Advanced Respiratory Therapist Preceptor Clinical Information

1. Advanced Respiratory Therapist Preceptor Clinical Information

2. Thank you for mentoring our students. We appreciate all of your hand work and efforts in training our students to be exceptional respiratory therapists. Your expertise and knowledge is an important contribution to the success of our program. Please do not hesitate to contact me, Jennifer Schoolfield, anytime you have questions or concerns. 580-250-5641 jschoolfield@greatplains.edu

3. Mission Statement The mission of the Advanced Respiratory Therapist program is to provide the instruction and resources necessary to enable individuals to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will allow the student to become a successful and competent professional respiratory therapist.

4. Purpose of the Clinical Preceptor Program The purpose of the clinical preceptor program is to assist the student to make a smooth transition from the role of a student to the role of a therapist. This includes patient care skills as well as respiratory skills integrated in a true hospital setting. To accomplish this, it is necessary to provide the student with realistic clinical staff experience to allow the student to care for various types of patients in the clinical setting receiving different types of respiratory care.

5. The Role of the Clinical Preceptor • You, as the clinical preceptor, have been given one of the most important roles in the education of future respiratory care practitioners. • The clinical preceptor plays more than one role when working with students: a teacher who imparts knowledge and/or skills, a leader who guides them, a team member who is associated with them in a joint effort or action, role model who sets a professional standard for imitation, a consultant who advises them and a facilitator who makes good experiences happen. • Your part in the education of competent, dedicated, compassionate practitioners helps ensure a bright future for our profession.

6. Responsibilities of the Clinical Preceptor • Provide clinical experiences for the students in the Advanced Respiratory Therapy program. • Orient students to the unit they are assigned, including the equipment room, and shift responsibilities (shift report, staff assignments, charting procedures, oxygen rounds.) • Provide the student with the appropriate paging/cell phone system so the student can find their preceptor if they become separated. • Direct students to clinical situations, which would provide students with opportunities to meet goals and objectives, increase skills and pass competencies evaluations. • Act as a clinical resource person for the student. • Be a role model demonstrating responsible Respiratory Therapist behavior. • Provide evaluation on the student’s behavior, attitude, and skills through the use of the daily evaluation form. • Consult with the Director of Clinical Education regarding observed student behavior, attitude and skills that are unacceptable such as: Content or skill weakness in a given area. Behavior or attitude problems which in the opinion of the preceptor is counter-productive to Respiratory Care. Lack of technical competence. • Participate in preceptor training, at least annually, to ensure inter-rater reliability. This may be an in-service or a review of the preceptor training manual.

7. Responsibilities of the GPTC student • Perform patient care under the supervision of a clinical preceptor. • Monitor student competency list for completion. • Discuss with the preceptor what competencies the student needs to complete. • Notify the clinical site and the Director of Clinical Education of any tardy or absence in a timely and appropriate manner according to policy set forth in the student handbook. • Adhere to the GPTC guideline for appearance, dress, badge/identification, behavior and a tobacco free policy. • Conform to all the policy and procedures particular to the clinical facility. • Participate in the evaluation of the clinical facility. • Adhere to policies set forth in the Clinical Handbook.

8. AARC Statement of Ethics and Professional Conduct In the conduct of professional activities the Respiratory Therapist shall be bound by the following ethical and professional principles. Respiratory Therapists shall: • Demonstrate behavior that reflects integrity, supports objectivity, and fosters trust in the profession and its professionals. Actively maintain and continually improve their professional competence and represent it accurately. • Perform only those procedures or functions in which they are individually competent and which are within the scope of accepted and responsible practice. • Respect and protect the legal and personal rights of patients they care for, including the right to informed consent and refusal of treatment. • Divulge no confidential information regarding any patient or family unless disclosure is required for responsible performance of duty or required by law. • Provide care without discrimination on any basis, with respect for the rights and dignity of all individuals. • Promote disease prevention and wellness. • Refuse to participate in illegal or unethical acts, and refuse to conceal illegal, unethical or incompetent acts of others. • Follow sound scientific procedures and ethical principles in research. • Comply with state and federal laws which govern and relate to practice. • Avoid any form of conduct that creates a conflict of interest, and shall follow principles of ethical business behavior. • Promote health care delivery through implementation of the access, efficacy and cost of patient care. • Refrain from indiscriminate unnecessary use of resources.

9. INTER-RATER RELIABILITY The Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care’s (CoARC) “Standards and Guidelines” requires programs to demonstrate inter-rater reliability among those individuals who perform student evaluations. Those Respiratory Therapists who as instructors at the clinical site (preceptors) undergo training to ensure evaluation of students is consistent, fair, timely and assess appropriate learning objectives. Demonstrating inter-rater reliability involves having more than one evaluator assess a single incidence of student performance, using a specific evaluation instrument to measure consistent assessment among those evaluators. This can be achieved by either live performance or by videoed performance. Each preceptor should be annually assessed for inter-rater reliability, as well as the Great Plains Technology Center ART program faculty.

10. INTER-RATER RELIABILITY Great Plains Technology Center ART program requires students to be evaluated daily on clinical performance. Each preceptor should be given an evaluation form at the end of the student’s clinical day. The preceptor may choose to fill it out immediately and give it back to the student or the preceptor may choose to keep the evaluation form and place it in an envelope that has been provided for the hospital/clinical site. There are five categories on the rating scale: NS = not satisfactory, NI = needs improvement, S = satisfactory, P = proficient and NO = not observed. The following slides contain a list of sample descriptors for the criteria used in measuring clinical achievement. These descriptors should be used as a guideline to help the preceptor determine which rating to use in each evaluated area.

11. PROFICIENT • Consistently superior in clinical performance, skill, synthesis of learning and application of respiratory principles. Functions above expectations of student (respiratory) at this level. • Is able to function safely and effectively with minimal guidance. • Demonstrates superior ability to make alert and informed observations. • Clinical performance is beyond expected level for current skill set. • Seeks out and assumes responsibility beyond that required. • Consistently seeks learning experiences. • Consistently demonstrates expected professional conduct.

12. SATISFACTORY • Safe clinical performance: demonstrates expected skills, synthesis of learning and application of respiratory principles at expected level. • Functions safely with guidance. • Demonstrates ability to make expected observations. • Demonstrates ability to relate and apply textbook knowledge: clinical performance is at expected level. • Assumes responsibility for assignments. • Usually seeks learning experiences. • Adequately demonstrates expected professional conduct.

13. NEEDS IMPROVEMENT • Limited clinical performance: demonstrates skills with prompting. Inconsistently able to synthesize learning and application of respiratory principles at expected levels. • Tentative, confused, low confidence. Incomplete documentation. • Demonstrates ability to make observations with prompting from preceptor. • Appears unclear or unorganized relating and applying textbook knowledge: clinical performance not at expected level. • Generally assumes minimum responsibility for assignments, but sometimes makes excuses for lack of knowledge. • Rarely seeks out learning experiences. • Rarely demonstrates expected professional conduct.

14. NOT SATISFACTORY • Clinical performance inadequate; indicates lack of skill, unsafe respiratory practice, inadequate depth of knowledge or application of respiratory skills. Functions below expectations of student at this level. • Does not function safely even with guidance. • Does not demonstrate ability to make expected, obvious observations related to patient care. • Does not demonstrate ability to relate textbook knowledge to clinical situation at expected level. • Has difficulty accepting responsibility. • Seldom seeks learning opportunities. • Demonstrates unprofessional conduct.

15. NOT OBSERVED • Skill or behavior was not observed during the clinical day.

16. THANK YOU!!! Again, I would like to thank you for all that you do for this program. Without you, we would not be the excellent program we are today!