LIVE From South College - "RTFR" - Respiratory Therapy w/ Michelle Abreu & Your Questions!

Keywords South College, podcast, respiratory therapy, healthcare education, student experience, career opportunities, healthcare industry, online programs, academic success, student support

Summary In this episode of the South College podcast, host Kathleen Stockham introduces the program and its mission to provide in-depth stories and information about the college's offerings. The conversation features Michelle Abreu, the Program Director of Respiratory Care, who discusses the importance of respiratory therapy in healthcare, the qualities of ideal students, and her personal journey into the field. The episode also covers the preparation for the credentialing exam and the opportunities available for students at South College. Kathleen also takes listener questions that have been sent in about South College.

Takeaways

• The South College podcast began in November 2024, focusing on campus stories and programs.
• The Associate of Science in Respiratory Therapy is a two-year program essential for healthcare.
• There is a growing demand for respiratory therapists, especially post-COVID-19.
• Ideal students for the RT program should be dependable and collaborative.
• Personal experiences often drive individuals to pursue careers in respiratory therapy.
• Oxygen bars provide non-medical grade oxygen and should be approached with caution.
• Michelle Abreu's family background influenced her career in respiratory therapy.
• South College offers tours for prospective students interested in the RT program.
• Students are well-prepared for the credentialing exam through mock tests and review seminars.
• Hands-on learning is crucial in respiratory therapy education.

Sound Bites

• "I was able to touch people in the community."
• "We do tours all the time."
• "We prepare them so well."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Respiratory Therapy

01:48 The Importance of Respiratory Therapy

04:21 Ideal Students for Respiratory Therapy

06:58 Oxygen Bars and Holistic Approaches

09:31 Personal Stories and Dedication to RT

12:56 Why South College?

16:13 Touring the Respiratory Therapy Program

17:03 Preparing for the Credentialing Exam

18:02 Michelle's Student Experience

21:27 Introduction to South College Podcast

23:16 Engagement with Students and Community

24:39 Podcast Host's Background and Podcast Purpose

Got a question? Have some feedback? Email us at SouthCollegePodcast@south.edu or come visit us at www.south.edu.  Follow us on social media too.  The Live from South College Podcast is your source for all South College activity including new student information, deeps dive’s into our 100+ programs, and concentrations,  “Tools of the Trade,” and even Live on location from all of our campuses! Great interviews with Faculty, Staff, Deans and hear from South College students and alumni in their own words. From Certificates all the way to Doctoral degrees, catch up with “Live from South College” for the lighter side of helping your dreams find direction. 

Transcript

TRANSCRIPT – RTFR – Respiratory therapy with Michelle Abreu & Your Questions!

Kathleen Stockham (00:31)

Welcome to the Live From South College podcast. I'm your host, Kathleen Stockham. The Live From South College podcast is your source for all South College activity, including new student information, deep dives into our 100 plus programs and concentration, tools of the trade, and even live on location from all of our campuses.

great interviews with faculty, staff, deans, and hear from South College students and alumni in their own words. From certificates all the way to doctoral degrees, catch up with live from South College for the lighter side of helping your dreams find direction. As part of our ongoing series looking in depth at key programs at one of the fastest growing areas of study at South College, my guest today is really a breath of fresh air.

The Associate of Science in Respiratory Therapy is a demanding two-year program which teaches aspiring respiratory therapists to consult with and assist physicians to diagnose, treat, and manage breathing problems and cardiopulmonary diseases and disorders. I am pleased to welcome Michelle Abreu, the Program Director of Respiratory Care and also our Associate Dean of Academic and Student Services for the Knoxville campus.

Hey Michelle!

Michelle Abreu (01:50)

Hello. I'm so happy to be here.

Kathleen Stockham (01:51)

Yay! Well,

I'm happy you're here too. All right, well, respiratory therapy, affectionately known as RT here around the campus, is a core and key program answering the need of many of our surrounding communities by campus. So Michelle, tell us more about respiratory therapy and why it's so important to the healthcare industry.

Michelle Abreu (02:15)

So respiratory therapy is a very innovative field in healthcare. We assist patients with breathing difficulty. And so as respiratory therapists, the neat thing about our field is we can work with adult patients, we work with pediatrics and children, and we can also work with neonatal patients. So there's a wide range of patients that we can take care of.

So I like to tell our students, there are times when we can be at the bedside for our patient's very first breath as they're coming into the world. And then there are other times when we will assist patients with their very last breath. So respiratory is very, very important and we see a wide range of disease processes in the healthcare setting.

Kathleen Stockham (03:05)

Wow, yeah, having that span of the entire life cycle, I think is really, really important. And it's definitely something that you don't think about. I honestly was not aware until I was researching this of how much work is actually done in pediatrics, particularly with babies and toddlers. I actually did not know that. There is quite a demand for this role out there. So why do you think that is?

Michelle Abreu (03:28)

Well, as our patients population, our patients are surviving a lot longer. And so with that comes a greater need for patient's care surrounding breathing. I also think that there's a high demand for respiratory because we have new things that are out there like vape pens and things like that that are changing our patient's lungs and their ability to breathe appropriately.

Definitely a field that there is a big need for our folks that have gone into respiratory. And then COVID-19 happened and respiratory therapists were at the front line of COVID-19 and treating those patients and

helping discover new ways to help patients breathe as they were trying to heal from the virus.

Kathleen Stockham (04:21)

Yeah, wow. Yeah, I guess that's really where it came to the forefront for most people is you're hearing about ventilators and you're hearing about challenges during the COVID era regarding patients of all ages that were having problems and struggling to breathe and a lot of those things. That's really, really interesting. So in your opinion, who is the ideal student?

for the RT program, what ingredients do you think that student needs to be considered for the program?

Michelle Abreu (04:52)

Yeah, so we like our students to be very innovative. We are in a fast paced environment where patients, vital signs can change very, very quickly. And so we want students that can think on their feet. We want students that are collaborative because we work with nursing and physician assistants and physicians and all spans of healthcare.

employees. So in order to, you know, collaborate and give your best care to your patient, you have to be able to work as a team. So that's really important for us. We want students that are compassionate, students that are dependable, because we have to show up for our hospital shifts or some of our patients might not get seen that day. So it's very, very important to be dependable. We also want students that have a love for continued learning.

Because in this field, healthcare, it's a fast-paced environment. We've got new machines that come out, new treatments, new medications that we use. So we like our students to love learning because they're gonna continue to learn even when they graduate and become licensed and registered in respiratory therapy.

Kathleen Stockham (06:08)

Yeah, that makes sense. And I would also assume that students come to this role because of experiences maybe that they've had in their personal life with a family member or a loved one. And again, doing some research ahead of this interview, I found a lot of those stories where graduates have said that they were obviously attracted to the role because of.

things that have happened in their family or things in front of them or someone that has had an issue. So it brings me to another question. With the renewed attention for more quote healthy and organic means of self care, some young adults out there are turning towards more so-called oxygen bars. I've read a lot about this and oxygen therapy and they claim it's superior to medical care in some forms.

Think about that as an RT professional.

Michelle Abreu (07:01)

So this is actually a really interesting topic as well. With oxygen bars, as a respiratory therapist, I would say that the most important thing to do would be always consult your physician before the use of anything that you perceive as medical care. Now, for me, I view these oxygen bars as more of a holistic approach.

with oxygen bars they actually do not provide medical grade oxygen. So when you are given medical grade oxygen in the hospital you're given 99 % plus so 100 % is our highest level. Most oxygen bars they can only provide a 40 % of you know oxygen to the patient. Now they do you

It is used for stress relief or people that have cluster headaches, things like that. some people say that it really does help. And I think if you ask your physician and they say it's something, if it helps, then absolutely. I'm all about different holistic things. But I would caution, there are certain patients with disease processes like emphysema and they should not have additional oxygen.

because it can actually hurt their lungs. So, you know, there are some, safety concerns that I see with these different places and my advice would be always consult your physician.

Kathleen Stockham (08:35)

Yeah, that's probably the best advice before you do anything, before you go outside, check in. No, I'm just kidding. But it also, makes a lot of sense. I've actually seen these places and..

You know, I've seen people that I'm connected to on social media. They swear by it. It always makes me a little nervous, you know, when you're going into an environment and you're putting something in your body. Your point about vaping earlier, it's kind of, you know, similar, but going in an opposite direction. You know, you're putting and ingesting something through your lungs, through your body that is not natural to the body. And it's always, you know, it's always kind of given some concern, but absolutely consult your doctor. Always good advice.

So what things have you seen in your career that confirmed your dedication to RT? Was it recovery of a patient or anything like that that sort of drove you in this direction?

Michelle Abreu (09:31)

So for me, which my background in the funny story, my mom and my aunt were respiratory therapists. that's how, yep, that's how I learned about the profession. And that's, you you were talking previously when you were researching, you were seeing all the stories. So the biggest thing with respiratory is it's not a well-known profession. And

So we tell our students, scream it from the rooftops when you're out there, The need is great. The jobs are there. They're even hiring our students when they're a quarter in as respiratory interns. So our students are working in the field as they're learning, which is amazing. But that brings me back to how I kind of got here is

My mom and my aunt were respiratory therapists, so that's how I knew I came right out of high school, got a two-year degree, full benefits, and then I was able to start my family and I continued my education from there. So I did a bachelor's online, master's online, and now I am halfway through my doctorate. that's what, you

kind of the roadmap for me, but what makes me excited about respiratory and why I'm so dedicated to respiratory. For me, it's the students that come back and the students that say you changed my life and I was able to touch people in the community and my family dynamics have changed because now I have a profession And so as an educator for me,

I love bedside patient care and I loved taking care of patients and all those stories. But as an educator, I know that the knowledge that I'm helping my students gain, they can touch so many more lives in the community. And that is the big key for me.

Kathleen Stockham (11:26)

Yeah, that's amazing. It's so funny. Everybody that I've interviewed so far for the podcast, it's always the mom. There's always like, well, my mom did this. Well, my grandmother was that. I'm so fascinated by the stories that everyone has, yours included, of what

leads people to their career and their passion and what they do. And I'm really excited for you. So Dr. Abreu is loading. That's fabulous. How hard is your doctoral degree been so far?

Michelle Abreu (11:56)

It's not too bad. I'm doing the CBE, higher education. So yeah, so so far it hasn't been too bad. I'm learning a lot, you know, with assignments and, you know, I've been able to kind of complete at my pace and it's been really, really nice.

Kathleen Stockham (12:04)

Nice.

So you're holding down, obviously, an incredibly busy kind of parallel track professionally as you're the program director for this awesome program, but now you're also the associate dean of student services and academics.

And now, you're also getting your doctoral degree through our CBE platform. Shameless plug for our CBE platform including the Doctor of Education, which is the program that she's in right now. So shameless plug for that. That's awesome, but my goodness, that's a lot. So why South College? How did you end up here?

Michelle Abreu (12:56)

So this is actually an amazing story. Right before COVID, my husband and I purchased an investment property and I grew up visiting Campbell County, North Lake. And so we purchased this investment property and the world shut down. So it was a full gut and rework. We reworked it while we were both sent home.

for working from home for COVID.

Kathleen Stockham (13:27)

think that was a theme for a lot of people.

Michelle Abreu (13:29)

Right, right. And he

kept just saying, hey, I want to go south. I want to go south. I want to go south. And I was working as a program director at Northern Kentucky University at the time. And I got an email about South College wanting to start the respiratory program. And

I went home and kind of, you know, I told my husband about it he goes, apply, want you to apply right now. And I'm like, really? I like my job. Nope, I wanna go south. I wanna go south. So, yes. So I interviewed and, you know, loved everybody that I spoke to and the biggest driver for me was the innovation here and that I could be part of

Kathleen Stockham (14:02)

clairvoyant that one.

Michelle Abreu (14:17)

building a program and this program was going to launch at five different campuses and now we're even looking at more campuses. So for me, being able to write curriculum, being able to be on the ground of helping these other programs with accreditation and getting up and started, revamping, you know, we were the first to launch here in Knoxville. So as we've been teaching these classes,

the notes that we're able to take and better the courses, know, make those tweaks that you have to when you first start teaching so that when the other campuses go live, it's a little bit more, streamlined and easier for those faculty members. You know, we're kind of working the bugs out. So it's been amazing. The people here are just so knowledgeable and

helpful and kind, that's the biggest thing. And everybody is supportive and they want what's best for the program and the student. And so we're very student centered. And that was one of my main priorities in, you know, making the move and coming to a new location. Just that student centered approach.

Kathleen Stockham (15:35)

Yeah, that makes total sense. And your story is very similar to a lot of people, including myself, actually, you know, came in, toured and looked around and I was just blown away at the

the incredible equipment, the incredible classrooms, you know, and as I always say, no expense spared. It is literally the best of the best equipment and everything. So that's very much on point with everyone else that I've talked to. So for anyone who is thinking about RT, or maybe they're not sure, can they come and take a tour, see labs or classrooms for respiratory therapy?

Michelle Abreu (16:13)

Absolutely, we do tours all the time and we work very closely with the Student Success Advisors and Admissions and we tell them, hey, if you have a student that even has a hint of interest, please contact the Respiratory Faculty. and our students love to talk to potential students about respiratory and what the program's like.

Anyone who is interested, we would love to take you on a lab tour and show you our new, wonderful, beautiful space with all of the new equipment that we've put in for students. And we would love to talk to you about respiratory.

Kathleen Stockham (16:51)

Yay! All right, well that sounds good. All right, so when they get through the program, how hard is the credentialing exam for the National Board of Respiratory Care? How hard is that test?

Michelle Abreu (17:03)

So I would say once they get to graduation with us, we prepare them so well. They actually have to take a mock board and pass that mock board right before graduation. The other thing that we do is there is a review seminar that we have our students go through and we pay for our students to go through that review seminar and it is not cheap.

But what that seminar does is it gives them sample exam questions and it gives them sample case studies. And so I would say, you know, once our students graduate, the exam, you know, it's not easy, but they have all of the information that they need to pass it with their high cut score and become registered.

Kathleen Stockham (17:53)

Yeah, well prepared. That makes total sense. All right, that's good to know. All right, so we'll get to you. What kind of student were you in school?

Michelle Abreu (18:03)

boy. I was the, can I say anal retentive, straight A, straight A student. I wanted to know everything about everything and why. And so I think, you know, that's probably the reason that I love education because in my

academic world, those minute details mattered for me. I was a very visual hands-on learner and respiratory is so great with hands-on learning because we will teach you in the classroom, but then you perform what we teach you in the classroom in a lab setting. Once you pass it in the lab setting, then you go and work with patients at the bedside. And so, for me as a student, I

I wanted to know everything about everything and I feel like I'm still a little bit like that as an adult.

Kathleen Stockham (19:04)

Well, that's awesome. Well, this certainly explains why RT is such a popular program and why there is such a demand in healthcare for these graduates. If you have given thought to becoming a respiratory therapist or an RT, make sure you check out south.edu to see our two year RT program in Asheville, Atlanta, Knoxville, Orlando, and Pittsburgh campuses. I want to thank Michelle for being my guest today.

Michelle Abreu (19:31)

Thank you!

Kathleen Stockham (19:33)

this was awesome. I actually learned a lot and I had a lot of fun researching this topic. Well, coming up after the break, you are putting me on the hot seat. Yes, I am answering your questions. I'm gonna go turn on the air conditioning right now. Stick around, we'll be right back.

[South College Radio Ad Spot]

Kathleen Stockham (21:27)

Welcome back. Well, it was bound to happen. Each week I ask you to email your feedback and questions to southcollegepodcasts at south.edu. In the first few months of the podcast, the questions have really piled up.

So today I'm going to be answering some of your frequently asked questions.

First question, when did South College get a podcast? I went to school there and didn't realize we even had a podcast. Well, this broadcast began in November of 2024. So as of this recording, it's only been a few months. We have had a blast bringing you info from all of our campuses and a lot of in-depth stories about all of our programs. And we've had a few laughs too.

Next question. I listened to your podcast on Spotify, and while I don't need to go to school, I think I wanna work there. How do I apply for a job? Well, that's easy. Go to south.edu and scroll all the way down to the bottom in the footer under resources and click careers at South College. Open up the link powered by Paylocity and then locate jobs.

open by campus and by specialty, whether it's an academic role or a staff or corporate support role, we are always on the lookout for talent across the institution.

Next question. I started the ASN program in Orlando. Can I be on the podcast? Well, you're in luck. I will actually be at our Orlando campus in early May. And yes, I do plan to interview a lot of Orlando students. So be on the lookout for more information at your campus about that. I'll be looking for you and cannot wait to meet you.

Next question. Do you have social media accounts? Where can I follow you? We sure do. South College maintains a large presence on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Simply type in South College on all platforms and you should be able to find us. In addition, our physician assistant, DPT, pharmacy, and OTD programs all have a by-campus presence as well. So,

If you want to catch up with the PA students in Nashville, you can do that. Next question. Where can I find the cost of your programs? Well, that's another easy question. Every program page has a link about halfway down each page that says tuition and fees. And the link takes you right to the tuition page where you can see the cost per credit hour and by program and by campus.

Don't forget our online programs have their own link which you can see in the same place. If you aren't sure, just type in tuition in the search bar. boy, okay, this next question is for me. Here we go. Who are you and why are you hosting a podcast for a college when you aren't even a college student? Well, if you can hear age, well, you're right. I'm not a college student.

but I was one two different times many, moons ago. But as a side note, keep in mind that South College has students of all ages and all walks of life. That's what makes it great. As for me, I'm the chief marketing officer behind the microphone and the live from South College podcast is a production from South College marketing. I really wanted to be a meteorologist, but wound up in the online business instead a long time ago.

So rather than telling you the forecast, I'm helping your dreams find direction and well, reading your email. Thanks for your questions. And yes, there are many more and we'll get to those another time. With 10 campuses in seven states, plus online and CBE, there's a pathway for you at South College. Hope you enjoyed this latest episode of Live From South College. Thanks for joining me. If you love it,

give us some stars and of course you can always send us feedback by emailing us at southcollegepodcastsouth.edu and yes, I do read all of them. Have an awesome day and let your dreams find direction. See you next time.