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Background: Optimizing patient outcomes and reducing complications require constant monitoring and effective collaboration among critical care professionals. The aim of the present study was to describe the perceptions of physician directors, respiratory therapist managers and nurse managers regarding the key roles, responsibilities and clinical decision-making related to mechanical ventilation and weaning in adult Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: A multi-centre, cross-sectional self-administered survey was sent to physician directors, respiratory therapist managers and nurse managers of 39 adult ICUs at governmental tertiary referral hospitals in 13 administrative regions of the KSA. The participants were advised to discuss the survey with the frontline bedside staff to gather feedback from the physicians, respiratory therapists and nurses themselves on key mechanical ventilation and weaning decisions in their units. We performed T-test and non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests to test the physicians, respiratory therapists, and nurses’ autonomy and influence scores, collaborative or single decisions among the professionals. Moreover, logistic regressions were performed to examine organizational variables associated with collaborative decision-making. Results: The response rate was 67% (14/21) from physician directors, 84% (22/26) from respiratory therapist managers and 37% (11/30) from nurse managers. Physician directors and respiratory therapist managers agreed to collaborate significantly in most of the key decisions with limited nurses’ involvement (P

Background: Respiratory therapy is an emerging profession that has existed in India since 1995. Respiratory therapy students will play a significant role in strengthening various aspects of healthcare in the future. There are no validated instruments to evaluate students’ perceptions of their careers and satisfaction with the learning resources. The primary objective of the current study is to develop and validate a structured questionnaire (SQ) for respiratory therapy students in India, encompassing all the components of their career development and satisfaction. Methods: Based on the literature review and content validity from respiratory therapy experts through multiple focused group discussions, a reliable SQ was generated with 40 items based on the Likert scale. After getting institutional ethics clearance and informed consent, the SQ was administered to 904 respiratory therapy students across the country. We performed principal component analysis (PCA), structural equation modeling, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for the global fit. Cronbach’s alpha was performed to estimate the internal consistency. Results: The PCA generated a 4-factor model, and internal consistency for the total scale exceeded the standard criterion of >0.70. Satisfactory goodness of fit data were yielded from CFA. Average variances extracted were higher than the correlation coefficients of the factors, which show sufficient discriminant validity. Conclusion: This study shows a clinically acceptable model, it fits and suggests the possibility of applying a SQ to a respiratory therapy student with relatively good construct validity and internal consistency, based on the results of CFA.

Introduction: There is no standard methodology for outlining the intricacies of allied healthcare education (AHE) or its quality. The profound misconception is that quality assurance (QA) in AHE is used on a “voluntary” basis. Given the absence of statutory regulatory mechanisms such as accreditation, validation, and audit by the peripheral agencies concerning QA, adoption of QA measures in AHE is not consistent, and it results in producing a subpar allied health workforce. This paper analyzes the need to include QA measures as an essential domain in evaluating the effectiveness of allied health professional education programs. Method: A large database search was performed using pertinent terms, and a blueprint was developed for a meticulous literature review published between 2015 and 2021. Five hundred eighty-two articles were found and screened; a critical appraisal was performed for 22 peer-reviewed articles for relevant information. Results: The literature review identified the need to use academic domains such as leadership, planning, delivery, and feedback as QA criteria to evaluate the efficiency of education and training in allied health professional education programs. Instructors and facilitators for specific knowledge and skill development and a description of their roles should also be used in QA evaluation. Conclusion: Resources for effective learning and teaching in the allied healthcare domain are limited. This review highlights the significant need to include a QA system in AHE, considering the pivotal role of these students in supporting humankind, now and in the future. The findings contribute to the research by providing essential insights into current trends and focusing on existing research in AHE quality.