ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Although Problem-based learning (PBL) approach is a common teaching technique in medical education, its use in the field of respiratory therapy is somewhat controversial. With so many programs adopting PBL strategies, it is important to examine whether there are differences between PBL and traditional teaching approaches in regards to learning outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate if there are any significant differences between PBL and lecture-based program students in their cognitive abilities in mechanical ventilation. METHODS: Two universities with BS programs in respiratory therapy were chosen—one uses PBL (15 participants) and on uses lecture-based method (24 participants). All 39 participants were given10 multiple-choice questions related to mechanical ventilation derived from the NBRC RRT written exam forms (C & D) as a pre and a post test. RESULTS: The dependent t-test showed a significant difference between the pre and post test of the lecture-based and the PBL groups, resulting in a p value of 0.006 and 0.025 respectively. The independent t-test showed a significant difference in the pre-test favoring the lecture-based group (p = 0.039). However, the independent t-test showed no significant difference in the post-test (p=0.085) CONCLUSIONS: PBL is increasing in popularity despite the fact that studies of its efficacy have been thus far inconclusive. This study has shown PBL to be effective, but not significantly more effective than traditional lecture-based methods in regards to objective test scores.

Clinical instructors may have a negative or positive effect on student’s clinical practice. The behavioral characteristics of respiratory therapy clinical instructors are vital to the success of student’s clinical learning experience. Therefore, respiratory therapy student’s perception of the effectiveness of the clinical instructor’s behavior is an important indicator to modify and facilitate effective clinical instruction. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the most effective clinical teaching behaviors (ECTB) perceived by undergraduate respiratory therapy (BSRT) and integrated graduate respiratory therapy (MSRT) students and to identify any similarities in their rankings. METHODS: The study used descriptive exploratory design with a self-reporting survey. The survey was administered to a convenience sample of first and second year BSRT and MSRT students attending an accredited respiratory therapy program at an urban university located in the southeastern United States. The survey consisted of 35 teaching behaviors presented on a five-point Likert scale according to importance. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Seventy-two students were surveyed, more than two-thirds of the respondents were female. Seventy-five percent of respondents studied were BSRT, which females accounted for 78% and males 22%. Graduate MSRT studied were 25% of the total sample with females and males equally split at 50%. Two thirds of MSRT students reported previous education with BSRT students reporting less than one-quarter. The study findings indicate BSRT and MSRT students’ perceptions ranking of the most important behavioral characteristics hold similarities but both perceive the ordered rank of importance differently. Both BSRT and MSRT students ranked “be approachable” as the most important clinical behavioral characteristic with mean scores and S.D respectively (M 4.89, S.D ±0.37, and M 4.94, S.D ±0.24). Additionally, BSRT students rank the characteristic “respect student as an individual” (M 4.87, S.D ±0.34) next significant while MSRT students rank “demonstrate self-control & patience” (M 4.94, S.D ±0.23) the next highest. CONCLUSION: Although BSRT and MSRT students’ perceptions demonstrated similarities, mean scores data between first year and second year show a shift in ranking between characteristics. This may be because student’s perceptions could change as they advance in their clinical course work or their past educational experience. In addition, the results may assist respiratory therapy clinical instructors to appreciate students’ views and acknowledge areas of success as well as areas needing improvement.