• BlainKaren MKMDepartment of Respiratory Therapy, College of Health and Human Services at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina. At the time of the study, Ms Blain was affiliated with the Respiratory Therapy Department, and Arzu Ari.
• Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Health and Human Services at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina. At the time of the study, Ms Blain was affiliated with the Respiratory Therapy Department, Concorde Career College - San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. blaink@uncw.edu.
• Respir Care. 2021 Nov 1; 66 (11): 175217571752-1757.

BackgroundCurrent research regarding the effect of demographics and characteristics of respiratory therapy students on academic performance in respiratory therapy programs is lacking. Students pursuing higher education degrees have a variety of backgrounds, and understanding the factors that impact student academic performance may improve student learning and academic outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of age, gender, prior military service, and class start time on student academic performance in respiratory care.MethodsA retrospective comparative study was performed with 33 students from 8 cohorts enrolled in the Respiratory Therapy Program at Concorde Career College - San Antonio between 2016-2020. The students' academic performance was assessed in the Introduction to and Application of Respiratory Therapeutics (RT 210) course; the final respiratory care course, Advanced Clinical Practice (RT 250); the secure National Board of Respiratory Care Self-Assessment Examination (NBRC SAE); and the NBRC Therapist Multiple-Choice (NBRC TMC) Examination. Independent t tests and Pearson correlations were used for data analysis. A significance level of 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThere was no statistically significant difference between male and female students in RT 210 (P = .23), RT 250 (P = .60), the secure NBRC SAE (P = .23), and percentage of students passing the NBRC TMC (P = .96). No significant difference was found between AM and PM classes on students' academic performance in RT 210 (P = .76), RT 250 (P = .51), the secure NBRC SAE (P = .23), and percentage of students passing the NBRC TMC (P = .38). The results of this study showed no significant difference in the veteran and non-veteran student groups in RT 210 (P = .07), RT 250 (P = .69), and the secure NBRC SAE (P = .15). A strong positive correlation was discovered between academic performance in RT 210 and RT 250 courses (r = 0.725, P < .001) and between RT 210, the secure NBRC SAE (r = 0.744, P < .001), and between RT 250 and the secure NBRC SAE (r = 0.789, P < .001). The percentage of students passing the NBRC TMC was not significantly different between groups of gender (P = .64), class start times (P = .38), and prior military services (P = .96).ConclusionsAge, gender, class start times, and prior military service had no statistically significant effect on academic performance in this study. There is a positive correlation between students' performance in RT 210 and RT 250 and students' grades in these courses and the secure NBRC SAE.Copyright © 2021 by Daedalus Enterprises.

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