, Tuberculosis management o CPAP Set-up instructions for home Therapy o CPAP/BIPAP set up education o Delivery room o Delivery room management of the newborn o Department manager, multiple services o DME duties, cpaps, bipaps o DME set ups o Do not currently do clinical care in this position. o Do not have direct patient care (2 responses) o Do not provide direct care - teach the skills o Draw and run ABGs, pulm function testing, exercise testing with oximetry o DRAW ARTEROD, HEMECULT TESTS, URINALYSIS, PREGNACY TESTS,

CENTRIFUGING AND PACKAGING OF BLOOD PRODUCTS o Drawing and running arterial blood gases o Drug aerosol treatments o EBUS, electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy o ECIS o ECMO(16 responses) o ECMO cannulation and technician o ECMO setup o ECMO specialist o ECMO, ABG, Trauma, Nitric Oxide,Heliox,NitrogenAdm, o EDM, ECG o Education o EECP- enhanced external counter pulsation o EEG(2 responses) o EEG tech o EEG, Arterial Study, Venous Study o EEG, Cardiac Stress Testing, Holter Monitor, EKG o EEG,PFT,OB deliveries o EKG (4 responses) o EKG, STRESS TESTING, CARDIAC REHAB, o EKG's o Emergent flight and ground transport from tertiary facility o Emergent intubations on codes: cardiac /respiratory / Rapid Response Team o Emergent trach. tube reinsertion o Endobronchial Ultrasound o EST, EEG, Holter, EVENT Monitor, PFT o Exercise Stress Testing o Extracorporeal Life Support, Intra-aortic Balloon Pump, Cardiopulmonary Assist

Devices, IVOX o Extubation o Gastric tube insertion o General Anesthesia o Hemodynamic monitoring, ECMO o Hemodynamics


o Here, RCPs do not have access to chest films (HIPPA?!) o hfov...nitric oxide o High frequency ventilation; high flow nasal cannula therapy;non-emergent intubation o High risk deliveries o High risk deliveries/resuscitation o High risk newborn delivery o Home care o Home Care review o Home care- Home Medical Equipment o Home Respiratory Care o Home ventilator management o Homecare Services (Oxygen, CPAP, RAD, Aerosol o I work in public health now, in tobacco prevention and control, helping hospitals and

clinics make systems changes for cessation o IABP o IABP INSERION AND MONITORING o IABP Management o IABP, Cellsaver, Xray clearance o Indirect calorimetry o Inhaled Nitric Oxide administration and maintenance o INO delivery o Ino-vent o Insertion transtracheal oxygen stent and catheter o Intra aortic balloon pump management(4 responses) o Intubation o intubation assist, selective hypothermia rx o intubations o Licox monitoring o LMA insertion o LOTS MORE o Lower arterial studies o Management only o Management, no direct patient care o Manufacturing design o Many others o Mechanical Ventilation setup and maintenance o Medication administration o Methacholine testing,RSV & AIDS neb rx o MINI BAL(2 responses) o Modified Barium Swallow studies o Mouth care o Naso/oral gastric tube insertion o Nava ng tube o Needle thorocotomy o Neonatal and pediatric resuscitation o Neonatal ICU activities o Neonatal surfactant delivery o Neurorespiratory Care o Newborn deliveries o NICU transport team & safety officer o NICU transport, ground, helicopter,


o Nitric oxide administration o Nitric oxide administration in OR o Nitric Oxide Administration Via Neonatal Ventilator o Nitric Oxide and heliox administration to ventilated pt o Nitric oxide diagnostic testing, nitric oxide on vent in OR for heart transplant patients o Non-elective oral intubation, securing oral ETT, arterial blood gas sticks, ABG

monitoring o Non-invasive arterial vascular exam o Non-invasive ventilation o Not involved in direct patient care o Not practicing as therapist at this time o Note I haven't done any of the above for the past 18 yrs. o Nursery, c-sections scheduled and emergent, stillborns, prematures. o Organ Harvesting/burn treatment o Other respiratory care modalities o Out pt pulmonary rehab o Pacemaker Insertion o Partial Liquid Ventilation o Passy-Muir evaluations o Patient Assessment o Patient education(2 responses) o Peg Insertion o Percutaneous trach insertion o Perform intubation o Performed intubations for meconium o Performing PFTs o PFT o PFT and CPE testing o PFT, 6 minute walk study for home O2 o PFT'S FOR OUTPATIENTS o PFT's/Protocol Driven therapy/Pt Education/others o PFTS, CARDIOPULMONARY EXERCISE TESTS o Phlebotomy (2 responses) o Phlebotomy and breath alcohol measurement o Placement of Transcutaneous O2 o PPD placement, ABG draws o Pre term deliveries, c sections o Pre-term births, neonate resuscitation o Prime 80 lead o Pt & Staff education o Pt ed about use of SVN and MDI meds o Pt education o Pt education/exercise o Pt. rounds o Pulmonary Rehabilitation o Pulmon.Rehab/Testing/ABG machines QC/Policies o Pulmonary evaluation and testing o Pulmonary Function (3 responses) o Pulmonary function and exercise testing o Pulmonary function studies o Pulmonary function tech


o Pulmonary Function Testing (6 responses) o Pulmonary function testing, c-sections, EKG's o Pulmonary Function/Stress Testing o Pulmonary functions, cardio-pulmonary stress studies o PULMONARY FYNCTION TESTS, STRESS TESTS, HOLTER MONITORING AND

SCANNING, KOH MONITORING o Pulmonary Rehab (8 responses) o Pulmonary rehabilitation o Pulmonary Rehabilitation testing/Exercise o Pulmonary stress and Metabolics o Qualify people for home oxygen and other equipment, set up with DME, 5 minute

walks, inservice education for hospital staff, asthma education for patients, therapist in a CF/Peds Pulmonary Clinic, tobacco cessation and education in area schools, presentations to community groups, give treatments in in-house TCU, tobacco cessation (5A's) in-patient, tobacco cessation in Tobacco Treatment Center, Steering committee for area grants.

o Radiology procedures, limited to chest and upper extremities, also invasive radiology technology procedures

o Rapid response team o Rehab and weaning of ventilator-dependent patients with spinal cord injury o Rehabilitation o Research Studies o Research study data and measurements o Rigid bronchoscopy, ebus, apc, pdt, cryotherapy, pleuroscopy o RRT's perform intubations in our hospital o Rushing to treat a pt who was having a bowel movt. Yes our nurses are that stupid o Safety Director, Vascular Director o Shunt study- swan ganze o Smoking cessation counseling o Spirometry o Stents,EBUS,TTC,APC,CRYO,Pleural Drains,etc o Stress test o o Stress test and eegs o Stress testing (3 responess) o Stress testing, COPD exercise training, home evaluation for spinal cord discharges,

home care, discharge planning o Stress testing, EEGS,PFTS,EKGS o Stress testing; Holter monitor scanning; EKGs o Strictly an educator o Surfactant administration o Surfactant administration, delivery room assistance o Surfactant Administration, Emergency Delivery o SURFACTANT ADMINISTRATION,NEEDLE THORACENTESIS,CHEST TUBE

INSERTION,NEGATIVE PRESSURE VENTILATION OF THE NEONATE o Surgical Cricothyrotomy o Swanganz insertion assistance and line monitoring o SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT o T.E.E. assistance o TCOM, Hyperbaric Medicine therapeutics o Teaching


o Teaching pts and family how to use home medical equip o These are all services I supervise o These were practiced prior to Pulmonary Rehabilitation practice o This is a small Naval Hospital with very little in-patient RT care. o Thoracentesis, chest tube placement o Thoracentesis o Thoracentesis Assist o Thoracentesis, Laryngoscopy o Thoracentesis, OR Mech.vents. o thorocentiesis assist o Tobacco counseling, disease management o Tobacco Dependence Counseling o Too many to mention o Tracheostomy Insertion o Transtracheal Oxygen therapy o TTO INSERTION AND CARE o UVC/UAC placement, chest tube placement, needle decompression o VENT CARE, PFT'S, ABG'S, HOME CARE o Vent education, maintance home care setting o Vent management, abgs, asthma education o Vent. Mgt. during bedside thoracentesis, TEE and/or chest tube placement o Ventilator Management (4 responses) o Ventilator set up and maintenance o Ventilator set up and management, MDI and aerosol breathing Rx, etc. o Ventilatory management, ABG's, in house transportation, aerosol therapy, medicinal

therapy, pulmonary rehab. o Very little clinical participation o Weaning Protocols o Worked on flight for life in Colorado

What kind of shift do you typically work?

o 1 24h shift each week, 40h shift alternate weekends o 1-14 & 2- 13's o 10 hours and 12hrs o 12 hour day and night rotation o 12 hours on then 12hours on-call o 12-16 hrs as I am in mgmt o 12-hours/6 days rotation o 12.5 o 13 o 13 hour(2 responses) o 13 hour rotating days and nights o 13.25 x 2 days, 13.5 x 1 day o 14 hour(2 responses) o 16 hour(5 responses) o 16 hour weekends o 16 hours Sat and Sun weekend package o 16 hr, Sat &; Sun, "Baylor" plan o 2 8hr shifts2-10 hr shifts / week o 2 eight hr ande 2 twelve hr shifts week


o 20 hr and 4 hr call o 24 o 24 hours o 24-7 o 24/7 o 3 15 hour shifts with on call at night o 4 o 4 9hr 1 4hr o 4 hr(3 responses) o 4-10 hour o 40 - 45 hours per week o 40-45 hours a week o 40041 o 40061 o 40062 o 40099 o 40163 o 40518 o 5 o 6 hours(4 responses) o 7-8 hr o 7-hour(4 responses) o 7.5 HOUR MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, 10 MONTHS/YR o 7ON AND 7OFF o 8 - 16hrs depending on need o 8 but Research o 8 hour and on/call o 8 hour shifts but routinely have overtime o 8 hr/10 hr o 8-10 hours depends on the day o 8:00am-5:00pm o 8's & 12's o 8+ (I am on call 24/7/365) o 8a to 6p o 8am to 11PM with breaks o 9 hour day shift with rotating on call duties o 9-hour(8 responses) o 9-hour 9 shifts every two weeks o 9/80 o According to contract o Administrative Work Week o Am management work whatever is needed o As a respiratory DME owner, 10-12 hrs/day + weekends o As need in pulmonary rehabilitation clinic o As needed(2 responses) o As the job dictates o Being salaried as primary job, shift varies. Secondary job is a 8 hour shit o Class teaching schedule o College educator o Currently unemployed o Day or evenings for education


o Dayshift o Department manager - work as needed o Depends on daily schedule o Depends on travel. sometimes 3-weeks straight w/travel o Director ( all Hours ) o Director No set hours o Do not do shift work o Educator, varies o Exempt o Exempt employee working a minimum of 8 hours but often 12 o Exempt varies daily o Exempt, 8 hours plus o Exempt..fluctuates with the need o Faculty position o Flex o Flexible 8-12 hour o Flexible hours(2 responses) o Flexible hours to get my work done o Hours vary according to the work - I am not involved in direct patient care so this survey

is probably not designed for me. I keep my licensure active, however. o Hours vary with # of rehab patients scheduled o I am a Director so work 8-12 hours depending on the day. o I am a supervisor, so I work varying shifts. o I am almost 100% administration now. occasionally I teach a clinical with student in the

hospital setting o I do not have specific hours, usually work about 8 - 10 hours per day o I work 8 hour shifts, but staff work 12 hour shifts o I work until the patients leave, 4 hrs-10hrs o Independent hours but typically daytime o It varies mostly 8-12 Course eval, grading and administrative o It varies. I am an educator. o Management o Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to = 25 hours/week o NA o Non- Shift work o NONE o Not a clinical job o Office hours 8:30-6:00 o Part time in PF lab; 4 to 8 hrs o Part time, periodic employment o Part-time 6-hour o Per class session (2-4 hrs) o Per diem On Call o Presently unemployed o PRN o Provide 12-24 hour technical Support o Provide after hrs on-call coverage for a week @ a time & 24hr coverage on weekends

and holidays. o Pulmonary Rehab management10-12 o Retired o Rotate 2 twelves and 2 eight hr shifts per week


o Rotating (2) 14hr/12hr o rotating 10-hour/12-hour/14-hour/16-hour o Salaried (6 responses) o Salaried - work as needed o Salaried Employee (2 responses) o Salaried hours vary o Salaried Monday through Friday, weekend call o Salaried no defined shift o Salaried-I work until it is done o Salaried, varies o Salary - day varies o Salary 40+ hours per week o SALARY 8+ HOUR DAYS AND ON CALL o Salary no set hours o Salary position M-F 10-12 hours daily o Salary, varies o Since I now work mainly for community organization, my hours are generally flexible o Teaching o Teaching - flex time o This is second job, but primary in this field /4 hour shifts o Till my work is done o Variable due to supervisory role (12, 8, 4) o Variable each day for 40 total per week o Variable times o varied hours o Varies (2 responses) o Varies greatly-project, program oriented-8-16 hrs/day o Varies per semester o Whatever is needed to meet job expectations o Whatever is required to complete the job o Whatever it takes o Work all different hours to accomplish my work load o Work for ventilator company-Make own schedule o Work till it’s done

respiratory care survey

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