Locations:
Search IconSearch

Cleveland Clinic’s Respiratory Therapy Training Program

Despite a decline in numbers, the demand for respiratory therapists continues to rise

physician shaking hands with professional colleague

Written by Umur Hatipoğlu, MD, MBA, and Karla Balasko, RRT, MBA

Advertisement

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy

Over 440 respiratory care training programs are responsible for educating respiratory therapist candidates across the United States. The schools are accredited through a meticulous process overseen by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). Respiratory therapists are registered and credentialed by the National Board of Respiratory Care.

During recent years, however, a significant trend of decline has been noted in the number of students enrolled in respiratory therapy training programs. In 2019, only 7,819 respiratory care program slots were filled of the available 12,394 slots. Conversely, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for respiratory therapists across the country will continue to rise until 2030, averaging 10,100 per year.

The current staffing shortage in Ohio is approximately 17% of budgeted respiratory therapist FTEs. This number fluctuates widely between hospitals, though, sometimes exceeding 30%. The consequences of the shortage are dire and amplify in a vicious cycle — respiratory patients may not receive optimal care in those hospitals with critical staffing levels, and respiratory therapists are not able to function at the top of their license since they are bogged down with excessive scheduled work such as nebulized bronchodilator treatments.

This results in frustration for all involved: patients, respiratory therapists and attending clinicians. Unfortunately, burnout, retirement and simply leaving the profession have become commonplace in the respiratory therapy profession. As a result, hospitals pay enormous sums to staffing agencies to provide essential respiratory care services. The current status quo is not sustainable.

Advertisement

Creation of the program

Enterprise Respiratory Therapy at Cleveland Clinic includes 18 hospitals within the Cleveland Clinic Health System in Ohio and Florida. While particularly exacerbated during the pandemic, staffing shortage has been on the agenda for several years prior to the pandemic. During an internal recruitment event, Cleveland Clinic caregivers suggested that respiratory therapy programs are available but not accessible to those who are currently employed at Cleveland Clinic.

The idea to inaugurate a respiratory therapy program at Cleveland Clinic main campus originated that day from caregiver suggestions. Respiratory therapy programs can only exist under the auspices of accredited educational institutions. Hence, enterprise management began inquiry with local respiratory therapy schools for their interest in collaborating with Cleveland Clinic to start a satellite program in downtown Cleveland. Hesitation on the part of respiratory care programs was not unexpected given the current under-utilization of existing student capacity.

Partnership with Kent State University

After several productive meetings with Kent State University (KSU), a memorandum of understanding was produced between the institutions to start a respiratory therapy training program at Cleveland Clinic main campus. The program’s curriculum would be jointly prepared by Cleveland Clinic and KSU. The satellite program would have a designated medical director and campus director, and Cleveland Clinic’s state-of-the-art simulation center would provide hands-on education for the respiratory therapist candidates. All clinical rotations would take place at the Cleveland Clinic facilities. The program would accommodate nine students.

Advertisement

The program was approved by the CoARC, and after extensive planning and recruitment effort, the Cleveland Clinic–KSU respiratory therapy program welcomed its first nine students, an all-female class, on January 17, 2023. The students are all currently employed in other Cleveland Clinic positions. Each had a unique story, personal or concerning a loved one, that inspired them to become a respiratory therapist, but they all shared the internal desire to help the sick.

Cleveland Clinic Enterprise Respiratory Therapy is proud to collaborate with KSU to host such a unique program that has provided access and training to individuals who may not have otherwise considered respiratory therapy.

Advertisement

Related Articles

ARCU
January 2, 2024/Pulmonary/Critical Care
How the Acute Respiratory Care Unit Improves Care for Complex Patients

Lessons learned from cohorting patients and standardizing care

Doctor talking with patient
March 21, 2024/Pulmonary/News & Insight
COVID-19: A Management Update

A review of IDSA and NIH guidelines

Clinician performing bronchoscopy
February 16, 2024/Pulmonary/News & Insight
Program Implemented to Standardize Diagnostic Bronchoscopy Data Ensures Quality Care

Caregivers are provided with real-time bronchoscopy patient findings

Community Lung Clinic
January 16, 2024/Pulmonary/News & Insight
Providing Culturally Competent Care Through Cleveland Clinic’s Community Lung Clinic

New program sets out to better support underserved patient populations

physician-scientist
October 18, 2023/Pulmonary/News & Insight
Cleveland Clinic Selected By the NIH as a Training Site for the Scientist Leaders of Tomorrow

As the U.S. has seen an increase in respiratory-related morbidity and mortality, supporting future respiratory researchers has become imperative

Chronic Cough
The Chronic Cough Conundrum

Diagnosing the cause of a chronic cough can be challenging and timely, but multidisciplinary collaboration and the development of new treatments are improving the process

Pulmonary fibrosis
A New Approach to Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis

A mindset shift has changed the way pulmonologists both treat and define PFF

Tired patient
February 21, 2023/Pulmonary/News & Insight
Cleveland Clinic Joins NIH’s COVID-19 Recovery Research Consortium

Will enable patients with long COVID to enroll in national clinical trials

Ad