National magazine cites HSC respiratory care program as model
In an article titled "Top of the Charts: Respiratory
Schools--Helping Students Choose from the Top Respiratory Schools in the United States," the author, Dr. Paul Mathews, notes that no nationally
recognized agency rates the comparative quality of respiratory care education programs. He outlines criteria that prospective students may choose to
employ, including program resources, faculty and cost, then lists seven of the top respiratory care schools including the Health Science Center.
"We're starting to develop a national reputation," said Dr. David Shelledy, associate professor and chair of the Department of Respiratory Care. "Along with six other programs, we were cited as examples of top respiratory care schools in the United States. We are proud to have received this recognition."
National notice for the 5-year-old department comes from:
- a discipline-specific accreditation site visit in 1997 that found multiple strengthsand no weaknessesin the program;
- extremely high board exam scores by members of the first three graduating classes;
- strong faculty with national reputations in clinical work and professional service.
"Two of the top people in the respiratory field nationwide were on the site visit team sent by the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC)," Dr. Shelledy said. "In the summation, the members listed nine strengths of our program. Under weaknesses, they typed in 'none.'"
"This is unheard-of success," said Dr. Jay Peters, professor of medicine/ pulmonary diseases who serves as co-medical director for the RC program with Dr. Ralph Erian, clinical associate professor of anesthesiology. "CoARC pushes schools to improve in all areas; to be listed as having no areas needing improvement is highly significant."
Students' exam scores reflect the RC department's teaching prowess. The rates for the first three graduating classes1996, '97 and '98were 100 percent on
exams certifying students for licensure to practice as respiratory therapists, and 100 percent on exams for the designation Registered Respiratory Therapist
(RRT), though one student did have to take the exam twice. "Ours is the only program I know of that posted a 100 percent success rate on the certifying
exams," Dr. Peters said. "That reflects the intense preparation students get from the faculty. Dr. Shelledy and the people he has recruited are outstanding
teachers and researchers."
"Our students have made this possible by posting scores that are much higher than the national average," Dr. Shelledy added. "We also benefit from physician input by our two great medical directors."
Places to practice
Respiratory care students such as Alejandra Chavez, a senior from Eagle Pass, attest to the department's strengths, especially its outstanding clinical
affiliations. "It's a really intense program," she said. "We take 90 hours in two years and get a bachelor's degree. It is very organized and the department
has contracts with all the large hospitals in San Antonio and the region."
"We have great clinical affiliates, encompassing 14 hospitals in six health care systems," Dr. Shelledy said. In San Antonio, students receive clinical
training in the University Health System, the Methodist Healthcare System, the Baptist Health System, the Santa Rosa Health Care System, Wilford Hall
and Brooke Army Medical Centers, and the South Texas Veterans Health Care System, Audie Murphy Division.
Along with outstanding teaching, the department is becoming known for research on the
effectiveness of different types of respiratory care, Dr. Shelledy said. Glaxo-Wellcome recently
funded a study by Drs. Peters and Shelledy of asthma treatment in 41 patients who suffered
sudden, severe attacks.
"The study showed the safety of using salmeterol, an aerosol, to treat acute asthma attacks in
these patients, all of whom were at University Hospital," Dr. Shelledy said. "We presented a
poster on this at the American College of Chest Physicians meeting in Toronto."
Salmeterol is a standard treatment for preventing patients' asthma attacks, but its usefulness
and safety during severe attacks had not been clearly shown, he said.
Respiratory care faculty presented posters on eight research studies at the 1998 American
Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) meeting in Atlanta. Current RC faculty are Wayne
Lawson, Dr. Terry LeGrand, Eric Bakow, Dr. Art Jones and Dr. Shelledy. Lawson and Dr.
Shelledy have served on the AARC board of directors, and four of the faculty members write
exam items for the national boards.
"Last month (Jan. 30-31) in San Antonio, we co-sponsored with AARC the first disease
management program for respiratory therapists," Dr. Shelledy said. "The program attracted 130
professionals from as far away as Vermont and California."
Dr. Shelledy, a noted respiratory therapist/academician at Georgia State University in Atlanta,
was recruited to the Health Science Center in April 1994 to launch the RC degree program. His hiring followed program approval by the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board and the U. T. System Board of Regents, and a need assessment conducted among South Texas health care professionals.
The first 12 students began classes in the fall of 1994 and received degrees in spring 1996. Class size was increased to 15 in fall 1995 and to 24 in fall
1997.
'Outstanding role model'
"David was hired to develop the respiratory care program," said Dr. Marilyn Harrington, dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences. "He did it
single-handedly. He recruited and hired excellent faculty, developed an outstanding curriculum, established relationships with our area physicians and
hospitals, and initiated an important research program.
"At the same time, David received the outstanding teaching award each year from the respiratory care students. He is an outstanding role model for
university faculty members and a leader among his peers locally and nationally. We are fortunate to have David at the Health Science Center."
Other schools mentioned in the Journal for Respiratory Care Practitioners article include the University of Kansas Medical Center, the State University of
New York Health Science Center at Syracuse, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.