Dean Hess, PhD, FAARC, Boston, MA
The AARC is the only organization consistently advocating for the respiratory therapist and the respiratory care profession. Through its conferences, the website, the Respiratory Care journal, and other publications, the AARC keeps its members appraised the latest science and political issues affecting respiratory therapists.
Gretchen Lawrence, BA, RRT, FAARC, Dallas, TX
I have been an AARC member since 1974, the year that I became a student in the Respiratory Therapy program at El Centro College in Dallas, TX. Pat Brougher, former editor of Respiratory Care, was the head of the RT program at the time, and she made sure that we understood that membership in the AARC was a part of our commitment to become professionals. “Give to your professional organization, and it will give back one hundred-fold,” she told us, and she was so right! AARC membership provides me with access to continuing education and the expertise of vast network of other RTs - and the opportunity to contribute to the profession that has been so good to me – as a therapist, Project HOPE instructor in Costa Rica, hospital department manager, specialty section chair, and now as a part of the National Lung Health Education Program (NLHEP).
Dianne Lewis, RRT, Naples, FL
I am the AARC because...the year I was a senior in my respiratory program at the University of Missouri I attended my first AARC Convention in Anaheim California. I was so impressed by the exhibits, presentations, and networking with fellow therapist across the country. Upon graduation I became involved with my state society and soon, thereafter with the AARC.
The AARC not only continues to provide me with timely and quality educational programs but tools I have utilized over the years in management, long term care and now home care. I have been a member for over 30 years because the AARC is one of the few professional organizations who always puts the patient first. In my position, as Hospital Liaison for NCH Home Medical in Naples, FL, I strive to keep that same philosophy in mind as I educate the patients in the hospital to better prepare them for what to expect when they go home.
Tom Petty, MD, FAARC, Denver Colorado
The AARC puts me on the Frontlines of care for millions with respiratory disorders
The AARC lets me communicate with professionals that help patients with breathing problems
The AARC offers new initiatives designed to improve respiratory care all over the world.
David J Pierson, MD, FAARC; Seattle, WA
“I am AARC” because:
I believe that respiratory care is a profession, not a job.
As a physician, I believe that respiratory therapists are my colleagues and collaborators, not underlings to be dictated to and not listened to.
I believe that respiratory care is a science, not a set of technical and manual skills such as those that characterize a trade.
I believe that patients with respiratory problems deserve the most up-to-date, authoritative, humanistic care available.
I believe that respiratory therapists can--and must--be involved in research to better understand the scientific foundations of their field and to better apply interventions based on that understanding most effectively and safely.
I believe that clinicians in other countries can benefit from the expertise and resources available in our field in the United States..
I believe that respiratory care needs an organized, professional, effective voice in Washington DC and at the state and local levels on behalf of our patients
I believe that future practitioners need education and training of the highest standards both sholastically and ethically.
I believe that respiratory care clinicians need access to the highest quality of continuing education, that not only informs them of the latest developments in their field but also guides them with respect to which of those developments is reasonable, effective, cost-effective, and safe.
I believe all of these things, which can only be realized, fulfilled, optimized, facilitated, or promoted via the AARC.
Margaret Traband, Med, RRT, Toledo, OH
The AARC provides me with a group of individuals who share my passion for my profession; I never have to explain who I am or what I do to a fellow AARC member. The AARC provides me a mechanism to be a better respiratory therapist, to be a better educator of respiratory therapists. The AARC also shares my concern for patients who are suffering from cardiopulmonary disorders/disease and provide me a mechanism to educate those patients. The AARC has provided me with the best network of dedicated professionals not only in the US but across the world.
