For Alex Santamaria, who completed the Lane Community College Respiratory Care program in June 2014, every workday as a hospital respiratory therapist is demanding.
Take the day a patient's lungs had shut down after heart surgery, and Santamaria and another respiratory therapist spent six hours with the patient, who was on a ventilator until he could breath on his own.
Being able to help a patient "in his most critical state," and to see him return home is immensely satisfying, says Santamaria, who recently accepted a full-time position at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, where he had completed a clinical rotation as a respiratory care student.
Santamaria, 23, says he decided to pursue a health professions career while still a student at Willamette High School in Eugene, enrolling in LCC's emergency medical technician program immediately after graduation.
He gained valuable experience volunteering with Lane Fire Authority for three years, he says, but, "there were no jobs, during the recession," so he found work in construction.
To upgrade his skills and enhance his job prospects, he enrolled in 2012 in the college's respiratory care "hybrid" program, so called because it combines online lecture classes—such as Emergency Critical Care, Mechanical Ventilation, and Case Review—with lab exercises and symposiums on campus.
Kellee Rickerl, the program's Director of Clinical Education, says the two-year program will begin accepting applications for fall 2015 starting in January 2015. Now is the perfect time for students to enroll in prerequisites classes in math, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, while waiting for the program to begin, she says.
To become licensed to practice in Oregon, Santamaria and his cohorts had to pass a rigorous national credentialing exam, and 92 percent who attempted the test passed, says Norma Driscoll, Respiratory Care Program Coordinator.
Driscoll says the annual average salary for a respiratory therapist in Oregon is $60,960.
The wage "is as good as national pay," Rickerl says. "Many single parents have graduated from our program and have been able to support themselves and their children."
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for RRTs is projected to be 19 percent greater than for other industries.
Someday, Santamaria wants to work as a respiratory therapist in air transport, but for now, he says, "I'm excited about my career. And, I love Lane for making that happen."
For more information about respiratory care training at Lane Community College, go online to the Respiratory Care page.
Published by Lane Community College Marketing and Public Relations September 2014.