Clinical Specialist, Research
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Clinical Specialist, Respiratory Care Department
Philadelphia, PA
AARC Member since 1998
AARC Activities
Representative to NIH NAEPP Steering Committee, 6/2009—Present
Pediatric Acute Care Protocol Project, Committee Chair 3/2003—4/2004
Protocol Implementation Task Force, Member, 4/2001—1/2009
Neonatal-Pediatric Section, Member, 2002—Present
Neonatal-Pediatric Newsletter Co-Editor, 1/2011—Present
Transport Section, Member, 2004—Present
Management Section, Member, 2007—Present
HOD Activities
Delegate, Virginia Society for Respiratory Care, 2011—July 2012
Affiliate Activities
Neonatal Pediatric Specialty Subcommittee chair, 1/2004—1/2007
Liaison to American Lung Association of Virginia, 3/2005—6/2007 President Elect, 1/2007—1/2008; President, 1/2008—1/2009; Immediate Past President, 1/2009—1/2010; Student Society Chair & Legislative co-chair, 1/2010—1/2011
Delegate, 1/2011—Present
Related Activities
Certified Basic Life Support Instructor, American Heart Association, 1998—Present
Neonatal Resuscitation Program Instructor, American Academy of Pediatrics, 2003—Present
Appointed Member, State of Virginia Advisory Board for Respiratory Care, 7/2010—7/2012
Member, Board of Directors, Allergy and Asthma Network: Mothers of Asthmatics, 2011—Present
Education
BSRT, Gannon University, 2000
MPH, The George Washington University, 2010
RRT-NPS, AE-C
Publications
Author, Bubble CPAP: Analysis of the Evidence Base, eNeonatal Review July 2010
Author, An Amicable Road to Polysomnography Licensure, AARC Times June 2010
Author, How Do Pediatric Ventilator Protocols Work? AARC Times, March 2010
Contributor, Outcomes of a Pediatric Asthma Initiative. Respiratory Care Journal 2004, Abstract PublicationsWhat AARC or Chartered Affiliate offices/positions have you held where you feel you made a significant contribution to our profession? What is the contribution and how will you apply it to your new position if elected?
First, as the AARC Representative to the NIH NAEPP. Sometimes there is tunnel vision on how to achieve goals and at point to redirect when something is not working. By bringing a different perspective and pointing out variations to options, we have been able to move beyond some barriers and find new approaches to our goals. Second, as legislative liaison for the VSRC during the initiation of polysomnography licensure in Virginia. We were able to break down barriers and come to a compromise on the bill that both organizations could support for citizen safety. Through both of these committees I have not been afraid to ask the tough questions, look outside the box for solutions and work to ensure the right thing is done. In this position, I will utilize the same tactics to ensure that our specialty population is considered as well as assist in advancing the knowledge and practice nationally and internationally.
As a leader, what do you see as the top 3 priorities for the AARC, and what steps would you take to advance those priorities?
1) Advancing Professional Reach
2) Patient Education/Community Awareness
3) Advancing Research
All three of these goals come down to two things to make them successful: Education and Money. We need to help to educate ourselves, our partner professions, the government and the public. We need new research that helps us answer a lot of the unanswered questions that we have about respiratory modalities because we should be doing things that are effective and studied in the populations we are working with. We need money to do both of these because we need to be able to fund research and community programs and education forums. We have the most intricate knowledge of pulmonary processes and more specifically therapeutic interventions than any other medical profession, and when we see a deficiency we create a solution. There are many avenues to build on both of these and we are only limited by our imaginations.
Leadership development is an issue facing many organizations, including the AARC. What can the AARC do to mentor the next generation of leaders?
We need the Board and executive office to be more involved with the general membership. Hold student forums and roundtables at the state levels. Utilize more and different people to do things for the committees and actively seek out new opinions and suggestions so we can mentor our own from within. The AARC should also hold management or leadership programs. We are all taught to be clinicians but not managers or directors. Most of this is trial by fire, on the job training and learning from your mistakes. Having training that gets people ready for a leadership position would ensure that they were effective in the positions the first time.