Respiratory care division holds 22nd annual symposium

By Kate Hunger 

“Respiratory Therapists: Partners in Health” was the theme of the Respiratory Care division’s 22nd annual symposium, held March 23-24.

Held at the Pearl Stables, the symposium offered attendees from across South Texas two full days of speakers who presented on a range of topics, including neonatal flight transport, the role of respiratory therapists in organ procurement, diagnosis and treatment of asthma and the role of time-based and volumetric capnography in managing critically ill patients.

Although the program is designed to offer continuing education for professionals, students were welcome to attend, said Richard Wettstein, M.Med., RRT, CTTS, FAARC, associate professor and director of admissions for the Division of Respiratory Care at UT Health San Antonio. He said the program’s theme was chosen to emphasize the importance of effective health care teams, something he said is talked about frequently but not always well executed.

The symposium has drawn increasing attendance in the last several years, largely by word-of-mouth, said Lee Ann Schwarz, business administrator for the Department of Health Sciences.