The Shawnee State Respiratory Therapy program held its annual Case Studies event on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 in the Morris Ballroom. Now in its 18th year, Case Studies has become a cornerstone for second-year students, SSU faculty, SSU alumni, and healthcare workers throughout the region. Below is a short interview with SSU Respiratory Therapy Program Director Amy France and a photo-gallery of the event.

What exactly is the Respiratory Therapy Case Studies Event?

Case Studies is the capstone, collaboration, critical thinking, and research project for second-year Respiratory Therapy students. It allows them to dive into a patient’s case that they have worked with during the semester. It has criteria that they have to follow; they have to have worked with the patient’s care, the patient has to have been on a ventilator, and the patient has to have something unique, which we call the “WOW” moment. This is something unusual, like a disease, process, equipment, procedures, medication, or something that is not well known that they can teach us (the audience). They are mentored throughout the project and then they present to a room of peers, Respiratory Therapists, and other health professionals. This is the 18th year that I have been organizing this event and it has grown every year. This event also provides area RT’s and other healthcare professionals the needed continuing education for their licensure. We also collect food, toiletries, and supplies that we will turn around and donate to our SSU Bear Necessities Pantry to help our Bears. We are excited to give back in many ways.

How was this year’s event? Was it well attended compared to past events? Did people enjoy themselves? How were this year’s presentations?

This year was a little different as we went with a carnival/circus theme. We had a wonderful turnout of approximately 80 people (22 of them being students). I wanted it to be educational and show off the hard work of the students, but to also be fun and laid back for the audience. We had cotton candy, popcorn, and games to enjoy and make it more interactive. Each year we have grown, and we try to change it up and make it fun. I loved this year’s event and from the feedback I received it was loved by the audience as well. The students worked hard on their presentations and did a great job.

I noticed there seemed to be a lot of representatives from the area's health care industry at the event (employees from SOMC, Adena, Holzer, Fairfield, etc). Were a lot of them alumni? Can you speak a little bit about the relationship between the program, the Case Studies event, and the regional health care industry?

In the Respiratory profession we are a close group, and you have connections all over. A lot of the attendance was past graduates, but we also had a lot from area hospitals. I am so proud of our past graduates and love seeing them come back to support the program. The graduates come from all over and bring their coworkers from their facilities. We love all of our facilities, whether they are clinical affiliates, hire our graduates, or are just supportive of our program.

What do you hope the students in the program get out of the Case Studies event? How does this help them going forward in their academic and professional careers?

I hope they get a better understanding of the collaboration of all healthcare professionals and their parts in the patient’s overall care. They are learning to research and understand various diseases and the cause-and-effect of different therapeutics and treatments. I am hoping for a better understanding of critical thinking and what they would have recommended. It also strengthens teamwork. They are grouped with classmates and they all must work together to research, compile information, and present. I hope they take this experience to strengthen their career and patient care.

What do you love most about the Case Study event?

Lee Anne Pate and I did Case Studies when we were students in this program. When I started teaching, I brought it back and have tried to evolve it each year. This event is a lot of work, but our alumni always look forward to coming and connecting with fellow classmates and future coworkers. It is a reunion that also provides the much-needed continuing education event that is required to maintain their Respiratory licensure. We also had wonderful support from our Medical Director, Dr. Elie Saab. He presented to approximately 80 members on COPD and Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction. We also had a past graduate, educator, active member with Ohio Society for Respiratory Care, Wesley Bender, present on Respiratory ethics and licensure. I love getting to see all the RT’s, past graduates or not. We are all linked in a wonderful profession.

RT Case Studies 2024