Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Sep 2022)

Needs Assessment for the Establishment of Master’s Degree Programs in Respiratory Care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

  • Alqahtani JS,
  • AlAhmari MD,
  • Al-Otaibi HM,
  • AlRabeeah SM,
  • Al Khathlan NA,
  • Aldhahir AM,
  • Alqahtani AS,
  • Alwadeai KS,
  • Algarni SS,
  • Siraj RA,
  • Alqarni AA,
  • Almeshari MA,
  • Alghamdi SM,
  • AlTaweel M,
  • Alnasser M,
  • Sreedharan JK,
  • Almojaibel AA,
  • Alahmari M,
  • Aldabayan YS,
  • Bin Sheeha BH,
  • Alahmadi FH,
  • Alsulayyim AS,
  • Alzahrani EM

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 13
pp. 1113 – 1121

Abstract

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Jaber S Alqahtani,1 Mohammed D AlAhmari,1,2 Hajed M Al-Otaibi,3 Saad M AlRabeeah,1 Noor A Al Khathlan,4 Abdulelah M Aldhahir,5 Abdullah S Alqahtani,1 Khalid S Alwadeai,6 Saleh S Algarni,7,8 Rayan A Siraj,9 Abdullah A Alqarni,3 Mohammed A Almeshari,6 Saeed M Alghamdi,10 Mohammed AlTaweel,11 Musallam Alnasser,1 Jithin K Sreedharan,1 Abdullah A Almojaibel,4 Mushabbab Alahmari,12 Yousef S Aldabayan,9 Bodor H Bin Sheeha,13 Fahad H Alahmadi,14 Abdullah S Alsulayyim,5,15 Eidan M Alzahrani16 1Department of Respiratory Care, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam, 34313, Saudi Arabia; 2Dammam Medical Complex, Dammam Health Network – Eastern Health Cluster, Dammam, 32245, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Respiratory Therapy, Faculty of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia; 4Respiratory Care Department, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Dammam, 34212, Saudi Arabia; 5Respiratory Therapy Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, 45142, Saudi Arabia; 6Rehabilitation Health Sciences Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia; 7Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, 14611, Saudi Arabia; 8King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 9Department of Respiratory Therapy, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Hasa, 31982, Saudi Arabia; 10Respiratory Care Program, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 24382, Saudi Arabia; 11Respiratory Care Department, AlMaarefa University, Riyadh, 13713, Saudi Arabia; 12Department of Respiratory Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Bisha, Bisha, 67714, Saudi Arabia; 13Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, 11564, Saudi Arabia; 14Respiratory Therapy Department, College of Medical Rehabilitation Sciences, Taibah University, Madinah, 42353, Saudi Arabia; 15National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2BX, UK; 16Department of Physiotherapy, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam, 34313, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Jaber S Alqahtani, Department of Respiratory Care, Prince Sultan Military College of Health Sciences, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Email [email protected]: Despite recent advancements in the respiratory care (RC) profession, no single institution in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) offers a master’s degree program in RC.Methods: A nationwide and validated survey was used to explore the current needs and interests in establishing RC master’s degree programs in the KSA. The process included representatives from the healthcare industry, universities, and professional societies.Results: A total of 1250 stakeholders across the KSA completed the survey. The sample includes 722 (58%) males, 504 (40%) respiratory therapists, 547 (44%) students, 138 (11%) leaders, and 61 (5%) were academic respondents. Most respondents were from Central 491 (39%) and Eastern 307 (25%) regions, with 1003 (80%) of the total sample worked or studied in governmental sectors. A total of 574 (82%) of the leaders and RTs had Bachelor degree and 430 (61%) of them had 1– 5 years working experience. According to 80% of the employers and employees, only 0– 5% of the RTs in their organization had a master’s degree. The calculated mean % of the agreement (agree/strongly agree) on the needs was 83% in all needs’ assessment items, which shows a great support for establishing a master’s in RC to meet the personal, professional and society needs. The mean % of the agreement for the level of interests among all participants was 86%, indicating a great level of interests in establishing a master degree in RC. The agreement % on the needs assessment and level of interests in establishing a master degree in RC in KSA were ≥ 80% in each stakeholder group.Conclusion: There are obvious needs and interests in establishing master’s degree programs in RC in the KSA. A master’s degree in RC should be established to address the growing needs for advanced RC services throughout the nation and enhance RC research.Keywords: respiratory care, master degree, education, Saudi Arabia, NCAAA, accreditation

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