At the 2016 AARC Summer Forum two Tennessee respiratory care programs received CoARC’s Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award for 2015. Seventy-eight of the 432 programs received the award. Criteria for the award included:
(1) have three or more years of outcomes data; (2) hold accreditation without a progress report; (3) document RRT credentialing success of 90% or above, and (4) meet or exceed established CoARC thresholds for CRT credentialing success, attrition and positive (job) placement.
Chattanooga State Community College won the award for the fifth consecutive year. Sharron Hall is the program director. Columbia State Community College won the award for the first time. R. David Johnson is the program director.
According to the 2015 CoARC Outcomes Data Report the national average for graduates obtaining the RRT credential was 70.5% Chattanooga State averaged 97.9% for the assessment period. Columbia State averaged 93.8%. The national job placement average was 85.5% while Chattanooga State averaged 93.8% and Columbia State averaged 97.9%.
According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/respiratory-therapists.htm, the job outlook for Respiratory Therapists is expected to grow by 12% for the time period of 2014 – 2024 which is considered faster than the average for all occupations.