Respiratory Therapy: the Life Breath of Health Care - Hannah Bateman, Respiratory and Anaesthesia Technology 2020 Graduate

Cet article de nos archives n'a pas été traduit en français.

Discovering Respiratory Therapy

When Hannah Bateman-Organ was growing up in La Tabatière, a small fishing community of 425 people on the Quebec-Labrador border, she dreamed of working in the medical field. All she knew about were doctors and nurses so she registered for science at John Abbott College. Then a friend told her about Respiratory Therapy, and the more Hannah heard, the more fascinated she became. In her second semester, Hannah switched to Vanier College, the only English Cegep that teaches the Respiratory and Anaesthesia Technology Program.

1200 km from home

Hannah was only 17, alone in Montreal and 1200 km from home, but she was convinced this was the program for her. Like any student who makes a program change she bemoaned the extra time lost, but before long she saw the advantages. First, she had time to adapt to living away from home, being on her own in Montreal, and being in Cegep. Second, she had a semester of science under her belt, a definite asset for studying in any medical field. Third, she registered in Social Science at Vanier to facilitate her program change to Respiratory Therapy. Then following the advice of her friend, she loaded up on general education courses to allow her to concentrate more fully on her Respiratory courses the following year.

Thrilled with her career choice

Since choosing her program, Hannah never looked back: she loved every day of her studies, and is thrilled to be working as a respiratory therapist (R.T.) in the Intensive Care Unit of the Montreal General Hospital. She graduated in June 2020, but months before that she was already working at the MGH where R.T.s were in great demand because they were on the front lines of the pandemic in all the hospitals.

The Respiratory and Anaesthesia Technology Program requires many weeks of internships in hospitals, but when the pandemic hit in March, everything stopped. Five weeks later, when her classes started up again, the government asked all RT students to help in the hospitals. That meant finishing their program on the job. It was a challenge, but Vanier teachers and the hospital personnel overseeing clinical internships, condensed teaching to cover material faster, and gave great support to the new R.T.s. In this way, Hannah completed her program in June and wrote her licensing exam.

Was she well prepared for the job?

"Yes, I was very well prepared," says Hannah, "but it was definitely not the beginning of my career I'd imagined. At the time, I felt intimidated because I had done the RT program then went directly into a very intense career. But I had great colleagues around me for support, and everything was well managed by my teachers who made sure they were there to help us prepare to write the licensing exam, to transition from being a student to being a professional in the hospital."

What do R.T.s do on the job?

"RTs work in respiratory care and focus on the lungs and the endotracheal tubes. We cover both the Emergency Room and hospital floors where we manage the ventilators making sure a patient's respiration is improving and that the ventilators are controlling oxygen levels for the optimum needs of the patient."

Team work

"We work as a team made up of doctors, nurses, and R.T.s to figure out the best plan for a patient's care and recovery. RTs are in the middle of everything because the lungs are linked to every part of the body. RTs may work in the ICU, the ER and the OR. They are there for patients who come in with traumas and go on life support, and for patients who come in for other reasons but may develop lung issues."

An exciting and rewarding job

"It's a very exciting and rewarding job, and I've never stopped learning. In our meetings, I learn so much from the doctors and nurses because I hear what is happening in other organs of the body, not just the lungs. The body is a fascinating thing."

"There is a great need for RTs. Even before the pandemic, Montreal hospitals needed over 40 RTs. Now, they need even more. I could not have picked a better career."