2006 OPEN FORUM Abstracts
GPA and student 'harmful' (H) choice frequency does not predict scores on the SAE WRRT or WRRT examinations.
Douglas E. Masini,
East Tennessee State University, Elizabethton, TN.
Introduction: Use of the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) 'safe' RRT written and
clinical simulation is a common practice in most respiratory care
programs. Post-test, we document the
harmful (H) choices made by individuals within cohort on the SAEWRRT. We questioned if the SAEWRRT examination
scores predicted student success on the actual credentialing examination. Problem Statement: We asked the question
"Was student success on the self-assessment exam written registered respiratory
therapist (SAEWRRT) or actual written registered respiratory therapist (WRRT)
examinations predicted by student GPA or student harmful (H) choices in mock
SAERRT exams."
Method: Students in a bachelor's degree program took
one 50 question mock exams extracted from retired RRT written examinations each
semester starting in the second semester of study (total 4 exams in
program). Exams were used for data
gathering and as tools to enlighten students as to their progress in the RT
program using these reliable instruments. Findings: Student files (n = 38) from the class of 2003
to 2005 were assessed in this study. Overall final student GPA mean was 2.89
(range 2.3 to 3.4) divided into quartiles.
13/38 (34%) passed the 'safe' WRRT on the first attempt. There were a
mean of 9.5 H choices (range 3-13) made on each of the retired RRT written exams.
Low GPA students (2.3 to 2.55 and 2.55 to 2.8) did not choose more harmful (H)
choices, neither did a high GPA (2.8 to 3.05 and 3.05 to 3.55) suggest students
would choose fewer 'H' choices. 7 of 38
(18.4%) students had never taken the WRRT exam. 25 participants of 38 (66%)
received the RRT credential on the first attempt. Those 6 of 38 (15.7%) graduates taking the
WRRT exam a second time had not recorded more 'H' choices on their SAEWRRT
exams.
Conclusion: Monitoring
harmful (H) choices on written examinations is an excellent analysis of student
cognizance of Respiratory Therapy education essentials, but did not predict
success or failure on the WRRT exam in this small sample.