About Us
Mission, Vision and Values
With our mission of promoting excellence in respiratory care by awarding credentials based on high competency standards, The National Board for Respiratory Care shares your goal of protecting and enhancing patient lives. Nearly 40,000 candidates test for NBRC credentials each year, seeking to demonstrate how excellence defines them across seven specific areas of respiratory care.
NBRC credentials provide recognition for hard work and dedication to quality. Success brings respect among colleagues and instills a sense of pride in those who earn the NBRC badges of distinction. Why? For the same reason all 49 states regulating the profession recognize NBRC examinations as standards for state licensure: success requires exceptional knowledge and competency. Our NCCA-accredited examinations—which are developed by respiratory care professionals and predictive of job performance—provide the opportunity to prove readiness for excellence in patient care.
Mission
The National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) promotes excellence in respiratory care by awarding credentials based on competence.
Vision
We envision the NBRC as the leader in the establishment and advancement of credentialing standards in respiratory care.
Core Values
Operate as a moral and ethical organization;
Provide high quality, responsive, efficient service to the respiratory care community; and
Act in the best interests of the profession and the public it serves.
Social Purpose
Giving back to the profession and our community
Care
We promote respiratory care by funding professional scholarships and through our collaborative national campaign, The World Needs More RTs.
Join
We offer time and knowledge to the respiratory care profession.
Give
We support the respiratory community through national and community-based give-back initiatives.
NBRC Leaders & Staff
The NBRC is a not-for-profit organization governed by a 19-member Board of Trustees. The NBRC elects one member to serve as public advisor, and our sponsor organizations nominate the other 18 members, all of whom work as respiratory care professionals in the field:
- The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) nominates 9 respiratory therapists and/or pulmonary function technologists
- The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) nominates 3 physicians
- The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) nominates 3 physicians
- The American Thoracic Society (ATS) nominates 3 physicians
The NBRC Executive Committee
Public Advisor
Members of the Board
Trustee Emeritus
William W. Burgin, Jr., MD, FCCP
H. F. Helmholz Jr., MD, FAARC
Robert M. Lawrence, MD
Robert A. May, MD, FCCP
Theodore Oslick, MD, FCCP, FAARC
NBRC Executive Staff
I.C.E. Membership & NCCA Accreditation
As the only accredited credentialing body for respiratory care, the NBRC is proud to say that excellence defines us—just as it does for credentialed practitioners, educators, and other organizations and providers throughout the growing field of respiratory care. Through our membership with the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (I.C.E.) and close compliance with the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), we ensure the highest standards when preparing and conducting our credentialing examinations.
NCCA Accredited Examinations
All seven NBRC examinations are accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) and reviewed every five years as part of the accreditation renewal process. Working with NCCA means we demonstrate unconditional compliance with stringent testing and measurement standards. Such recognition signifies our ongoing efforts to protect the integrity and excellence of respiratory patient care through high quality examination programs for respiratory therapists and pulmonary function technologists. As part of the accreditation renewal process, the NCCA reviews our credentialing programs every five years.
In addition, PSI – the professional testing agency contracted by the NBRC to assist in the administration of respiratory care credentialing examinations – is also a sustaining member of I.C.E.
Sponsors & Related Organizations
An important part of our mission at the NBRC involves working collaboratively with other national organizations that share the universal goal of protecting and enhancing patient lives through excellence in respiratory care. We are proud to say our sponsors—who together appoint 18 members of our Board of Trustees—include these highly esteemed organizations:
We are equally proud of our long-standing and collaborative relationships with these related organizations:
- The American Respiratory Care Foundation (ARCF)
- The Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC)
- Lambda Beta Society, also known as the National Honor Society for the Profession of Respiratory Care
Together with these organizations and the respiratory care professionals we come together to serve, EXCELLENCE defines us.
Our Testing Agency
We understand it takes hard work and dedication to earn the NBRC badge of honor. To ensure the highest professional and ethical standards for credentialing—while also making examinations easily accessible for eligible candidates—we are proud to partner with PSI as our testing agency.
PSI Services LLC, a private corporation headquartered in Glendale, California, has over 300 assessment centers across the United States. As a leader in the testing industry, PSI provides secure, reliable, and highly credible testing services, including development, administration, scoring and analysis.
With access to PSI’s nationwide network of secure testing locations, you can be sure there is an assessment center near you. Exams are easy to schedule, and because long-distance travel is usually not required, costs are minimal. We want candidates focused on demonstrating strengths, not traveling for testing, and our long-standing partnership with PSI makes that possible.
Learn more about the NBRC
Learn more about the mission of The NBRC, who is on the Board of Trustees, our sponsoring organizations, and what credentials we offer.
Who is the NBRC?
The NBRC credentials
