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In what has become an annual interprofessional education experience, Department of Respiratory Care faculty and students participated in a pulmonary clinical skills lab for first-year medical students.

Medical students rotated through 16 stations during the lab, which was held over the course of two afternoons in February, said Sandra Adams, MD, MS, FCCP, a professor in the Pulmonary/Critical Care Division of the Joe and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at �����Թ� in San Antonio. Three stations were staffed by respiratory care faculty and students, who taught medical students how to measure and interpret lung function and about the proper use of inhalers and other respiratory devices. Faculty and students also delivered a lecture on the role of respiratory therapists in asthma management.

The lab provides a valuable lesson that goes beyond the clinical skills it covers, Adams said.

“We’re going to be working together for the rest of our careers,” Adams said of physicians and respiratory therapists. “I think it’s good to learn early on to be able to collaborate.”

Second-year respiratory care master’s student Justin Garcia guided students through the fundamentals of spirometry, which tests pulmonary function. He also covered spirometry’s clinical significance and proper technique.

“I demonstrated how to perform a spirometry test, emphasizing correct patient coaching to ensure accurate readings,” Garcia said. “The students also had the opportunity for hands-on practice, where I provided real-time feedback and answered their questions.”

Second-year respiratory care master’s student Raquel Gutierrez taught students how to interpret spirometry test results.  

“I think it's an important experience to have because the RT-MD dynamic becomes extremely important in the clinical setting,” Gutierrez said. “This experience allowed medical students to understand the importance of working together with their RT when it comes to respiratory diseases. It was a great activity to participate in, and the students were a pleasure to teach.”

The peer-to-peer student experience highlights respiratory care students’ specialized knowledge and encourages team work in an interdisciplinary environment — something that is essential in the clinical environment, said Respiratory Care Program Director Megan Carreon, MA, RRT.

“It’s not uncommon for patients to not know how to properly use their inhalers,” Carreon said. “By sharing their expertise, respiratory care students can help the medical students develop the skills they need for diagnosing and managing different respiratory conditions.”