Academic output of respiratory therapists who are fellows of critical care medicine

Introduction: Research is critical to the advancement of respiratory care in the intensive care unit. Respiratory therapists (RTs) are valuable members of the critical care community, and many have been inducted as Fellows of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM) for distinguished contributions to critical care. Academic output is an important component of qualification for FCCM. The purpose of this study is to report the academic output of RT with the FCCM designation. Methods: RT FCCMs were identified from the SCCM FCCM directory. Academic output was measured using the SCOPUS database and searching PubMed. SCOPUS publications were defined as documents classified by SCOPUS as articles, reviews, articles, book chapters, conference papers, notes, and short surveys. PubMed results were classified as articles or reviews using the filter search feature. Results are described a n (%) or median (range). Results: We identified 17 RTs with the FCCM designation. Three were excluded as their primary designation was as a physician assistant or pharmacist. In SCOPUS, RT FCCMs had a total of 1,187 publications, 42,071 citations, and 4,592 co-authors. Of the 14 RT FCCMs, 4 (29%) had no publications, 7 (50%) had > 15 publications, and 4 (29%) has > 100 documents in SCOPUS. RT FCCMs had a median (range) of 14 (0-343) publications, 326 (0-18,255) citations, and an h-index of 9 (0-55). In PubMed, RT FCCMs had a total of 733 publications, 163 reviews, a median 17.5 (0-239) publications, and 2 (0-60). Four RT were responsible for 91% (n=1076) of publications, 95% of citations (n=39,798), and had a minimum h-index of 34 (34, 42, 55, 55). Conclusions: RT FCCMs have a high number of publications and citations. Most RT FCCMs were published and over half had > 15 publications. Most academic output was from four RTs.