I have been a practicing Respiratory Therapist for the last 19 years. I graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops in 2000 after previously completing a B.Sc in Biology at UVic. I worked bedside at The Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, BC for 8 years. There I honed my skills in neonatal and adult respiratory care. I have been Clinical Supervisor of the RCH RT Department for the last 9 years where I have learned how to be a leader. I have a passion for research and critical care, and have published critical care related articles and abstracts in a number of journals including the CJRT. I am a board member and reviewer for the CJRT, and am a member of the RCH Foundation Research Committee. I am part of a team of early adopters at RCH that are continually examining what we do and adopting new solutions to do it better. My team created a novel PAV + based prolonged weaning protocol that has seen adoption at several centers across Canada. I have presented at BCSRT, CSRT, SAM, and ANZICS with most of the talks centering on PAV+, prolonged weaning, or intubation complications. I am married to my lovely wife Jennifer and have a 9 year old son named Hunter. When not at work or doing research, you will find me in the Dojo practicing Goju Ryu karate with my son. I hope to earn my black belt in 2.5 years.
I am willing to stand up and say the things that need to be said and do the things that need to be done to advance our practice and keep our patients safe. The CSRT Vision from the strategic agenda is “Empowering Respiratory Therapists to provide exemplary leadership and care”. I believe that RTs have the critical thinking skills and abilities to really make a difference in the critical care setting. RTs are integral parts of many of the most dangerous procedures in critical care. It is rare for intubation or ventilation to happen without an RT present. We are uniquely positioned to make sure that these procedures are as safe as possible. I was a founding member of the airway committee that brought Anesthesia, Emergency medicine, Intensivists, and RTs together to make intubation safer after a tragic sentinel event. I helped to give RTs the power to change intubation culture at our facility. I want to bring this power to RTs across the country, not just surrounding intubation but with ventilation as well. Ventilation is one of the most poorly understood therapies in the ICU. A physician colleague once confided that the dirty little secret was that most intensivists don’t really understand ventilation that well, but cant admit it. RTs are the experts in ventilation. We just need to recognize this in ourselves. We can make a real difference and save lives if we just recognize our power to do so. I want to bring this to the CSRT.
Go to https://www.csrt.com/candidates/ – the link for voting is on the bottom the the page.
DATE: Wednesday September 12 th and Thursday September 13 th , 2018.
LOCATION: Ken Lepin Lecture Theatre, First Floor, Clinical Services Building, Royal Inland Hospital, Kamloops, BC.
Skills Stations: Ultrasound Guided Artlines: Sandra Shannon -Sonosite Inc.
Health Sciences Association of BC.