MACON, Ga. — Middle Georgia State University's Respiratory Therapy program has created a neonatal track.
It means Central Georgia now has the only respiratory therapy degree with a neonatal track offered in Georgia, and is one of few such tracks in respiratory therapy programs across the U.S.
Jasmine Brown, the director of clinical education at MGA, had an experience earlier in her career that led her to the strong conviction that more respiratory therapists can and should get out of school with some solid bedside experience when taking care of infants.
"We had a patient that came in that was complaining of stomach cramps, and this patient was pregnant and didn't know it. It was a young female and I was panicked," Brown said.
Respiratory therapy is a specialized healthcare field where practitioners work therapeutically with people suffering from pulmonary diseases like COVID-19 and many others.
The neonatal track focuses on stabilizing newborns within the first 10 minutes of life. The patient Brown cared for ended up delivering the baby early, after having had zero prenatal care.
"That was a very traumatizing time for me, I felt. I hope I remember all the steps because I didn't practice it," Brown said.
In Middle Georgia State's new program, students learn about warming, drying, simulating and clearing out the airway of newborn babies as well as paying attention to heart rate.
Lala Tello and Keli Roland, two seniors in the program, say learning these techniques helped build their confidence for after college.
"We have our textbooks that teach us a lot, but at the same time when we have the simulations and it's hands-on, it really brings it into perspective and it's just like real life," Tello said.
"The simulators offer real-time feedback, so when we react to something, the simulators able to respond so that we know what to do next," Roland said.
A majority of new graduates go to work directly in critical care areas on the frontlines. Roland says the program excels further than other schools.
"Once we are interacting with real patients, we know the steps to take. Everything that we learn in simulation can be applied to real patients," Roland said.
Brown says they hope to extend to a pediatric track in the future.
Teri Miller, chair of the department of respiratory therapy at MGA, says the profession of Respiratory Therapy has a strong job outlook with a 23% growth need anticipated for 2020-2030.
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