
By Debbie Bunch
January 24, 2025
According to a report issued by the Association of American Medical Colleges in March of last year, physician demand in the U.S. is expected to grow faster than supply over the coming decades, leading to a physician shortage of up to 86,000 by 2036.
Who will take up the slack for these missing physicians? A recent poll conducted by the Medical Group Management Association found 63% of medical groups were planning to add new advanced practice provider roles in 2024 alone, suggesting advanced practice providers are a big part of the answer.
Physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners make up the lion’s share of advanced practice providers today, but the AARC, NBRC, and CoARC have been working to ensure an Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapist (APRT) is part of the mix as well.
Where does the APRT stand today? We asked three members of the AARC’s Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapists Advancement Committee to give us an update.
Co-chairs Bill Croft, EdD, PhD, RRT, FAARC, and David Vines, PhD, RRT, FAARC, FCCP, and Member Sarah Varekojis, PhD, RRT, RRT-ACCS, FAARC, a professor and director of clinical education at Ohio State University, which houses the only APRT program in the U.S., offered these insights:
Why is it important for the respiratory care profession to support the development of an Advanced Practice Respiratory Therapist?
Bill Croft: Unlike nurse practitioners and physician assistants, APRTs have focused training in respiratory care. Their education, which includes a master’s degree and 1,000 hours of clinical training, equips them with specialized skills for diagnosing and treating respiratory diseases. This specific expertise makes APRTs invaluable in managing complex cardiopulmonary conditions.
Sarah Varekojis: RTs who choose to pursue becoming an APRT will be able to make a significant impact on improving the lives of many patients that we interact with on a regular basis by improving access to health care and patient outcomes.
Where are we today with the development of educational programs for the APRT and what is the AARC doing to promote the formation of more programs?
David Vines: The AARC Advanced RT Fund is a significant step forward in supporting the development of new APRT programs and helping states pursue APRT licensure. Kudos to our professional association for creating this fund.
Bill Croft: There are at least five more colleges and universities expressing the desire to explore the APRT program. The AARC APRT Committee is monitoring and supporting their progress.
How have the graduates of the Ohio State program been putting their new APRT degrees to work for the good of the profession and its patients?
Sarah Varekojis: Two of the OSU program graduates are currently working at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center as APRTs. They have excellent support from both the respiratory therapy department and the medical staff, and they are making a difference for the patients they serve.
Other APRT program graduates have leveraged their master’s degree to pursue leadership roles within respiratory therapy as managers and clinical educators, and within other areas of health care administration. And several graduates have moved into expanded clinical roles such as transport or organ procurement. Regardless of where they are currently working, all of the graduates are excited about their futures as APRTs.
Are there any other new developments on the APRT front that you can tell us about?
David Vines: The NBRC is in the process of developing an end-of-program competence examination to be used by APRT programs accredited through COARC. A job analysis was conducted, and a content outline was developed by the NBRC. The results of the job analysis have recently been published in CHEST.
Sarah Varekojis: CoARC has received an inquiry about submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI) for an APRT program, and we expect to receive an LOI submission in 2025. We have also heard that the VA is continuing to explore expanding employment of APRTs in other medical centers across the country.
What can RTs do to support continued development of the APRT?
Sarah Varekojis: All RTs can help move our profession forward by supporting APRT licensure legislation in their state; educating colleagues, physician leadership, nursing leadership, and health care administration about the APRT; and appreciating all the work the AARC is doing to create clinical career advancement opportunities for RTs.
Bill Croft: The advancement of APRT legislation will add a highly specialized advanced practice provider to the workforce to improve care for the most vulnerable population of patients. However, each state needs to look into its data sets to help establish the need in those states. The introduction of the APRT role in legislation represents a significant advancement in respiratory care, addressing critical gaps in health care access and providing specialized expertise in managing respiratory diseases.
Learn more about the APRT here.