Long-time School Volunteer Touts AARC’s High School Career Project

August 9, 2007

AARC member Jim Ginda, BS, RRT, AE-C, was browsing the AARC web site one day when he came upon the Association’s new High School Career Project   — a package of resources RTs can use to deliver presentations about the profession to their local school districts.

“The AARC has brought our professional identity to the forefront, and the High School Career Project is just one of the latest examples,” says Ginda. The project especially drew his attention because of his own long history of educating kids about respiratory health and respiratory care. Ginda says he first went into his local schools in 1986 and hasn’t stopped since.

His latest journey took him to Washington Oak School in Coventry, RI, at the end of May, where he hosted an hour long presentation called “Vital Capacity: Lungs for Life” for four sixth grade classes.

Ginda says the students had just completed a learning module on the respiratory system, and teacher Maria Boulmetis contacted him to take him up on an offer he’d made at the beginning of the school year to present to the kids. He chose the “vital capacity” tag line because it fit right in with what the children had been learning.

“I knew they had just done a lab where they measured vital capacity, and wanted to emphasize the need for lung health for a lifetime,” says Ginda. His presentation covered all the respiratory basics, including lots of good information about not smoking, and he also went over some summer safety tips such as using bicycle helmets and swimming and diving safely.

But the majority of the hour was spent on three hands on scenarios using an adult airway training mannequin. “The first patient had pneumonia so we could look at the relative anatomy which they had already covered in science. They saw what it would look like on an x-ray and CT scan, and as we talked about what kind of problems it could present, they helped with oxygen delivery and airway clearance,” says the registered respiratory therapist. 

The second case dealt with an asthma patient, which gave him an opportunity to talk about the importance of air flow and how respiratory therapists help patients get their breath back. “The third patient had respiratory failure so we could talk about how we can help someone who is really sick and needs both caregivers and technology.”

Ginda ended the scenario part of the session by having all the students come up and take their turn ventilating the mannequin with a bag-valve device and mask so everyone would get the chance to have a hands on experience.

“The classes asked great questions and showed tremendous enthusiasm, and I received a lot of positive feedback from the students and teacher, particularly about the students liking the hands on parts,” says Ginda.

Now Ginda is urging more of his fellow therapists to replicate his success in the classroom by taking part in the AARC’s High School Project. “As professionals, we have to be grateful for our profession and the difference we can make, and look for outreach opportunities to give something back by sharing it with those who may choose respiratory care as a health career. The AARC High School Career Project provides the tools — all that is required is attitude

and desire.”