Respiratory therapy students have the advantage in competition and employment
Advancing to the Sputum Bowl is to Macomb’s Respiratory Therapy students what going to the Rose Bowl is to U of M or Michigan State football players. Professor Richard Zahodnic, a Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT), is proud that his students have won the Sputum Bowl’s state championship and competed at the national level eight out of the last 10 years.
“Part of it is the passion I have for that competition and part of it is that we have very smart students,” said Zahodnic. “We actually had a 12-year streak of representing Michigan at the nationals that was snapped in 2019. We competed last year (the first bowl since COVID) and finished second in a tight match.”
Zahodnic’s passion for the Sputum Bowl, which tests the respiratory care knowledge of students, is derived from his own experience. It was in 1980 during his last year in Macomb’s Respiratory Therapy program that he and two teammates took Michigan honors and went on to compete in the American Association for Respiratory Care’s national Sputum Bowl in Dallas. He now serves on the Michigan Society for Respiratory Care Sputum Bowl Committee and has moderated the state event for more than 30 years. But the greatest thrill has been watching his students prove their mettle and their knowledge.
“There’s that moment when a difficult concept finally clicks with a student,” said Zahodnic. “Nothing is more rewarding.”
Macomb’s respiratory therapy students are preparing for a career treating patients who have difficulty breathing. It could be from a short-term trauma following injury or surgery, or a long-term condition like asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Respiratory therapists give patients hope and physical relief by monitoring their blood oxygen levels, administering medications, coaching them through exercises and teaching them how to use any medical equipment they have been prescribed.
“My sister was a nurse and suggested I look at becoming a respiratory therapist. I shadowed a therapist for a few hours and fell in love with the field,” related Zahodnic of his own entry into respiratory therapy. “I worked as a staff therapist, supervisor and educational coordinator in various respiratory therapy departments. I also spent six years working for a medical manufacturer, first as a clinical consultant and then as a salesman.”
In the first year of Macomb’s Respiratory Therapy program, students learn about oxygen therapy, resuscitation, airway management, drawing and evaluating blood gas, mechanical ventilation and more. They put that knowledge to use in the second year in a hospital or other health care facility on a clinical rotation, learning firsthand about the many types of respiratory care.
“Our clinical affiliations are the program’s greatest strength. Many of our students learn from program alums at our clinical sites. It’s a handoff of
knowledge that benefits our students on the exams and in their careers and benefits their employers as well,” said Zahodnic. “Macomb’s Respiratory Therapy program has a great reputation in the community. I have had employers tell me they will hire a Macomb grad over one from any other program.”
Ashley Glaser is a secondyear student on clinical rotation in the Intensive Care Unit at Henry Ford Hospital — Macomb, which will be followed by the Neonatal/Pediatric Unit at the Detroit Medical Center. After completing prerequisite classes at Macomb, she began working part time as a Respiratory Therapist Extern at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and expects to remain there as a Registered Respiratory Therapist after she graduates from Macomb with her Associate of Applied Science degree.
“I became interested in respiratory therapy after my mom graduated from (Macomb’s) program in 2018. She always came home with interesting stories about her work and I would be in awe,” said Glaser. “My passion has always been health care, and after my first day as a Respiratory Therapist Extern, I knew this was the career for me.”
Glaser appreciates how the classroom/laboratory instruction complemented the clinical rotation, preparing her not only for the Sputum Bowl in March but for the board exams she will be taking after she graduates. She credits both Zahodnic and Laurie Niemer, clinical coordinator, for doing “everything they can to get you to that finish line.” Along the way, she’s also formed some solid friendships with classmates whom she’ll likely be working with one day.
“I cannot say enough how much I’ve loved being a Macomb respiratory therapy student,” said Glaser. “What I’ve experienced in this program is unlike anything before. I feel in my heart, this is where I belong.”
After she graduates, Glaser can expect to earn a medium salary of $62,000 in the field, which has faced staggering shortages since the beginning of the pandemic. And no doubt, like Zahodnic, one of her fondest memories of her time at Macomb will be of the Sputum Bowl.
“We did it last year as firstyear students and we had a blast,” said Glaser. “We went from knowing a very minimal amount about respiratory (last year) and now we won’t be able to refrain from shouting out answers. I can’t wait.”