Respiratory Care Students Gain Experience on the Frontline

When they enrolled in Kalamazoo Valley’s respiratory care program last year, students had no way of knowing that they would become firsthand witnesses to a worldwide pandemic.

“Coronavirus is a respiratory pandemic,” said Kalamazoo Valley’s Respiratory Therapy Program Director Susan Pearson. “When people get sick with the virus, they have mostly respiratory symptoms. You’re only hearing about doctors, nurses and first responders, but our respiratory students have been in the midst of the pandemic. They’ve been in the ICU, working with ventilators and working with the sickest of the sick patients. Our students are literally on the frontline. I am so proud of my students and the way they’ve maintained their professionalism.” Kalamazoo Valley’s second year respiratory care students have had to deal with death and dying, exhibiting compassion for dying patients and coping with the horrors of Coronavirus patients dying alone, Pearson explained.

Respiratory therapists evaluate, treat and care for patients with heart and lung diseases. They manage sophisticated life-support systems for adults, children and premature infants. Pearson explained that first-year students participate in classroom and laboratory instruction and during the second semester in the program, they start their hospital clinical experience. Second-year students are polishing their skills in the intensive care units.

There are currently 16 first-year students in the Associate of Applied Science in respiratory care program and 20 second-year students. After earning an associate degree, respiratory therapists can take the national board exam to gain state licensing to work in the field. Pearson said now, more than ever, respiratory therapists are in demand. “They are in desperate need,” she said. “I get emails from all around the country and 100 percent of our graduates are receiving job assignments.” The training program is fast paced and so is the job itself, Pearson said. Respiratory therapists use high tech equipment to assess patients’ breathing and respond rapidly to crucial changes. “If you can’t breathe, nothing else matters,” Pearson said, “We’re the gatekeepers of the airways.”

Courtney Wall changed her major a few times when she started college right after graduating from high school in 2014. She worked in the kitchen at a nursing home and as a certified nursing assistant. It was that experience that convinced her that she wanted to continue to work in the healthcare field, but not as a nurse. She changed her major to respiratory therapy, applied to Kalamazoo Valley’s program and was thrilled to be accepted. “I got in and I love it,” she said. And while she loves the experience she’s gaining at Bronson through clinicals, Wall acknowledges that the pandemic has brought about extremely challenging situations. “It’s been really hard,” she said. “Probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’ve seen patients passing away and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Grand Rapids native Thomas Wierenga had originally planned to go to nursing school, but his infant son’s medical problems sparked an interest in respiratory therapy. “My son, when he was born, had a lot of respiratory issues,” Wierenga said. He began to seriously consider his career options and decided that respiratory care made sense. “The thing that stands out the most for me between nursing and respiratory care is the level of responsibility,” Wierenga said. “I’ve been in the medical field my whole life, but in a support role. Now I’m the person who’s there when things start to go really bad. I’ve always worked in emergency care where within an hour the patient has either been treated or discharged. With COVID, people come in and progress toward dying.”

Theresa Devine is another second-year student. She went to nursing school right after high school and worked as a consultant/supervisor in the field for 30 years before returning to college for respiratory therapy training. “It’s been a hard semester,” she said, explaining that ventilators are a challenge because there are several different kinds and they can be customized, which means learning a new setup at each hospital.

“We’ve had to almost learn a new language for different machines,” Wierenga said. “It’s like a whole new language and it’s hard to keep learning all new stuff.”

While working during the pandemic has been traumatic, Pearson’s students are not complaining. They’re grateful for the experience and the support they’ve received from the college. “There have been positives and negatives,” Devine said. “We’re a group of people who get to see the pandemic firsthand and learn from it. Everybody is in the same boat.”

Wierenga said the college’s counselors have been especially helpful. “We’ve learned coping mechanisms to help us get through this,” he said. He’s also grateful to have received a scholarship from the college. “I can’t even tell you how much that changed my life,” he said of the $1,000 scholarship he received. Wall said it’s been hard to care for patients who have lingering health problems. “COVID patients are developing long-term side effects like blood clots in their lungs and neurological issues,” she said. “These are younger people who have bad side effects months and months later.”

The need to quarantine to prevent the spread of Coronavirus has also impacted the students. “There can be no family members in with Coronavirus patients so we’re not learning that aspect of our job – how to deal with angry parents or how to talk to people about a loved one who’s not going to be getting better,” Wierenga said.

Despite the stress and the trauma of working with Coronavirus patients, all three students are on track to graduate in May and they’re certain that they’re on the right path and confident with the skills they’re attaining. For more information about Kalamazoo Valley’s respiratory care practitioner Associate of Applied Science degree, go to www.kvcc.edu/programs/health_careers/rcp.php.

Health careers applications for the Fall 2021 semester will be accepted online from April 1 to 15. Access the application at https://p2.kvcc.edu/utilities/health_careers/.