Future Students
Hometown: Centerville, Ohio
Major: Respiratory Therapy
Class of 2023
Fun Fact: I was born at 11:59 pm!
Career Path: After graduating, I plan on moving to Boston to work as an RRT. I’m also considering the Master of Respiratory Therapy (Advanced Practice) program.
Why did you choose your major?
I applied and was accepted to Ohio State as a public health major but realized I wanted a career where I could be more hands on and involved in direct patient care. In high school I was a part of a career technical program that allowed us to shadow many different careers. I was able to shadow a respiratory therapist for a week and I fell in love. I knew from a young age that I wanted to go into health care because both of my grandma’s are nurses and I loved hearing all their stories.
Why do you believe your major is the best choice for your career pathway?
As I got older and learned more about respiratory therapy it was evident that this was the career path I wanted to take. Respiratory therapy allows you to work with any patient population which really drew me to it because I eventually want to work the with neonatal population.
What advice would you give future students planning to pursue this major?
I would recommend shadowing a variety of different health care professionals if you were interested in entering the medical field. There are so many different job opportunities or specialties you may not even know about! The best part of the respiratory therapy program at Ohio State is by far the people. We have the most supportive faculty, and your class is typically around 20 people, so everyone becomes super close. From lecture days with all your classmates, to smaller lab groups, and even smaller clinical groups you get to know everyone very well and become a great resource and friend to one another.
What has been the most helpful resource(s) to you at Ohio State?
The most helpful resources to support me at time at Ohio State has been the RT faculty. With Ohio State being such a huge university, it is easy to feel like no faculty truly cares about you. With the small class sizes that respiratory therapy offers, all the faculty knows who you are. They have been an amazing resource for me regarding questions about lecture or lab content and for any issues I have in life. Respiratory therapy at Ohio State is like a family. Everyone becomes very close and is always there to support one another.
What are you doing as a student at Ohio State that you never imagined you’d be doing?
I am currently in a program that I love and am consistently learning so much. I get to provide direct patient care during clinicals and practice new skills in our labs. To make it even better, I get to do it all with some of the best friends I’ve made through HRS and the RT program.
Do you feel prepared for the future of your profession?
I feel extremely prepared for the future of my profession. With the countless hours of lecture, lab and clinicals we are always practicing and improving our skills. The RT faculty are very supportive and are always there to answer questions and clarify confusing topics. Our clinical instructors are patient and very eager to share all their knowledge. A lot of the curriculum is hands on so we can learn skills and practice in the lab before we use them on real patients at clinicals.
What does “The future of health care begins here” mean to you?
To me “The future of health care begins here” means that Ohio State is focused on educating and training future health care professionals to be the best they can be. They train us and support us to be kind, empathetic, intelligent and innovative. Being a graduate of an Ohio State health care program holds a certain level of prestige that is well-known within the health care community.