Finding Her Breath: Indeea Fields’ Path to Respiratory Therapy
Indeea Fields found herself at CCP after first attending Albright College for Early Childhood Education. “I felt like I just kind of went just so I could say I was doing something,” she said. “And then I came home, took a year off and then enrolled in Health Care Studies at CCP.” In 2019, Indeea’s nine-month-old niece came down with RSV, giving Indeea her first peek inside the world of respiratory therapy. That experience and her Health Care Studies prerequisite courses led Indeea to the Respiratory Care Technology program. Now, Indeea is graduating from the College and heading off to take her board exams and become a practicing respiratory therapist.
After being in the program, Indeea now realizes how important repspiratory therapists can be for patients needing their care. “I definitely feel like it's way more in-depth and in detail than people think it is,” Indeea said. “I think people think we just click buttons, but you can actually cause an injury that can increase the risk of mortality after initiating life support, so you have to be careful and make sure you're using proper techniques.”
Indeea feels prepared to enter the workforce following her education at CCP and she’s grateful for the strong connections that the College has created throughout the city and the region. “I can ask somebody that's a respiratory therapist that graduated 25 years ago where they went and they'll say CCP,” she said. “So, I think as far as networking, those connections are there, they'll always be there.”
In addition to the quality education and networking opportunities she’s received, Indeea also feels like she’s grown personally in her time here. “I would just say throughout the program, even though it's only been two years, I feel like I've just grown vastly as a person,” she said. “Like, I don't feel like I'm the same person from when I started to finishing. And I'm just thankful for the experience.”
After graduation, Indeea plans to take her board exams to become registered and find a job in the city. “I just mainly want to focus on adult critical care,” she said. “That's what my interest is in.”
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