Respiratory Student Resume

Elizabeth Darcy

2345 Surrey Dr. • Never Never Land, England • Phone (555) 555-1234

mrsdarcy@gmail.com

objective
	Seeking a position as Board Certified Respiratory Therapist in a Hospital setting where I can utilize my education and enthusiasm to provide exceptional patient care, while advancing and improving my performance in Respiratory Care.
Medical Experience
	Meryton Hospital January 2011-May 2011 Clinical III & IV n ICU critical care, mechanical ventilation management & charting, ABG sampling analysis, patient transports, and arterial line placement & management n Neonatal intensive care rotation n Training and proficiency on the PB-840 & Bipap Vision
	Netherfield Memorial Hospital January 2010- December 2010 Clinical II n Introduction into mechanical ventilation parameters, changes, & charting Clinical I n Patient Assessment, x-ray interpretation, charting, administering respiratory aerosol medication, and pulmonary hygiene techniques n Training and proficiency on Galileo & G-5 ventilators
Education
	Austen College 2009-2011 n AAS., Respiratory Therapy n Anticipated Graduation: May 2011
Certifiactions
	n ACLS & BLS. n CRT & RRT -- Anticipated completion date May 2011
Awards & Interests
	n Reading and taking long walks n Volunteer for the British Red Cross n Respiratory Therapy Class President of 2011 Tah Dah!! This is for all you rt students out there that have no flippin clue how to write a decent resume coming out of school. I do have the word doc. on file so perhaps one day I'll put it on here to download (if I can figure out how one does that....). Anywho. Lots to blog about, but all in time. Look for another post later this week.

supply closets, a-lines and being annoying

Yesterday wasn't insanely crazy, but I had an amazing day at clinical. I was fairly busy with small tasks that kept piling up, but I made it through the day.

First off on my little rants tonight. Supply closets. They suck when you are a student. I've learned that it doesn't really improve much after you get hired either. I probably spent about a good hour yesterday rooting around through various closets looking for an HME, flex tubing, and an abg kit. I finally gave up after the other therapist and I couldn't find the flex tube at all. I guess it's just one of those things I'm going to have to get used to, and also spend time making mental notes of where things are located.

I got to put in an a-line yesterday. Of course I had help, but once we got it I was so ecstatic. Boom goes the dynamite. I'm really hoping I get the opportunity to do it again soon.

And the last little bit of rambling goes to the haters. I'm sorry if you are old, jaded, and have kids and can't go back to school. But you know what? I'm making the best of my life right now when I'm young and free, and if you want to laugh, roll your eyes and scoff at my dreams to further my education (PA school or whatever I choose) then that is your choice to be negative. Making fun of someone because they want to further their education and aspire to be something more than mundane is a choice, and it's just one that I haven't made.

Maybe I am annoying to some. I can't be buddies with everyone. I do what I think is right, and keep my head up because in the end it's my life.

endings and beginnings

Endings: Finally, after ten months of wavering, I stood up for myself and made a decision that would affect the rest of my life. Obviously it was the best choice, but I couldn't see that at the time. Sorry to be vague. Remember that ex that was toxic and dumped me right after my final exams over the phone last June? Yeah. I put that all behind me now. Anyway, I'm just writing this to give myself kudos. Toot that horn. Give myself props for choosing not to be miserable the rest of my life.

Beginnings: I started writing my resume this week!! I tried to research how a student should format their resume, but there aren't too many examples out there. Once I get mine finished I'm going to post it up on the blog. Probably still going to keep my name/clinical site out of it for various reasons, but hopefully it will be of some guidance for students trying to get out there and nab a job.

I'm "officially" on break for 2 weeks, but I have a lot to get done in the next few days and I'll probably go to clinical over the break. I've found that I get insanely bored if left to my own devices after a few days of relaxing. I honestly do need a vacation soon, but I'm kind of waiting until after I'm CRT, RRT, AND have a job before being a beach bum for a week. I just recently purchased a ticket to France in September with a rebate. Right now it's looking like I'm going off into the abyss solo on this one. I don't think it would be all that bad to just throw on a backpack and catch some trains.

So, I'm basically as single as one can be. One is the loneliest number? Perhaps if you are sitting around all by yourself thinking about it all the time. I can't say that I'm all too worried about it.

Ok, so here's a really funny story that happened a few weeks ago while I was at clinical. I was taking care of a patient that had xyz problems. The resident had mentioned to me that they were taking the patient on a sedation vacation for a few hours to assess if all the screws were bolted together upstairs. I guess I wasn't listening when he mentioned this. So here I am in the patients room, noodling around and about to give the patient an MDI treatment though the vent circut. The patient was trached too, so I was up close to their head. I was wrestling to get the mdi port opened up, all the while my tongue sticking out (possibly looking like Pee Wee Herman), when the patient opened their eyes with me being maybe TWO inches from their face. You know what I did? I smiled, and touched their nose with my finger and said, "Boop. Good morning sunshine." I don't know where that really came from, but I did some eye contact for a second. I doubt it really had any bearing on memories. I did get to brush their hair, and clean up some dried secretions around their mouth before I left the room. The patient died two days later, and I hope I was at least a little brightness to the cold world that the hospital can be sometimes. I may be kind of silly sometimes, but I really do care for the patients. Period.

Anywho. It's 9p.m. and it's mah bed time. Good night kids.

What kind of therapist are you?

I spent a few hours down in the post anesthesia unit with a previous grad from my RT program. He grilled me. I was not expecting that at all, and it made me realize that I've been slacking on studying recently. It wasn't that I didn't know the answers to his questions (because I honestly did), I guess I was just caught off guard. He must of thought me to not be one of the brightest in the bunch, that's for sure.

I've decided that when I get placed with a student eventually that I'm going to teach them instead of making them very uncomfortable. After my burn on the grill, I did retain the answers to the questions... but is watching a student squirm for the answers that much fun? Word to all of you new RT students out there, if a clinical instructor is asking you tons and tons of questions the best way to stop this is to ask questions yourself.

Anyway. The one RT did give me some insight. He told me that there are several level of therapists out there, and it's up to us as new grads to make the decision to be great, mediocre, or awful.

In my opinion this is the difference between the button pushers, and the therapists that actually CARE for the patients. They stay a little longer in a room to explain to the family what the ventilator is doing for their loved one. They make a point to communicate effectively with the whole staff and team in the hospital. They stock the supply closet when things are running low. They will stay calm when it's all going down hill. They will ask and give help when needed. They don't complain every second of the day about how this is a dead end job. And most importantly they are an advocate for the patient.

I'm sure I missed out on some other key elements, but those are the things that I strive to do every day when I'm in the hospital. Yes, I realize at some point I'm probably going to get frustrated with my job, but as long as I keep in mind the aforementioned list, I think I'll make a pretty good RT.

School is winding down this quarter. I'm going to probably spend this weekend studying for my neonate final next Tuesday and finishing up a case study that is due next week. I did speak to one of the assistant directors at my clinical site to let them know I was interested in a job, but no positions are open right now. I have my fingers crossed because I really want to work there, but I also have a few back ups just in case it doesn't' work out.

As far as the personal life is concerned... things are a bit muddled right now. It might become clearer once I graduate, but probably not. I think the key to all of this is to do what I feel is right. I sometimes wish that everyone would leave their opinion out of the mix, but that's kind of impossible these days.