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Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapist

The Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapist (APRT) practitioner is trained to provide a scope of practice exceeding that of the registered respiratory therapist (RRT). Having earned a Bachelor of Science degree in respiratory therapy and obtained the NBRC RRT credential, the aspiring APRT must complete a CoARC-accredited graduate-level education and training program that prepares graduates to provide diagnostic and therapeutic clinical practice and disease management that is evidenced-based and performed at an advanced level.

As part of a physician-led team, APRTs provide diagnostic and therapeutic patient care services in multiple settings across the health care spectrum, including critical care, acute and sub-acute in-patient care, and outpatient care, such as preventative, ambulatory, and chronic care.1

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Background

By 2030, the United States expects a significant shortfall of cardiologists and pulmonologists.2 This alarming prediction becomes more concerning with the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identifies three of the top five leading causes of death as diseases of the cardiopulmonary system. The AARC has advocated for cardiopulmonary health for nearly 80 years through its support of the profession and the respiratory therapists that improve patient lives every day. It is this constant growth that leads us to the advanced practice respiratory therapist.

Pushing Respiratory Care Forward Through APRT icon APRT and the VA (Mindy Conklin and Daniel Whitt icon FAQs icon Scope of Practice icon AARC Advanced RT Fund icon

An evolving profession

The profession continues to evolve with the needs of patients. Respiratory therapy began with compressed gases and positive pressure devices. It moved to complex ventilation strategies, extracorporeal gas exchange, community health, and sophisticated pulmonary function assessment. As medical knowledge and technology advanced, respiratory therapists developed knowledge and expertise to support patients’ needs.

Today, the profession practices at levels unimaginable 30 years ago.

Rising complexity, rising needs

Understanding the delivery of healthcare across a widening spectrum of patient needs requires recognizing that the complexity of cardiopulmonary healthcare rises while access to cardiopulmonary providers diminishes. The AARC works to increase the number of graduates from educational programs and meet the need for continuing education of practicing respiratory therapists. Definitively, respiratory therapists, with their current scope of practice, find themselves more in demand today than ever before. Nevertheless, a reduction in physician specialists serving the cardiopulmonary healthcare needs of our aging population requires unique solutions not available today.

As a result, the AARC supports a future that includes the addition of the advanced practice respiratory therapist. The advanced-practice respiratory therapist is an educated and trained advanced-practice healthcare professional with a scope of practice beyond a registered respiratory therapist. This will allow higher-level physician collaboration in the responsibilities that include assessing, diagnosing, managing, and treating patients with cardiopulmonary disease.

Defining new standards

The development of a cardiopulmonary advanced practice healthcare professional began in 2016 with the publication of the Standards for Accreditation of Advance Practice Programs in Respiratory Care by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). Within these standards, CoARC defines the advanced practice respiratory therapist as a “credentialed, licensed respiratory care practitioner trained to provide a scope of practice that exceeds that of the registered respiratory therapist,” further explaining that the aspiring advanced practice respiratory therapist “… must successfully complete a CoARC-accredited graduate level education and training program that enables the advanced practice respiratory therapist to provide advanced, evidence-based, diagnostic and therapeutic clinical practice and disease management.”3

Compelled by universally accepted patient needs, the AARC partnered with the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) and CoARC to perform a systematic literature review exploring the need for advanced practice cardiopulmonary providers, an assessment of physician opinion on workforce needs, and the scope of practice.

The AARC is responsible for ensuring the needs of the patients RTs serve are met. The development of the advanced practice respiratory therapist is an important part of a comprehensive strategy to support our patients and the profession.

Frequently Asked Questions

Resources

References

  1. Advanced Practice Standards. Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care. https://coarc.com/accreditation/advanced-practice-standards/.
  2. Dall T, Chakrabarti R, Lacobucci W, Hansari A, West T. Update: The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections from 2015 to 2030: Final Report. Washington, DC: Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC); 2017.
  3. Standards for Accreditation of Advance Practice Programs in Respiratory Care. Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care, 2016. https://coarc.com/Accreditation/Advanced-Practice-Standards.aspx.