Respiratory Therapy
2012
GateWay Graduate Finds Foundation to Success Through Respiratory Care Program
Rachel Marsden was working full-time in the healthcare industry when she began to pursue an education at GateWay Community College. She dreamed of one day becoming an ultrasound technician but at the time, students were required to already have a degree to qualify for the program. After speaking to her advisor, she joined the program with the shortest waitlist, which happened to be Respiratory Therapy.
Marsden shares, “After I started, the ultrasound requirements changed. At that point, I had invested, time, money, and hard work into the Respiratory Therapy Program and made the decision to finish what I started.”
Although Respiratory Therapy may not have been her first choice, she credits her positive experience at GateWay on the instructors. One in particular, Mr. Hoskins was always willing to take the time for one-one-one lessons.
“He always made me feel at ease so that I could get through anything that the class would throw at me.”
She recalls a moment during one of the most challenging classes in the program, ventilators.
“I remember having the hardest time with ventilator checkoffs as I was always very anxious, nervous and shaky. Mr. Hoskins would say, breathe and relax, you know this stuff!”
While her teachers set her up for success, she believes the curriculum provided her best chance at succeeding in the profession, all while being more affordable than a university.
“I thoroughly enjoyed half the week being at a clinical hospital site. I was able to apply what I learned hands-on at the hospital to the classroom, which ultimately helped me succeed.”
Like many students she was balancing school and working full time. Luckily both GateWay and her employer were flexible with her schedule and needs at the time. Mardsen had this piece of advice for current students,
“Have a good support system. For me, that was the biggest blessing throughout the program. Without them, finishing the program would have been much more difficult.”
Mardsen has since gone on to complete her Bachelor’s in Respiratory Care and now works alongside some of her GateWay instructors at the HealthCare United at GateWay (HUG) Clinic. Her next career goal is to become a clinical liaison or clinical adjunct one day in the hopes of helping students through their program by giving them good instruction and advice like her mentors did for her.
To learn more about the Respiratory Care Program visit: gatewaycc.edu/respiratory-care.